Translation (Google). Nothing new here but the publicity might bring out more local protest:
Miningcompanies get no to new gold mine
There willbe no new gold mine in Fäbodliden in Lycksele municipality. The Land andEnvironment Court says no to Dragon Mining's application.
TheAustralian company Dragon Mining has applied to mine gold in an open pit andunderground in Fäbodliden. But now the Land and Environment Court is stoppingthe plans.
The idea wasthat the ore from the mine, which is located in Lycksele municipality, would betransported to a concentrator in Svartliden 30 kilometers away. This involves140 vehicle movements per day, which would mean that a truck passes through thevillages of Vinliden, Björkberg, Norrbäck Liden and Norrbäck every eightminutes.
The roadthrough the villages is narrow and lacks lighting. The company believes thatprotective measures for this are on the road operator. The court does not agreeand says that the traffic entails great safety risks for unprotected road usersand too much noise for those who live near the road. The Land andEnvironment Court also states in the judgment that the mining company's basisfor discharges in the area has been difficult to understand and that it has notbeen shown that the business can be conducted in an environmentally acceptablemanner.
The reindeerherding industry would also be hit hard by a mine, the court says. Overall, thecompany has not proposed sufficient protection measures that could reduce thenegative impact. It is unusual for the Land and Environmental Court to say noto a mine that has come as far as an environmental assessment.
The depositin Fäbodliden was previously owned by Lappland Goldminers, which went bankruptin 2011. The government had to shell out SEK 300 million to clean up a minethat the company owned in Blaiken in Sorsele.
Svartliden,the mine where the concentrator is located, has been closed for a few years nowafter the gold ran out. In recent years, Dragon Mining has enriched gold fromits mines in Finland at the facility.
I'd like to sell but there are no buyers at the moment, We'll just have to hang on and hope. Good luck to all shareholders. Cheers.
(20min delay)