According to multiple reports, a clear majority in the Nome municipal council voted yes to state management of the Fens field, with 15 votes in favor and 6 against. The council is thereby transferring planning responsibility to the government, with the goal of ensuring sufficient funding and progress in the huge mining project. The Fens field in Nome has Europe's largest deposit of rare earth elements under the earth's crust, minerals needed in mobile phones, batteries, and defense equipment.
Mayor Linda Therese Thorstensen said the development is "a project of national significance" and could be important for European supply security of strategically important minerals. County Mayor Sven Tore Løkslid supported the decision and expects the state to act quickly. Høyre's parliamentary representative Mahmoud Farahmand called the choice sensible, emphasizing that extraction is crucial to secure Norway's and Europe's independence from China.
To ask for state planning is not to give up responsibility, but to take responsibility for ensuring that a matter of this size is handled at the right level.
On Wednesday afternoon, the municipal director presented a recommendation on which area the mining operation should be located, but the municipality has not managed to choose one alternative and recommends both Nuke and Bærevann. The matter will be processed in the community development committee on March 26 and in the municipal council on April 21. Residents in Nome demand to be heard; the group 'Nukedalens Venner' has collected 1,825 signatures against the establishment of a deposit in Nukedalen. They are not against the mining project itself but believe the location in Nuke is completely unacceptable and ask the industry minister and central authorities to take a more active role. The municipality is demanding an agreement with the state that ensures local residents can participate in decision-making.
The development of the Fens field is a project of national significance and can become important for European supply security of strategically important minerals.
My expectation is that the government now gets progress on these processes and starts the work immediately, so that one can quickly reach the goal with extraction.