“Dialogue with stakeholders is an important part of reinforcing the dam in Laisvall”

“We have a major responsibility when it comes to remediating the area and giving back to nature and the community. As requirements are constantly evolving, we need to continue monitoring the area and make sure we take the right measures. Dialogue with nearby residents is also extremely important in creating understanding for what we do,” says Astrid Lindgren, RTFE for closed mines and project manager for the construction of the support embankment.

The Laisvall mine was in operation between 1943 and 2001. During that time, tailings from the operations were deposited in four tailings storage facilities with associated dams. Following the closure of the mine, Boliden has continued responsibility for remediation, sampling and monitoring of the area. Since 2022, Boliden has conducted extensive studies of the closed mine, including work to ensure conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, GISTM.  

“It is part of our responsibility to prevent harm to both the environment and the community, and to me this is both an ambitious and necessary way forward. That is why we are taking a comprehensive approach to understand the area and analyse the risks, which feels reasonable since everything really is connected,” says Astrid.   

The dam needed to be reinforced 

One of the conclusions from the studies was that the lower Sjömagasinet tailings dam needed to be reinforced with a support embankment in order to meet current stability requirements. The dam is located directly adjacent to road 625, which continues towards places such as Hällbacken, Adolfström and Gautosjö, and is also close to the lake Laisan.  

The dam retains lead-bearing tailings from the former mine. To make the facility even safer and reduce the risk of material moving out of the area, Boliden has decided to construct a support embankment. It will provide additional support and strengthen the dam’s stability over time. 

The work began in late winter/early spring 2026, with crushed rock for the support embankment being transported from Swerock’s Naura quarry outside of Arjeplog. In total, the project involves around 2,000 truck transports, which naturally represents a major change compared with normal traffic levels in the area. At the same time, Boliden has tried to limit the impact where possible, and one important adjustment is that the transports do not pass through the Laisvall community. 

“We chose a different route to reduce the impact on permanent residents in their everyday lives. During construction of the support embankment, there will be a reduced speed limit next to the work area, but the road will remain passable. Overall, I think we have had a good dialogue with the people in Laisvall who are affected by the project,” says Astrid. 

“All communication creates understanding” 

Dialogue with nearby residents has been an important part of the project throughout, and Boliden has both invited people to meetings and used its various channels to share information. The aim has been to give affected stakeholders the opportunity to understand what is happening. Astrid Lindgren says that communication is just as natural a part of the project as planning transports and construction work. 

“Those of us working on the project live in villages ourselves, so it is quite easy to think: how would we have wanted to be informed about a similar project where we live? The worst thing is not knowing what is happening, which is why we have really tried to inform, listen and explain. All communication creates understanding, and we have actually only been met with a positive tone,” she says. 

Opening of an exhibition about Laisvall 

The relationship between Boliden and the Laisvall community goes back a long way, and the mine has been very important to the area. This will be made clear, among other things, through the exhibition “Länge leve Laisvall” (“Long live Laisvall) at Silvermuséet. Together with her Boliden colleague Isabell Burlin, Astrid has contributed to the production of the exhibition, including images and film clips from Boliden’s archives as well as input and background knowledge. The exhibition opens in June 2026 and will remain open until the end of 2027.  

Astrid says there is a special Laisvall spirit in the local community, where people are generally positive towards Boliden as a company and to the good things the mine brought while it was in operation.   

“Many people have positive memories of the mine, and that is something we notice in our contacts with residents in and around Laisvall. Through our dialogue with people here, we feel that our efforts make a difference, and that is naturally motivating. We have been keen to build relationships and have also engaged people from the area as, for example, samplers and construction managers. That also creates a clearer sense of participation,” says Astrid.