Hello everybody!

We are closely connected with Stiftelsen Ytterby Gruva, and things have started to move, both in terms of the association’s activities and the ownership of the mining area.

Status report

A very active 2022 is coming to an end and we want to take the opportunity to give some updates.
A larger number of screenings have been completed this year. We have covered both the mine’s previous
history, the discoveries and “Ytterby mine and the Cold War”. Some screenings have been ordered by
companies and associations, but we have also had open screenings. The most recent ones have been visited by
not least travel islanders, a large number of whom have become members. Our partners at the
university have come with students and researchers. A couple of
lectures are already planned for spring 2023.

A number of these new members also helped with a large slush clearing (30 loads) which
ended with a nice sausage grilling down on the oil quay. It looks so much better!
The ownership question – at the moment we rent the mining bailiff’s residence for SEK 5,000/year. The lease also states
that we have full access to the mine and the mine tunnels. Since the association was formed in 2015, we have wooed the Fortifications Agency (FortV) to take over the ownership of the land area above the mine (21,000 m2), half of which is an ancient monument. According to the regulations, a state authority
can only sell to another state authority or a municipality. Otherwise, the sale must take place
on the open market and in this case at a price that the Foundation would not be able to afford. But
the administration in the municipality has refused for several years.

Together with FortV, we have drawn up a purchase agreement that is with the municipality for signature.
When the municipality signs, it is intended that they will directly transfer the purchase to the Foundation
Ytterby mine. That’s how it happens. On 17/11, the municipality finally announced that it would agree that
the case should be settled with a political decision. It will come up in the municipal board at the beginning of
February. It should go our way because all party leaders are positive that the Foundation should
own the area – this is a breakthrough.

Interest among researchers worldwide in the mine is growing. In an attention-grabbing news feature in
TV4, a mineralogist from the USA visited the mine and praised the mine’s importance for
the history of science. A support group for the Foundation has been formed among Swedish researchers from several
fields: geology, chemistry, history, history of science, metallurgy and mining. Plans for
a research project on the mine’s history are planned in collaboration with Luleå Technical
University.

Cleanup continues in the mine shaft. Oil residues have come to the surface ever since the mine
was emptied of oil in 1995. In the first years large amounts – many cubic meters. During this year approx.
200 litres. During week 47, a company, MycoMine, whose CEO is a researcher, will start an
experiment which means that a fungus will be added to the surface water. The hope is that the fungus will
purify the mine’s water from oil and convert the oil into an environmentally friendly residual product. In the spring of 2023
in addition, the walls of the mine will be examined by an underwater robot down to 150 m to
check if there are any places where there may be oil. If so, it will be
sucked out. FortV has a control program for the clean-up which means that the mine shaft cannot
be sold or transferred until the shaft has been free of oil for a couple of years.

We want to make the mine visible in different ways. The homepage is currently being revised to become clearer and
even more interesting. Much new archival material will be available. We plan to
document the entire mine passage with 3D photography so that you can
examine the entire underground part from your desk at home, or why not use your smartphone to see what it looks like
under the “seal” above in the open pit.

We also plan to document the research going on in the mine tunnel.

We prioritize stimulating continued research and also stimulating interest in chemistry and geology
not least among schoolchildren.

We look forward to 2023 and hope you do the same.

2022-11-28
The association board