The ore fields were discovered as early as in the 1650s, but due to their remote location in the sparsely populated areas in northern Sweden, far from both the Atlantic coast and the coast of the Bothnian Gulf, it was very hard to transport the ore to any port from where it could be shipped to its ultimate destination.
Some earlier plans included horse-drawn trains and regular roads, but in the end it was decided to combine the new railway technology with the ancient boat transport.
The remaining length of the transport could be made possible by canalising the rest of Lule River from Storbacken down to Luleå.
The decision to construct the canal was taken 1863, and the Gellivare Company Limited based in London was contracted for the project.
These remains are sometimes called Engelska graven, which is a play on the Swedish word grav which can mean both "ditch"/"trench" and "grave/"tomb".