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A limited liability company sells coal fields near Longyearbyen in Svalbard. The Norwegian state shows little interest, but the interests of China and Russia are anxious.
The Austre Adventfjord company sells coal fields exceeding 82,000 acres, Aftenposten writes. This corresponds to 82 square kilometers in an area north of Longyearbyen. By comparison, the city of Stavanger / Sandnes covers an area of 79.72 square kilometers, according to Statistics Norway.
The seller prefers to sell to the state, but here the interest is modest.
– Basically, it is demanding to foresee that the State will pursue its own objectives. We take all inquiries seriously, writes the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a statement to the newspaper.
Also read: Norway fights against coal abroad, even emits CO2 equivalent to 100,000 cars from coal
The state coal company Store Norske has refused. Now interested parties from Russia and China are in the field, confirms the seller to the newspaper.
The seller says the interest is great
– We are experiencing great interest in rights. “We have talks with companies that belong to China and Russia,” says retired lawyer Erling Lyngtveit from NRK.
Represents the company that owns the rights to extract minerals and rocks at Austre Adventfjord in Svalbard.
“It is the only one of these types of rights in the Arctic regions worldwide that is for sale,” he continues.
Read also: Conservative politicians challenge their own party: they want a green utopia in Svalbard
In Svalbard, property rights to the land itself are separate from the right to extract minerals.
Norway’s only coal-fired power station
Author Per Arne Totland, who has written several books on Svalbard, says that Chinese ownership can give China a foothold in the Arctic that the country does not have today.
– A sale to Chinese or Russian interests will highlight weaknesses in Svalbard’s Norwegian policy, he tells Aftenposten.
There is currently little coal mining in Svalbard. Store Norske has some operations in Mine 7, and the Russians have some mining in Barentsburg. Mine 7 supplies the coal-fired power plant that supplies electricity to Svalbard. This is the only coal-fired power station in Norway.
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