The environmental movement in Norway has received a new common cause. The extraction of seabed minerals. The reactions have been strong after the Government got Høgre and Frp on board with a proposal to open up exploration for minerals at the bottom of the sea. – I was completely taken aback when the decision came, says Anja Bakken Riise, leader of Framtiden i vår hans. The criticism from the environmental organizations is that the authorities do not have enough specialist knowledge about minerals on the seabed, and that the risk to the environment is therefore too high. Bellona also believes that the government presents minerals in the sea as the only alternative to solving the mineral crisis. The area the government will open for exploration is 281,000 square kilometers and lies in the Barents Sea and the Greenland Sea. Photo: The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate / NPD The Environmental Protection Agency is now looking at the Fens field in Telemark as a better and safer alternative. – The Fens field is one of Europe’s largest deposits of rare earth species. Nevertheless, I see that the money and attention goes to minerals in the sea, says Martin Melvær in Bellona. Fensfield The need for minerals in the world is great. The Fens field is one of the most high-profile projects on land due to its great potential for rare metals. Metal that is decisive for producing the technology of the future. The metals are known as Rare Earth Elements (REE). It is not possible to produce electric cars, mobile phones or defense equipment without these metals. Europe is desperate to become more self-sufficient in this area. Today, the West is dependent on imports from China. The mining company that operates in the Fens field today plans for an underground mine which they claim will be much more sustainable than traditional mining. Environmental movement gathers Bellona has long been positive about the Fens field. Mining on land has also been controversial in the past, but Melvær feels that the other environmental protection organizations have taken on board the need for minerals in the future. – There is much less risk associated with the Fensfield compared to minerals on the seabed, says Melvær. news has contacted several of the largest environmental organizations in the country. They are generally skeptical of what they describe as unnecessary mining, but all are positive about the project at Fen. Anja Bakken Riise in The future in our hands The future in our hands is not a traditional supporter of mining on land. Their main cause is that more metal and minerals must be reused and that the world gets a stronger circular economy. Nevertheless, Riise recognizes that there will be a need for some mineral extraction in the green shift. Given that mining on the Fens field will be subject to strict environmental requirements, he is positive. – Right now, the Fensfield stands out as a project that will be able to meet many criteria for a potential mining project. Truls Gulowsen in the Norwegian Nature Conservancy has realized that the minerals in the Fens field are of such great value that they will come out of the ground if it pays to extract them. Gulowsen believes that the government must therefore prepare and develop the Fensfield for operations, so that mining can proceed in a responsible manner. – The Fens field should be Norway’s most prioritized mining project. Sigrun Gjerløw Aasland in the ZeroZero environmental foundation is concerned that the governing authorities should extract minerals where one has a knowledge base about risks to the environment. Aasland believes that one has much more knowledge about the Fens field and mining on land. That is why they are positive about the Fensfield, but want to stop the exploration in the sea. – If we are to intervene in nature, we are dependent on knowledge. I don’t have that on seabed minerals. Sigrid Margrethe Hoddevik Losnegård in Nature and Youth Nature and Youth is an organization that has strongly opposed mining on land. They have been particularly critical of Nordic Mining’s projects in the Førde and Repparfjorden. Losnegård nevertheless underlines that they are not in principle against all mining, but are opposed to marine landfill. And mineral extraction on the seabed, of course. – Mining will never be completely viable, but in the case of the Fens field, it is important enough to extract these minerals. But is it the case that the environmental movement is now only using the Fens field as a shield in the fight against mineral extraction on the seabed? The future in our hands, the Nature Conservancy and Zero reject this when news asks. Nature and youth, on the other hand, are clear that they want to prioritize the Fens field over the cost of seabed minerals. – Yes, it can be a bit like that. In the case of the Fens field, it is important enough to extract these minerals. But we expect that the project will be followed up and happen in the most sustainable way possible, says Sigrid Margrethe Hoddevik Losnegård in Nature and Youth. Will dig offshore and on land Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland will not agree to pit the offshore mineral investment and the Fens field against each other. – It’s not about either or. It is about the opportunities I have to develop minerals in the most sustainable way possible. I need both. – Bellona, do you think you are presenting seabed minerals as the only alternative to the mineral crisis? Several mining companies have had test drills on the Fens field for a long time. Here we see drill cores that were taken out of the field in autumn. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news – Then Bellona has not heard what I have said. I have long been an advocate for mineral extraction on land. But I want us to contribute in a larger context, and then we have to extract minerals in several places in the most sustainable way possible. The minister says he is happy that the environmental movement is positive about the Fens field. – I hope they are still positive when any license applications and the like have to be put in place. That is usually when the resistance comes, says Aasland. The Nature Conservancy and Bellona also fear that the money and attention will go in favor of the sea and ruin the process on the Fens field. – I completely disagree with that, says Aasland. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland has had to face a lot of criticism after the news about seabed minerals came out. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news
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The Environmental Protection Agency gathers around the Fens field after news about seabed minerals – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
