Yes to Lunckefjell

Trond Giske, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, announced on 22 December 2011 to the board of directors of Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has given the green light for the opening of a new coal mine at Lunckefjell. The announcement came as the Ministry of the Environment gave approvals for the project under the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act.

“We have long awaited this decision, so for us it has really made a wonderful start to Christmas and the New Year,” said Bjørn Arnestad, CEO of Store Norske.

The decision means that Store Norske as a company is now able to think and plan at least 10 years into the future where both the business and jobs are concerned. It will allow expertise to be retained within the company, which is important for positive profit performance over time. Store Norske is a mainstay enterprise on Svalbard and accounts for almost half of all the jobs in Longyearbyen, so this is also about securing a Norwegian presence and stability on Svalbard.

“Lunckefjell is an excellent project, which has been prepared, impact-assessed and approved under the strictest environmental protection laws in the world, and it is economically sustainable,” Bjørn Arnestad emphasised.

“It will be a demanding and important task to develop and carry through a Lunckefjell mining project which meets both the commercial and the environmental challenges facing us. But we can do it,” said Bård Mikkelsen, chairman of the board of Store Norske.

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2012-01-04

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Yes to Lunckefjell

Last coal ship from Svea

The last coal ship for the year left Svea on Monday morning with 80,000 tonnes on board. The coal will be unloaded in Esbjerg in Denmark and in Immingham in England.