Boliden Aitik

Aitik, just south of Gällivare in northern Sweden, is Sweden's largest open-pit coppermine. Ore is mined here around the clock from chalcopyrite that contains copper, gold and silver. The work in Aitik is done by some of the biggest machines in the world. They include rock dumpers weighing 570 tonnes when loaded, whose wheels alone are 4 metres across and excavators whose buckets can hold 45 cubic metres of rock. These machines are operated by nearly as many women as men, which makes Aitik one of the most gender-neutral mines in the world.