Hi, does anyone know if there’ll be work available driving in or near one of the above mines starting in the summer of 2013?
I’ve read several posts on the subject of working in northern Sweden and am planning a trip there in February 2013, my thinking being that if I like it in the middle of winter, I’ll like it the rest of the year too. At the moment I’m living and working in Moscow, though not as a driver (a dangerous job here in Russia), so I’m used to temperatures down to about -25 but understand it can go down to -40 there!
I am looking for somewhere to settle down, as I’m not getting any younger, so this wouldn’t just be for a year or two and I know that if I received an offer of work I’d have to get a permit allowing me to work in Sweden even though I’m an EU citizen.
There’s a poster on here who does exactly what you’re looking for, his name’s Hutpik, look him up and send him a message. Some members have an email address under their nam as well as the private message system on here
Hi all.Travellingman,as NMM said i live up here in Swedish lappland and drive a tipper for a mining company.
The situation with Northland Resources who are opening the mine in Kaunisvaara seems to be a bit confused at the moment.Theoretically they should start mining and transporting the ore this autumn[now],but because this is a first for Sweden,running trucks on public roads with a total weight of 90tons they have had delays.First they have had to build all the infrastructure surrounding the mine,now they are having to try and improve the road between Kaunisvaara and svapavaara where the railhead is situated as it goes though various villages and is of poor quality.
Noone seems to know what is happening.It must start soon as the mining company has already sold next years production[before it’s out of the ground] and with billions already invested and subsidies already obtained from the government it is of urgency to get going.They have been having trial runs with some roadtrains and Scania has just obtained a contact to deliver 400trucks to Northland.
Not wishing to appear rude but i assume you have truck driving experience as they are asking for a minimum of 3-5 years,preferably some with roadtrains and definitely winter driving experience.It seems, from speaking to the boss of Northland myself[i worked with the guy for 3years in the mine in Gällivare]that they want to have a shift system of 4days driving then 6days free.This would produce a salary of about 25000kr netto per month.
Somebody posted on another site that they are taking on Hungarian drivers at a salary of €1200 per week.This seems very unlikely as this is more than they pay us.It will be a requirement to speak Swedish due to the fact that it is driving on public roads with very high weights, and with up to 6months of winter driving the standard required is fairly strict due to the massive amount of intrest this new mine has generated in the press and the money involved[government,environment,public safety,H and S,ministry of transport,police,etc.]
As you have said it is best to come here and look for yourself,speak to people,lay your stall out and get ALL your info before making a decision.Mike
NMM.We’ve had the coldest August in history up here with the lowest temp being 1c.
Hi Travellingman.I must apologise as i was a bit focused on the mine in Kaunisvaara as this is so high profile at the moment.To answer your question a little more fully.The mining sector from the middle right up to the northern part of Sweden is very busy now with many new mines[iron ore,copper,chrome,gold]opening and old mines being reopened due to the use of more efficient technology.
The two biggest iron ore mines are in Gällivare ,Kaunisvaara, Jokkmokk and Kiruna.Copper in Gällivare and Kolari.
As i have repeatedly said to people you must come here to see for yourself what life is like up here.There is a shortage of people so there are jobs,BUT think,like some of the less well developed areas of Russia and Canada there is a reason why there are few people.Life is different.People are more inclined to drool over a new tractor or snowscooter than a pretty woman Like moving anywhere you have to do your research.This has been preached by almost all of the expats in whichever country.
Yes,it is easier than Canada,OZ or NZ as it is EU.But it’s still 4000kms from London,so it aint just ‘‘round the corner’’.Mike
NMM.I’m ■■■■■■■■■■■ plus 5c this evening I’m getting me wooly hat out tomorrow and thinking when to put the tracks on my quad.
What’s the chances of getting work without being fluent in the local language? If I lived there I would study and speak everyday so would probably pick it up after a few months but initially I can’t speak any Swedish.
Thanks for your replies newmercman and hutpik. Mike, most of the posts I read about Sweden were posted by you and very helpful they’ve been too, particularly the one recommending that people come and have a look before making a decision. I visited Poland, Ukraine and Russia before working in them.
To answer your questions, I got my C+E in 2003 and probably do have about three years experience in total but it’s all UK work, so no roadtrains or real winter experience with snowchains etc… I last drove in 2010 and early 2011 doing container work out of Felixstowe and I’ve spent the majority of the last eight years living and working (teaching English) in countries like Poland, Ukraine and Russia.
Regarding my proposed trip to the Gallivare and Kiruna area, could you recommend anywhere I could stay? Nothing too fancy please, I’m a man with simple tastes and not much money. I’ve found at least one, maybe two, overnight trains from Stockholm which I could travel on to get there but I’ll need somewhere to stay.
