Beowulf Mining


Beowulf Mining plc is a UK registered Nordic focused exploration and development company listed on the AIM in London and Spotlight in Sweden. The CEO is Kurt Budge. The company was formed in 1988 as Beowulf Gold. Through subsidiaries, Jokkmokk Iron Mines AB and Fennoscandian Resources, it is active in developing open-pit mining in Sweden and Finland respectively; its plans to mine for magnetite iron ore at west of Jokkmokk in northern Sweden, and for graphite in Heinävesi, Finland, are controversial.

Kallak

Beowulf Mining's Swedish subsidiary, Jokkmokk Iron Mines, has conducted exploratory mining for iron ore at sites in northern Sweden. These plans are opposed by the local Sami population; the company says their operations and the Sami's traditional reindeer herding can "coexist". The company argues that exploitation of the Kallak North and South sites will both directly and indirectly benefit the contracting economy of Jokkmokk Municipality. Opponents of the mining project also argue that longer-term investments in the area are better for job creation: the company had promised the creation of almost 400 jobs for 14 years, whereas a tourist centre in nearby Sarek National Park could create 500 jobs. Opponents also cite dangers from mining in the area including the railroad used to supply the mining operation, one local herdsman saying that trains on the local line had killed up to 1,200 reindeer.
The company's main focus since the early 2010s has been the Kallak mine in Jokkmokk Municipality. Protests took place at the site in 2013, culminating in August in dozens of protesters digging themselves in. Two had tied themselves to pipes, and at one point protesters delayed test blasting by sitting in trees. All were removed by local police. In October 2014, Norrbotten County denied the company permission to proceed at the site; in February 2015 the Swedish Mining Inspectorate,, overruled that decision, but as of 2018 the county held that reindeer herding was a superior use of the land given the relatively short period for which it would be developed by mining.
One issue in the conflict is lack of Sami ownership of the land and a lack of protection of their indigenous rights; Sweden, unlike for instance Norway, has not signed on to an international treaty protecting those rights. The Sami Parliament of Sweden responded to the Kallak project in August 2013 with a statement against further exploitation of Sápmi for mineral extraction, and the Sami Parliament of Norway voted against the Kallak project in February 2017. Beowulf Mining has been ranked as one of the worst oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights and resource extraction in the Arctic.

Heinävesi graphite mining project

In January 24th 2019 the Beowulf Mining's Finnish subsidiary's CEO Rasmus Blomqvist announced that the graphite mining project is postponed by years because of the mining project's significant impact on the environment. The graphite mining project in Heinävesi has been facing major concerns by the local community. Fennoscandian Resources, was granted an exploration permit by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency in 2016 for graphite mining in Heinävesi. The project has been opposed by local residents, by politicians including MEP Petri Sarvamaa and also by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation as the site is close to the Saimaa nature preserve. Lintula Holy Trinity Convent has expressed fears the project will endanger the herb cultivation on which it depends for income. A municipal initiative against the mining project was signed by over 3000, with over 800 residents. The Provincial Government of Southern Savonia reports of a concern towards the mining project on Heinävesi's Aitolampi. The regional strategy for Southern Savo raises the purity of waterways and the attractiveness of tourism to the top objectives of the province. The open pit mining in the vicinity of major waterways and valuable natural environments is a high risk to Saimaa's tourist livelihood and the natural values, and thus contradict the objectives of the regional strategy.

Other sites

In 2006 the company was granted an exploration permit for a deposit of iron and titanium at Ruoutevara near Kvikkjokk, also in Jokkmokk Municipality. In 2010 they planned to build a processing plant there and use it to also process iron ore from Kallak. In 2013 they announced they would not renew the exploration permit for the site because of inadequate infrastructure and concerns which had been expressed about potential impact on Sarek National Park.
Through a joint venture with Energy Ventures, Wayland Copper, Beowulf Mining is also active at Ballek, in Arjeplog Municipality, where it conducted exploratory operations for mining copper in 2013 and expanded them in 2014.