Page updated 2026-03-20
On Saturday, 14 March, a rockfall occurred in the mine at level 1182 around 12:30. The air pressure wave that followed caused injuries to four people who were nearby. They have all received medical care to varying degrees and have now returned home.
After the rockfall, all work in the mine was stopped and personnel were gathered for information. The mine was inspected at different levels and certain areas were closed off. Production was later resumed in the evening.
Later that same evening, abnormally high seismic activity was recorded. At 23:00, the decision was made to stop production and evacuate all personnel from the mine. All groups arriving above ground were informed.
Shortly after 01:00, seismic activity increased further, and several strong tremors were recorded between 01:00 and 03:00. The seismic activity then subsided during Sunday.
In the following days, seismic activity continued to decrease, although remaining higher than normal.
Looking back at all events recorded in Garpenberg since the system was installed in 2012, there have been two events exceeding magnitude 2 — one in 2012 and one in 2016, both in the Huvudmalmen ore body. During the night toward Sunday, 15 March, two events above magnitude 2 and one very close to 2 were recorded, concentrated in the Lappberget ore body. Geographically, Lappberget is located beneath our industrial area and extending partly under Finnhytte‑Dammsjön.
What happens now?
The seismic activity has decreased, and initial inspections of the mine began on Wednesday, 18 March. Production in the mine will be gradually resumed once inspections of infrastructure and mining areas have been completed. However, the timing for resuming production, as well as the pace at which it can be ramped up, cannot be determined at this stage.