Also, should I present myself with my licence, HVV, safety boots, hard hat, gloves and appropriate clothing, or would it initially just be more like a regular job interview (assuming they were interested in me)? Due to my lack of driving experience in harsh winter conditions, I think it’s unlikely that anyone’d be interested in me for an over-the-road job, so I’d be limited to an off-road job like yours mike. In additon, I don’t speak Swedish but hope to have a mastered a few basic phrases before I go, so that’d count against me too for the h&s rules and Swedish highway code?
Lastly, I’ve read that getting the work permit for Sweden can take several months as the relevant union has to be consulted etc… Is this true?
Hi all.Baker Chris.Look though the forums to find some posts i made previously about working and living up here.There is a lot of info in them.But just to say the language is no prob,you should be able to start with English but the most impotrant thing is to try and fit in,remember they didn’t ask you to come here so you are the guest.When i came here i spoke no Swedish but the people are very relaxed and helpful.
RE.Norway and Finland.There are jobs in the North of Norway round the Hammerfest and Kirkeness areas,many Swedes work there as they get tax breaks.Northern Finland i’m not so sure about but they have a mining industry.Here in the north the borders are a bit blurred and they have a lot of ethnic Finns in Sweden.
Travelling man-RE somewhere to stay,if you are coming in Feb you can get cheap rates in hotels as it’s a bit fresh for most folk.[min20-45c] .As i have said before the best thing is to just knock on doors,lay your stall out [say you have worked and driven in USSR,you don’t have to say it wasn’t a truck ].You can also go to the ‘arbetsförmedling’ in Gällivare and Kiruna[job center].They are quite helpful and also they will translate any references,diplomas,etc into Swedish free of charge for u.You have the right to live and work in ANY EU country as an EU citizen and a work permit is a formality as soon as you have a job.If you don’t have job after 3-6 months they can ask you to sod off.Plus you have no right to any assistance from the state.When i moved here i paid cash for my house with the intention of doing a bit of work on it and relaxing for a year.I went to the arbetsförmedling just to say i was living here and would be looking for work sometime in the future.It was incomprehensible to the people there that i asked for no money or assistance.Because i registered with them i later received a letter from immigration saying i had to find a job within 3months or leave.I explained that i had a house,car and about 15k in the bank and no debts.This seemed to confuse them and they replied saying that i required a bank balance of 18k to qualify for resident status.The next week i went to the job center and explained and the guy jumped in his car with me,took me to a local company and got me a job.Within a week i had a letter f´rom immigration welcoming me for the rest of my life to Sweden.
As to work clothes,everything is supplied by the company,anyway what you bring here to wear will give you hypothermia in an hour.You get '‘proper’'winter work clothes issued by the company.
This year i have reduced my working.Now i sometimes only work 1week each month but still earn enough for a simple life.mike
Yes, I agree fly sheet, very interesting. I was about to ask about Finland too as, being in Moscow, Helsinki’s just an overnight train ride away. Finnish is apparantly much more difficult to learn than Swedish, though I believe that Swedish is also an official language in Finland(?).
Hutpik, do the opencast mines, like the Aitik copper mine, work during the winter and, if they do, how do they cope with the very low temperatures and the snow? Do you still work 1km underground? If you do, I guess it must be much warmer down there?
Regarding clothing, I was going to bring my winter motorcyling jacket back from the UK when I go to get my licence as, even at -25, the cold cuts through my thick winter coat here, attacks my face and I can only remove my gloves for 30 seconds max.
On the subject of the work permit, I remember my Polish and Hungarian colleagues in the UK showing me the document from the Home Office that they have to have before they can work legally in the UK although, as EU citizens, they have the right to do so. I guess this is the Swedish equivalent - though I doubt the authorities in the UK tell people they have to leave if they haven’t found work after three months!!!
Hi all.Travellingman.As far as iknow Swedish is still one of the official languages in Finland although i don’t think it’s compulsory anymore.The problem with working in the north of Finland is the sparcity of population.This creates the problem of people not interacting outside of their own environment so the use of english is severly limited.
When i was contemplating moving up here i looked at northern Norway,and Finland before choosing Swedish Lappland.My reasons were this.There seemed to be less population and less industry in the north of Finland,therefore less work.Very few people spoke English which obviously makes it more difficult to integrate and learn the language and culture.Norway was a good place but the northern part was so barren[i wanted forests],plus not being EU there were more regulations.
