Skellefteå

Town and port, in the län (county) of Västerbotten, northern Sweden, on the Skellefteälv (river) near the Gulf of Bothnia. Although incorporated in 1845, it did not become important until after the discovery, in 1918, of the rich Boliden mineral deposits northwestward. In 1952 Skellefteå absorbed several surrounding communities. Gold, silver, copper, arsenic, and other metals, as well