Kronos Wordlwide Inc. out of ocean dumping projects!

Norway is one of two countries in the world that allows new projects where mining companies can dump mining waste in the ocean. This practice belongs to the last century. In 2016, Norway and Turkey were the only two of 53 countries to vote against an international ban on the dumping of mining waste at sea. «Even big mining nations including China and Russia voted in favour of the resolution at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) congress.» writes The Guardian. A few years ago, Chilean courts ordered an end to stop such disposal. Indonesia pledged not to grant new permits for submarine tailings disposal permits following pressure from communities and downstream users. Now only Norway and Papua New Guinea are allowing new projects based on this method.

Since 26. april, activists have everyday stopped the construction work for the project. So far 28 actionists have been arrested, in total fined for 240 000 NOK (24 000 € / 25 200 $).

Ever since Nordic Mining acquired the rights to Engebøfjellet in 2006, there have been major protests from nature conservationists and locals. In 2016, more than 80 activists were arrested when they stopped test drilling on Engebøfjellet for three weeks. Today, the campaign is underway and with 4,000 activists on the lists over people willing to commit civil disobedience by chaining themselves to the machines: We are ready to fight this to the bitter end.

Friday 6. may, the Norwegian government gave Nordic Mining, the mining company, the last permission they needed. Now, while we work with the legality of this practice, the best way to slow down the project is to scare away the investors. Nordic Mining still lack most of the financing for the project. Previously, large protests and actions have caused mining projects’ finances to fail: When Natur og Ungdom and other organizations arranged protest camps at Repparfjord in north Norway this summer, the German copper group Aurubis chose to withdraw from the letter of intent with Nussir ASA. They justify this with the fact that they require sustainability at all levels, and a mining project that dumps the waste in the fjord cannot be called sustainable. Now investors in Nordic Mining must also take responsibility and ensure that the plans for mining dumping are never realized. We want Kronos Worldwide Inc. out of ocean dumping!