Støtter midlertidig sjødeponi: – Ikke til å tro

Nordic Mining's stock soared by 26 percent on Thursday morning following a positive development for the mining company. The Norwegian Environment Agency has recommended that the company be allowed to deposit up to 4.5 million tons of mine waste into the Førdefjord over a period of three years. The agency believes the move is not in conflict with EU water regulations.

However, the Supreme Court ruled last summer that the discharge permit for mine waste was invalid, stating that the action infringed upon water law by failing to demonstrate compelling public interest. The government is currently re-evaluating the discharge permit. The Environment Agency stated that it is time to reconsider the discharge permit, as the benefits of the mining operations for the three-year period outweigh the potential environmental harm and inconvenience.

The agency also proposes testing a new flocculant agent, Praestol DW 20, which will replace the current Magnafloc 5250. Nordic Mining produces rutile and garnet from a mine in Engebøfjellet in Vestland county. Although the discharge permit from 2016 is invalid, the company has been granted permission to continue operations until a decision on a temporary discharge permit is made by the government, expected in September.

Truls Gulowsen, head of the Nature Conservation Union, said this is not something to be taken lightly. He believes the temporary permit is at least as unlawful as the current one and is a form of gradualism that is not allowed. Gulowsen thinks the Environment Agency is more concerned with accommodating the mining company than protecting the environment.

He hopes the department will not grant the temporary permit and suggested new legal challenges or the European Court of Justice as alternatives. Sigrid Hoddevik Losnegård, head of Nature and Youth, emphasized that millions of tons of mine waste would degrade the fjord if the permit is granted. The Nature and Youth organization argued that the government is rushing through the process, with the intention from the beginning to grant the mining company permission to dump.

Losnegård stated that if the Ministry of Climate and Environment grants the permit, they will be violating the Supreme Court's ruling. Environmental organizations believe the case has not been fully investigated and that granting a temporary permit without a thorough evaluation of the entire project would be premature, especially given the Supreme Court's ruling that the discharge permit is invalid.

The Environment Agency stated that the total land use through deposition and sedimentation described in the application will not result in degradation according to water regulations. They argue that the impact on ecosystems in the fjord's bottom communities and environment will be negligible, with a maximum of 2-5 percent of impact area, even if art diversity in benthic organisms proves to be higher than currently documented.

Nordic Mining's subsidiary, Engebø Rutile and Garnet AS (ERG), wrote in a comment that the project will not degrade the fjord or the ecosystem at the bottom of the fjord. They clarify that impact and degradation of environmental quality are different concepts. Monitoring reports indicate some stations are affected, but no change in the benthic community structure has been recorded, altering the environmental classification.

ERG believes the impact of the project will be "very limited and localized." Nordic Mining faces several challenges, including a delayed full-scale production launch, requiring $10-15 million (94-141 million kroner) in the short term and $475 million in the long term. The company has not received payment from Barton for a delivery of garnet in May, as the product quality was not up to standard. Both Barton and another buyer are seeking renegotiation of their contracts with Nordic Mining.