The Laver copper mine project in northern Sweden has cleared another major regulatory hurdle after the Swedish government rejected two appeals against the processing concession granted to mining company Boliden. The decision, announced on 12 August, allows the company to continue developing the project near Älvsbyn, in Norrbotten, but does not yet authorise mining operations.
According to the Swedish government, exploiting the deposit could double Sweden’s copper production and increase total production in the European Union by around 10%. The government has presented the project as part of a broader effort to reduce Europe’s dependence on imported strategic raw materials.
The Laver copper mine still needs environmental approval
The concession was originally granted by the Swedish Mining Inspectorate (Bergsstaten) on 2 September 2025. It gives Boliden the right to extract copper as well as gold, silver and molybdenum from the deposit.
Two environmental organisations appealed the decision to the government. The government has now rejected those appeals, saying that it found no grounds preventing the concession from being granted.
The decision does not, however, amount to final approval for the mine. Boliden still needs an environmental permit, including a Natura 2000 permit, before it can take a final investment decision. Environmental effects will therefore be examined in greater detail in a separate process under Swedish environmental law, as Boliden confirmed when the concession was granted.
The proposed development would consist of two open pits at Lill-Laverberget. At full scale, the government says the mine would process around 36 million tonnes of ore each year, with the material concentrated on site before being transported to smelters.
Copper was previously extracted at Laver between 1938 and 1946, from both a smaller open pit and an underground mine.
Mining interests clash with nature and Sami reindeer herding
The project has faced sustained opposition over its potential effects on the environment and on Sami reindeer herding.
In assessing the new application, the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten (Länsstyrelsen i Norrbotten) concluded that the national interest in deposits of valuable minerals should take precedence over competing interests involving nature protection and reindeer husbandry. SVT reported in 2025 that the project could have substantial consequences for the Semisjaur-Njarg Sami community (sameby), whose reindeer-herding area includes Laver.
The community’s chairman Anders-Erling Fjällås said at the time that a mine would require a major transformation of its activities and leave several questions unresolved. Boliden, for its part, says it has held consultations with the Sami community and intends to avoid, minimise, restore or compensate for impacts where possible. The company estimates that a potential mining project could cover an area of almost 50 square kilometres.
The conflict is not new. An earlier attempt to secure permission for the project was rejected during the previous permitting process, with the government and Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court (Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen) rejecting the project in 2022. Boliden submitted a new processing-concession application in 2024, beginning the procedure that has now reached the government.
Copper has become a strategic raw material for the EU
The Swedish government’s argument also reflects the growing importance of copper in European industrial policy. Under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, copper is classified as a strategic raw material because of its importance for the green and digital transitions as well as the defence and aerospace industries.
The legislation sets a target for the EU to extract at least 10% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials domestically by 2030, while also expanding processing and recycling capacity and reducing dependence on individual external suppliers.
Sweden’s Minister for Energy and Business (Energi- och näringsminister) Ebba Busch linked the Laver decision directly to those concerns, arguing that more domestic copper production would reduce Europe’s dependence on imports and provide material needed for both electricity grids and defence.
The government decision therefore moves Laver closer to becoming one of Sweden’s largest new mining projects, but the most detailed examination of its environmental consequences still lies ahead. The environmental permitting process will determine how the proposed increase in European copper supply is balanced against impacts on Norrbotten’s ecosystems and Sami reindeer herding.
