Tag Archives: coal crisis
SVEA LOCKED: Final shutdown ceremony ‘marks the closure of over a hundred years of mining’ by Store Norske
More than 30 million tons of coal were extracted over 17 years and there’s still another 10 million tons inside, but the symbolic final step of sealing it off seemingly forever occurred Wednesday as the entrance tunnel at the Svea Nord mine was padlocked during a wistful ceremony featuring speeches and song.
ROUGH JUSTICE: Monica Mæland presided over the shutdown of most of Svalbard’s mining; she’s now the archipelago’s new ‘ruler’ after the collapse of Norway’s government last week
Since her most notable Svalbard moment is a horde of emotionally-charged torch-wielding citizens cornering her in a dark parking lot, Monica Mæland is at the very least well-qualified to cope with tumultuous times after being named “ruler” of the archipelago in the wake of the collapse of Norway’s government last week.
Dead again: Store Norske, after getting ministry to say maybe, gives up on extracting coal at Svea while mines are dismantled
OK, this time the hope of doing any more mining at Svea is truly dead. Honest.
Store Norske says it is giving up on the hoping of extracting coal from the mine while carrying out a government-ordered dismantling of the nearby Lunckefjell mine during the next few years. The decision is oddly timed, occurring shortly after the company finally persuaded skeptical government officials to be open to the possibility after months of effort.
But Administrative Director Jan Morten Ertsaas said the board of directors determined at its most recent meeting the economics and logistics simply weren’t going to work out.
From ‘no’ to ‘maybe’: Mining coal at Svea while dismantling it may be OK, trade ministry official says
The Norwegian government appears to be relenting on its opposition to resuming coal mining at Svea under any circumstances, with a top official now stating the idea will be considered if it can be done cost-effectively while the mine’s infrastructure is removed.
Abandon all hope: Svalbard’s 10 biggest stories of 2017
We’re not going to spin it: the year known as 2017 was a disaster – literally.
An avalanche early on shook the community and its leaders to its foundations, climate change inflicted maybe its most humiliating impact on us yet, Barentsburg suffered through two fatal crashes and the hope of some kind of future in terms of Store Norske’s coal mines suffered a death far more painful than even the most pessimistic envisioned.
The (much) higher price of failure: Cost of dismantling Store Norske’s main mines doubles to 1.5B kroner
Norway’s government has made it clear they’ll pay whatever it takes to shut down virtually all coal mining in Svalbard – and it turns out they’ll pay dearly as the estimated cost is now twice the 750 million kroner originally estimated.
FINAL CLOSURE: Government recommends permanent shutdown of mining at Svea, Lunckefjell
Hopes of resuming large-scale coal mining in Svalbard were dashed Thursday morning – probably permanently – as the Norwegian government is recommending Svea and Lunckefjell remain closed, and that maintenance of the mines cease and most of the infrastructure be removed.
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of Sept. 26, 2017
Final fate of Svea and Lunckefjell mines may be determined Oct. 12
The few employees left at Svea will learn if the government supports resuming operations at the coal mine, as well as the one nearby at Lunckefjell, when the proposed national budget for 2018 is submitted Oct. 12.
Dire dozen: Number of people employed in Longyearbyen drops 12 percent due largely to mining, construction losses
The number of people employed in Longyearbyen dropped 12 percent between 2015 and 2016, due primarily to Store Norske completing its large-scale layoffs and suspending most of its mining operations, according to Statistics Norway.
Working out: Store Norske avoids possible strike, may possibly strike it rich by reopening mines
Store Norske just finished shutting nearly everything down four months ago and most of the relatively few remaining workers were talking about going on strike. But the labor dispute was resolved quickly last week and a sustained rebound in coal prices is allowing the company putting together a proposal to resume operations at one or both of its two main mines next year.
