"If society doesn't want to keep the mine, we'll have to close it down"
Three authorities, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, want to reject Kaunis Iron's new permit application. Investigations costing over SEK 50 million on more than 8,000 pages are considered "inadequate".
- If the review of our new permit shows that society does not want the mine to remain, we will have to accept that and close down the operation. That would be a loss for the region, Swedish industry and, above all, Sweden's contribution to the global transition," says Klas Dagertun, CEO of Kaunis Iron.Kaunis Iron would like to make the following comments regarding the criticism by three authorities of Kaunis Iron's application for a new permit for continued and expanded mining operations.
Åsa Allan, Vice President, Kaunis Iron: - We have taken the help of leading expertise in all areas of investigation into the impact of the mine. I am surprised that this work and our application would appear to be inadequate. We are proud of our environmental performance and the application we have submitted.
- As for the criticism that our new environmental permit application is inadequate, we do not share that view, but we are clear that we are prepared to respond to anything that is asked of us. We have worked actively for over three years with the best experts nationally and internationally to deliver the best possible evidence base for our application. We have never questioned the cost, we have asked for the best we can get.
- The permit application is now over 8,000 pages long and has cost over SEK 34 million in external investigations. If we include the documents already produced by Northland Resources, we estimate that around EUR 50 million has been spent on factual documents and impact assessments. And that's not counting our own time. We believe that we have done all we can to respond to the questions that exist and that the evidence provides the answers that will ensure continued environmentally safe operations.
- We can also state that Kaunis Iron meets all the requirements of the current permit, we do not exceed any limit values and the analyses that are carried out on an ongoing basis do not reveal any contamination. Our goal is clear: we want to build a sustainable mining operation for future generations. We want to take responsibility and do the right thing. We want to continue to protect the environment and at the same time contribute to jobs and growth. We are - as I said - prepared to do whatever it takes. But if that's not enough, if society doesn't want mining to continue, then of course it's over.
The three authorities that have voiced criticism and want to reject or refuse Kaunis Irons' permit application are the Swedish Marine and Water Agency, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten.
Klas Dagertun, CEO, Kaunis Iron continues: - The fact that authorities with a focus on protecting the environment are critical is their mission. In the long term, it drives developments in sustainability and the environment forward. It is more worrying that the County Administrative Board, which also has a social and economic regional responsibility, does not make a more comprehensive assessment of our activities. Only environmental aspects are in focus. Unfortunately, this has become commonplace for us and our industry colleagues. I do not believe that the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten has been in favour of a single large-scale industrial venture in the region in the last 30 years.
- We definitely want to be at the forefront of environmental and sustainability issues. We are aiming for a fossil-free mine as early as 2025. For Tornedalen, our operations are an important piece of the social puzzle. We have created more than 500 jobs directly in our operations and contribute several hundred million SEK in tax revenue.
(20min delay)