I found the Swedes up here to be more relaxed and the way of life is very similar to the more rural areas of Canada so i felt at home.[my wife was Quebecois,and when she was alive i lived for a time in parts of Canada].My last employer in Holland[where i lived for 30yrs]had a customer in Tromso so i had spent 9yrs driving every winter up here[as i was the only one daft enough]so i had an idea what to expect in moving up here.I have had an incredible amount of help from the people who have been very patient with my ‘‘Swenglish’’ and have been kind and helpful when i first started driving in the mine.Even though i have a bit of experience,having driven trucks in Europe,USSR,Middle East and Canada it was still a 'culture shock’driving here in a mine,so i was appreciative of the way i was accepted.Obviously speaking English helped as the Swedes seem to like us and they seem to find it quaint,if eccentric that anyone should want to move above the arctic circle to a place, which in many ways,is 50yrs back in time.
The mines work year round[they have to]The bucket loaders at Aitik load weigh about 200tons so have no problem to dig out ore.The same will apply in Kaunisvaara.
Re the work permit.That is no problem.The east block people are not held in very high esteem for their driving abilities,especially in winter.If any east block will work up here the unions will require that they are paid the same as Swedes so unless they are fluent in English or Swedish and are good drivers they have little chance.
When u decide to come here i may be able to help a bit[NO,i won’t recommend you for a job]as i have been burned before by helping people,but if i can help i will.I know a couple of girls who may have a spare bed for a short time for a bit of cash and can help with advise [where,what when].If you have any other papers or diplomas,such as bucket loader or excavator,welding,electrician etc,these are all bonus to find work as many guys here are multi functional.
Seems interesting and quite good money. How do you drive 1km underground, is it a small dumper truck or are the tunnels just huge?
Do you know if there are any places that would do a shift like 4 week on 4 week off like in oil industry or Aussie mining? I met a nowegian guy who did that, on a rig
Hi Chris.Driving underground is a bit different to any other work i have done.The tunnels vary in size from normal road size where you can pass with 100ton trucks ,to tunnels which go to the work face which are about a foot bigger thad the truck all round.
The scope of the tunnels is huge,they run for about 500kms all over and go down to a depth of 1450m.
The majority of mining trucks used in underground work are 8x4s,toughened tipper trucks,Volvos,Scanias and Mercs with hp up to 700hp.[i have a Volvo FH 16 8x4,660hp automatic].We run at a total weight of ‘‘about’’ 60t].LKAB have special trucks which run at gross weights of 150t within a limited area of the crushers but we go all over in the mine.
After they blast in the tunnels,normally in segments of 20ft,they spray fast drying cement on the walls to stabilize the rocks against falls.When they progress further much of this '‘rubbish’'has to be taken out of the mine by our trucks before we can transport actual iron ore from the working face to the crusher.Also they may have to drill through '‘normal’'rock for some meters before hitting a vein of rich ore which also has to transported out as only a percentage of ‘normal’ rock can be blended in the smelting process of the ore.
In the North of Norway at the mining,oil and gas areas round Kirkenes they do different shifts.I have heard of blokes doing multi week shifts[a lot of Swedes work up there]but have no precis info.Maybe you can find somthing on Google re ‘North Norway Mining,or Oil and Gas industry’.
As i live near Gällivare and work for LKAB,i only concern myself with the work and areas which affect me personally.
I have been offered work in Greenland and svarlbard but i am sttled here and have done my share of travelling.Now i just want an easy life.Iv’e bumped and bounced over a good part of the world in trucks so now the only bouncing i want is on a snowscooter or a woman.Take care.Mike
Thanks for another very informative post hutpik (mike), I guess it’ll be Sweden as I’ll need to be able to communicate in English, at least to begin with. The main problem for me here in Russia is that to get a better paying job (in transport but not HGV driving) that’d allow me to rent my own flat (I share with a colleague at the moment) I need to be able to speak Russian pretty well and, although I can speak a little, my Russian just isn’t good enough and it’s a difficult language to learn.
On LKAB’s website it says that applicants need to be able to speak good Swedish ‘for security reasons’. Mike, do you work for LKAB itself or for a sub-contractor, or is this requirement just for managers, engineers, etc.? I can’t find anything on language requirements on Boliden’s website, though the careers pages seem to be more focused on graduate positions.
Is dust a problem in the mine?
Thanks also for your offer of help with finding accommodation during my visit. I don’t expect a recommendation, as you’ve never met me, but do you think that when I set out my stall for a potential employer they might ask me to do a driving assessment? When I went for driving job interviews in the UK most of the ‘interview’ was spent either in the yard, or on the road, rather than in the office. I need to know as, if you think the answer will be ‘yes’, I’ll need to get my licence from the UK before coming to Sweden.
Thanks again for your help. Jonathan.
For others reading this topic a Boliden corporate video on the Aitik copper mine can be seen on YouTube, just type ‘aitik mine’ into the search engine on their website and it’ll take you right to the footage. There’s also some stuff on the town and people of Gallivare and the LKAB Kiruna mine too (enter 'lkab kiruna ’ to see footage filmed in the tunnels).
