Nickel is an important component in the transition to electric...

Nickel is an important component in the transition to electric vehicles. Storuman is home to one of Europe's largest unexploited deposits, but complicated regulations and slow permit processes are stopping the Swedish mining company Bluelake Mineral. "We have collapsed as a mining nation," the CEO told TN.

Peter Hjorth is concerned that investors are shying away from the Swedish mining market due to the great uncertainty.- We have collapsed as a mining nation in international measurements. It depends on the unpredictable processes. Investors want to invest where you get a return on your capital, not in countries where you do not know if the investment will lead to something.

https://www.tn.se/hallbarhet/tillstandskaoset-forvarras-23-ar-innan-godkannande/

https://www.svemin.se/en/news/news/reform-package-unlocks-todays-system-failures/

If the permit processes are not improved, Sweden will miss the climate goals, warn heavy companies, experts and lawyers. "If nothing is done, I see a fairly high risk that Sweden will not be able to do it," says Cementas Karin Comstedt Webb.

The projects also risk being delayed by a consultation requirement in environmental legislation, which allows several different authorities to comment on the project and demand answers and additions from the company.The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the Land and Environment Court does not set clear time limits for how long the authorities may request these supplements.

- Of course, the courts must evaluate whether the companies do a solid job, but it is difficult to understand that a permit constantly requires new additions and investigations when the companies hire Sweden's best lawyers and environmental experts to produce a good basis, she says.

Several thousand new jobs and greater access to copper needed for climate change. Boliden could have created that in Älvsbyn - but the government is putting sticks in the wheel.Other companies have already opted out of Sweden due to the hassle and soon the long-established Swedish metal company can choose to go the same way.

Since 2014, the metal company Boliden, which has mines and smelters, has been fighting against the authorities to start a copper mine in Laver in Älvsbyn municipality in Norrbotten.

The mine could create several thousand new jobs and give Älvsbyn renewed hope after being hit hard in August last year when Polarbröd's factory burned down and 131 employees lost their jobs.

But this does not seem to be the case because the message that Boliden received in the latest case on the issue, which had then been on the government's table for four years, was a no.

Instead, the government requests that we apply for a permit for something that we do not really know what it should look like, which will be reversed.It would have been much better to collect the Natura2000 permit with the environmental assessment.

Boliden is now appealing the government's decision to the Supreme Administrative Court to get an examination of whether the government complied with the law when it said no to the company's mining plans in Älvsbyn municipality.

Unpredictable and lengthy permit processes hinder the development of the mining industry, according to Klas Nilsson.In other countries, the requirements for what must be met in order to obtain a permit are clearer.

- In Sweden, new questions are constantly emerging and new demands are introduced from different quarters gradually.In the end, they can not be fulfilled.It will be an anthill of different government requirements that are not weighed against each other.The system short-circuits itself when no one takes responsibility for the whole.

The consequence is that Boliden is no stranger to expanding in other countries where the system works better.

But Boliden is far from the only example of when regulatory hassles and protracted government processes put the brakes on the expansion in the north.Before Christmas, it was also clear that Boden had lost a large establishment due to the county administrative board's ambiguity regarding the schedule for the permit processes.

-But despite the possibilities, we see how the development is going in the wrong direction. Sweden falls on the lists of attractiveness as a mining nation. If nothing is done about this politically, there is a great risk that an entire sector will be phased out instead of being developed, says Maria Sunér.

Of course, relevant and high environmental requirements must be set for our operations, as well as for all other operations that affect the environment. The Swedish mining industry is and will continue to be a global leader in terms of sustainable extraction of metal and minerals.

-But the policy’s handling of the mining industry’s permit processes in recent years unfortunately signals that the mining industry should not bother in Sweden. It is time for a new take on Swedish mineral policy and the granting of permits for mining and mineral activities. For the climate transition, for jobs and for the mining and mineral nation of Sweden, says Maria Sunér.

https://www.tn.se/ekonomi/regeringen-stoppar-klimatprojekt-nu-kan-boliden-overge-sverige/