§ 1. Commander Sir Archibald Southbyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare what proportion of the Swedish exports of iron ore to Germany come from the Grangesberg mine; and if he has any information as to who are the owners of the mine.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare (Mr. Dingle Foot)The mines in question are owned by Trafic A/B Grängesberg-Oxeldsund, and constitute only a small part of the iron ore properties in the South of Sweden. The company has, however, a controlling interest in another company, namely, Luossavaara-Kurunavarra A/B, which owns the greater part of the mines in Lapland and Northern Sweden. My information is that in 1943 all these mines taken together produced between 55 and 60 per cent. of the total quantity of iron ore exported from Sweden.
§ Sir A. SouthbyCan my hon. Friend say whether iron ore coming from this mine is carried to Germany in ships belonging to Messrs. Axel Johnson, and if so, why are they not on the black list? And why are not the Grangesberg firm on the black list, too?