The Minister of Business and Industry warns of a fast track for mineral activities in Norway Nutritional

– The development of mineral projects takes too long. Minerals are essential for the green shift. There is a need for critical raw materials, so it is important to stimulate the development of such projects. We are now launching a fast track for critical raw materials, says Minister of Industry Jan Christian Vestre.

The scheme contains five measures that provide a clear prioritization of critical raw materials at NFD’s underlying agencies, the Directorate for Mineral Management (DMF) and the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU):

The fast track for critical raw materials will mean that:

1. DMF must prioritize processing of applications under the Minerals Act for critical raw materials.
2. DMF must establish an arrangement for national coordination of critical mineral projects, based on voluntary participation from the municipality and initiative owner.
3. DMF must prepare a advisory tool for mineral activity, in order to be able to identify and deal with particularly demanding or conflict-ridden issues in mineral projects at an early stage.
4. NGU must prioritize mapping in areas that may have deposits of critical minerals.
5. NGU must prioritize making available and organizing data from areas with investigations of critical minerals.

New mineral strategy

The fast track is part of the government’s new mineral strategy, which will be presented in spring 2023.

– We have high ambitions for the mineral industry in Norway, and are now working on a new mineral strategy that will take the Norwegian mineral industry in a more forward-looking direction. Our ambition is to be best in class and we will therefore go to great lengths to ensure this, says Vestre.

The follow-up to NOU 2022:8 New Minerals Act, which was on public consultation until 30 November, is ongoing in parallel with the work on the mineral strategy.

– We will of course still have thorough processes linked to mineral operations in this country, but it is necessary to make the work more efficient. Therefore, the fast track becomes important. I am also satisfied that we have already received a lot of good input both from the industry and other stakeholders in the ongoing mineral strategy work and follow-up of the consultation on the new mineral law, says Vestre.

Facts: In the work on the new mineral strategy, the government wants to:

• Arrange for the mineral industry in Norway to contribute to the UN’s sustainability goals through the extraction of minerals that are necessary for electrification and the green shift, in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
• Work to ensure that the industry can become more circular, through that surplus materials are reused to the greatest extent possible rather than landfilled, based on the understanding that everything has value in the circular economy
• Consider setting increased requirements for the reuse of surplus materials, look at increased research efforts and whether it would be appropriate to have incentives or fees that contribute to less landfilling.
• Assess whether there are areas that are suitable for mining, and areas that are not, for reasons such as nature encroachment, landfill possibilities and other considerations.
• Seek new knowledge about different forms of disposal, including assessing the future of marine landfill.
• Investigate how a larger part of the value creation in the mineral industry can remain locally and nationally.

The NOU on the New Minerals Act contains extensive proposals for changes to the regulations governing mineral activities, and work on this is absolutely central to the framework conditions for mineral activities in Norway. Therefore, the government sees the strategy work and the mineral law work in conjunction.