First and foremost a big thank you to Cosors and Manual for posting the main document from the Kiruna Municipality and the latest Golder report translated from Swedish, together for all the other contributions from posters on this aspect, particularly from CatDog and MPK1980.
The Kiruna Municipality Document is now what is being considered by the authorities. It includes submissions by Golder on behalf of Talga, and discusses the conflicting interests from other groups, specifically: the Sami people, the Recreational and Environmental claims, the Fisheries and the impact on the natural environment under Natura 2000. The decision is due in November 2021 with the formal permits enacted by the first quarter of 2022.
The DFS, the Golder Report and the Kiruna Municipal are all singing from the same song sheet, there are no contradictions or obvious discrepancies.
I propose to draw from other comments on these aspects on this forum and from the formal documents themselves.
The key takeaway is that none of the other claims are an absolute deal breaker to the project proceeding, if this were the case then the current exercise would be pointless. The main deal breaking aspects are the Torne River and also the Natura 2000 delineated area. According to the Kiruna Municipal report the Torne River is not impacted by the proposed development and therefore the fisheries on the river and the recreational activities on the river are also not impacted. The Torne River is a big issue in Northern Sweden as no hydro-electric infrastructure has been permitted within its confines. The proposed development at Nunasvaara South is outside the Natura 2000 delineated area, which includes the Torne River and its immediate surrounding such as beaches and catchment area. The lake at Hosiovaara within the proposed development area does not flow into the Torne River or into the Vitangi River, a down stream tributary of the Torne River.
The reindeer husbandry aspect is discussed at some length, particularly the impact the proposed development would have on this key activity. The four main migratory routes taken by the reindeer herders run to the South and the North of the proposed development area, including all the way up to Niska North just to the South West of the Vitangi River. The main three follow the course of the Torne River, outside the designated mining area, forming a pinch point where the existing access road crosses the Torne River. The fourth migratory path runs well to the North. Some minor migratory paths run parallel to the main ones discussed above or end at designated reindeer rest area to the West of the proposed development. The main collection area for the reindeer runs North between the proposed development and the town of Vitangi further East. The proposal to limit the mining activity to the summer months when the bulk of the reindeer have been herded to the mountains in the West and North West is a constructive solution to the conflict between the two key interests, pastoral and mining. The authorities are required to counter balance national interests in different areas, so this concession should be viewed as being very positive, particularly when the three deposits at Nunasvaara North, Niska South and Niska North will be underground mines with a minimal surface footprint, a departure from the original plans of open pit extraction.
The Kiruna Municipality will be fully aware of the initial agreements between Talga and LKAB giving considerable credibility to the solution for the three deposits to the North discussed above by a trusted local mining entity with a long history of mining in the district. The extension of the agreement with LKAB and the date by which a decision is to be announced in November 2021 provides additional support to this argument.
Finally the scale of the proposed mining application area at 800 ha, which equates to 8 square kilometres, pales into insignificance in the vast forests of Northern Scandinavia. The claims of foragers and hikers (no existing trails through the proposed mining application area) weighed up against the key national importance of graphite for the transition to a fossil free future, many places to go picking and hiking against the unique nature of the graphite deposit should result in a positive outcome for the permitting process.
There has also been some discussion of the expansion evident at Lulea, the designated area is next to an existing industrial park and does not impinge on any natural resources. In fact this highlights the fact that the permitting process inherently prepares the ground for the deposits at Nunusvaara North, Niska South and Niska North to be given the necessary permits to proceed promptly once the additional drilling, scheduled for this Northern hemisphere summer, is concluded with the assays undertaken and the revised resources and reserves calculated.
I continue to hold, patiently. I also note the complexity of the process to achieve a positive permitting outcome in Sweden and probably explains why no new mines to my knowledge have been initiated in Sweden to my knowledge, but I am always happy to be corrected on this point.
I would urge readers to undertake the exercise of reading all three documents to draw their own conclusions. Therefore, this is not a recommendation, just my honest opinion, so please do your own research
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