On Friday, SMA Mineral’s headquarters in Persberg welcomed guests including Minister of Defence Pål Jonson and County Governor Georg Andrén. The purpose of the visit was to increase awareness of SMA Mineral’s operations, with a particular focus on the challenges facing the limestone industry regarding raw material supply.
SMA Mineral’s CEO, Svante Fielding, shared his perspective on Sweden’s need for domestically produced limestone in the event of a crisis. In the case of war or major accidents, the supply of imported limestone could be cut off, which would have serious consequences for critical societal functions in several sectors. Sweden must therefore secure its own limestone resources.
Since 2015, limestone extraction at the Stucks quarry on Gotland has been prohibited due to its location near a Natura 2000 area. To resume operations, limestone extraction at Stucks must be classified as an essential societal function—meaning it is necessary to secure the country’s fundamental needs in a crisis situation.
Svante Fielding was pleased with the visit and the discussions that took place.
“From our perspective, it is important that all the facts are laid out on the table,” said Svante Fielding. “Today’s visit gave us the opportunity to present key issues from our standpoint. We felt a great deal of interest from those in attendance. The hope, of course, is that a seed has been planted and that the conversation about resuming operations at the Stucks quarry will be revitalized.”
SMA Mineral AB
Box 329
682 27 Filipstad
SWEDEN
