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Arctic Yearbook 2015
Swedish Government has tried to coordinate and simplify the EIA and narrow down the number of
authorities involved in mining issues. In addition, the Strategy states that a manual on mining activity
assessment for the industry shall be compiled (Government Offices of… 2013: 33-35.) According to the
national Arctic strategy, Sweden will also promote greater use of EIA in the Arctic for example in
mining (Government Offices of… 2011: 27).
In Greenland, the Mineral Resources Act (2010) forms the basis for the regulation of mineral resources
and mining activities. The Mineral Act brought along changes in regard to public participation and
impact assessment. The Large-Scale Law regulates the possibilities for using foreign workforce in
mining (Hannibal 2013). While in principle, the Act prioritizes Greenlandic workforce, the
mechanisms for ensuring local employment are unclear (Committee for Greenlandic… 2014). The
amendments in the Mineral Resources Act in 2012 strengthened the regulations that promote or
require agreements on social sustainability such as Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBA). The
amendments in 2014 brought along changes in regard to public participation in impact assessment by
introducing the pre-public consultation. A noteworthy renewal towards improved sustainability was
the new division of responsibilities between mining authorities in 2014 (Government of Greenland 2014:
12). In Greenland, the effectiveness and clarity of the legal framework will be demonstrated in the
future when the mining operation starts in practice. Still today, the authorities lack expertise on mining
matters in general and are still relying heavily on external consultants.
The Greenlandic framework requires both an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a social
impact assessment (SIA) to be conducted before a license for development may be negotiated.
Greenlandic authorities have established guidelines for both EIA and SIA processes (BMP 2011; BMP
2009). The SIA guidelines propose certain issues, related to the special characteristics of Greenlandic
society, to be treated with particular attention (BMP 2009: 5). SIA serves as the basis for the
negotiations of an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA) (BMP 2009). In Greenland, the IBA is an
important tool for ensuring that benefits of individual mining projects are directly invested back into
social development (Government of Greenland 2014: 93). IBA is a formal contract involving the mining
company, associated municipalities and the national government (Government of Greenland 2013: 7). IBA
is seen as central for ensuring provision of skills-development projects and working opportunities at
the local level (The Ministry of Finance and Domestic Affairs 2013: 42). According to the recently
introduced pre-hearing process, if a project has notable social or environmental impacts, the applicant
must arrange a public pre-consultation before the contents of the EIA and the SIA are determined
(The Mineral Resources Act unofficial translation 2009: § 87a).
In Russia, mining is regulated by the Russian Federal Law on Subsoil Resources issued in 1992 (Subsoil
Law 1992) and the Russian Federal Law on Production Sharing Agreement (Federal Law on … 1995).
It sets out a framework for contract negotiations between the state and investors on the extraction of
mineral resources for production revenue sharing. According to Russian legislation, the Russian state
owns all subsoil resources. The state may hire an investor as a contractor for the extraction of minerals,
but it retains ownership of the resources (Federal Law on…1995). The Russian licensing system is based
on the Subsoil Law, which requires companies with user rights to the land to consider certain
obligations, such as the prevention of industrial waste and complying with particular technological and
Governance of Sustainable Mining in Arctic Countries