Maurliden is one of the mines in the mineral-rich Skellefte field and became operational at the beginning of the century. Polymetallic ores are mined from an open pit that has been successively deepened, and annual production is expected to reach as much as 300,000 tonnes of ore in 2011.
The mine water that requires treatment comes primarily from the open pit, from surrounding ditches, and from slag. The new water treatment plant at Maurliden Östra, which came on line in 2010, is playing an important part in complying with limit values that now require discharge quantities per metal to be measured rather than, as was previously the case, amounts for all metals.