Hi Jonathan.As you state there is a requirement to speak Swedish.This is for H and S as all communication underground is done by comms radio in the trucks.The requirement to at least understand some Swedish is in case of fire or rockfall so you know to bugger off a bit sharpish.However,as i stated,when i came here i spoke no Swedish but with English and the kindness of work colleagues you get by until you learn a few words.As i said before the main thing is to try and fit in,mix with them during coffee break and meal time etc.
I work for a subbie as do the majority of truck drivers.LKAB only has a few special trucks the ‘‘dino’s’’ which run at 150t underground.
The H and S diploma can be done in various languages such as Swedish,English.Finnish.etc,just the verbal communication requires a bit of Swedish.The same situation applies to Boliden and other companies.
Of course dust is a bit of a problem but they have water trucks which wet the new rockfalls before loading and you keep the windows shut and the airco on.
If your coming here to look for work as a driver i would have thought it would be common sense to bring license,diplomas etc in case you are offered a job on the spot.You aint gonna look very professional if they offer you something and you say ‘‘hang on i’ll just nip home and get my license’’ It may be that a company requires a driver for local work for an interim period[someone is sick or holiday]before you get into other work.It’s all about being in the right place at a certain time and being flexible to get your feet under the table.For example,if you come in the winter there is a lot of work moving snow with bucket loaders and tippers to clear the streets.
When i went to see my boss on a Monday morning he said can you drive in the mine this afternoon with the guy you will replace to get the feel of things,and a mate was offered a job in Kiruna to start the day after he left his old company in Gällivare so anything is possible.As i said if you have diplomas for bucket loaders or mechanics etc that is a bonus.It would be good if you can do small repairs and such as they value that.One of the problems now is new people coming into the industry direct from tranport school can’t even change a bulb or wheel[punctures are the biggest problem]in the mine.Think about it,you cost 200kr an hour,Volvo cost1200.What will the boss be more happy with for a minor repair.
As i said,if i can help i will.But,telling it like it is,i have offered help many times through the years[as have the majority of ex pats on here]in various countries i have lived.The problem is that people come and
Either they have no clue what to expect and are in shock after they arrive having done no research about their life changing move.
They arrive thinking that you will take care of them like a mother hen then get upset when they have to do a bit themselves
They think that a job will be waiting and that you will be guarantee for their ability as you have offered to help.
We all appreciate a helping hand but the onus is on ourselves.Take care mike
Just got back from sweden lappland my self due to having a friend who lives up there. As hutpik has said up north there isnt alot of people. My friend lives in a community where there is 7 peminant residants yet 40 holiday homes and these people only show up on weekends in the winter to enjoy them selves on their snow mobiles… Hutpik i have found your post very informative as i may be headin that way my self dur to my gf studying medicine and she is considering kiruna as a hosp to work in n i would join her in the wintern summer when iv time off from my normal job…
Hi acceptme.Glad u had a nice time up here.As u say there’s not a lot of folk up here,but on the other hand there’s less traffic and stress.
The health system is another area up here which has a chronic shortage of people so it’s not difficult to find work.
If u can accept the limitations here[shopping,social life,etc]the life is nice.There are so many things to do both summer and winter and in comparison with tourist areas they cost almost nothing.I used to rent a snowscooter sometimes in Canada.It cost $100-$150 per day.Here most times someone will lend u one and say ‘give us a drink later’.
I also live in a little village with 5 houses.Good luck and if u come again stop in for a coffee.Mike
Hi mike i go to a village called katterjokk… Hopefully my friend will stay there for another yr and if so ill defo be going back… Absolutely love it as been now in the summer and the winter
Hi acceptme.If it’s the same KatterjÃ¥kk that i know up near riksgrensen.It’s an important wintersports area.Greatfun a lot of Norwegians come there for wintersport[lots of cute women].I used to snowmobile from Kiruna to riksgrensen for the weekend. It can be a real ■■■■■■■ in the winter with snowstorms sometimes closing the border and avalanches along the road.
I got blown off the road one winter with a truck on the Norwegian side because of the powerful side wind.mike
Like moving anywhere you have to do your research.This has been preached by almost all of the expats in whichever country.
I’m getting me wooly hat out tomorrow and thinking when to put the tracks on my quad.
you can get cheap rates in hotels as it’s a bit fresh for most folk.[min20-45c] 
.As i have said before the best thing is to just knock on doors,lay your stall out [say you have worked and driven in USSR,you don’t have to say it wasn’t a truck 
It may be that a company requires a driver for local work for an interim period[someone is sick or holiday]before you get into other work.It’s all about being in the right place at a certain time and being flexible to get your feet under the table.For example,if you come in the winter there is a lot of work moving snow with bucket loaders and tippers to clear the streets.