cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6078255
KIRUNA, Sweden – High atop the Luossavaara Mountain in northern Sweden, Sami reindeer herder Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen mapped out a bleak future for himself and other Indigenous people whose reindeer have roamed this land for thousands of years.
An expanding iron-ore mine and a deposit of rare-earth minerals are fragmenting the land and altering ancient reindeer migration routes. But with the Arctic warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, herders say they need more geographic flexibility, not less, to ensure the animals’ survival.
If a mine is established at the deposit of rare-earth minerals called Per Geijer, which Sweden heralds as Europe’s largest, Kuhmunen said it could completely cut off the migration routes used by the Sami village of Gabna.
That would be the end of the Indigenous way of life for Kuhmunen, his children and their fellow Sami reindeer herders, he said, in this far-north corner of Sweden some 200 kilometers (124 miles) above the Arctic Circle.
stoy@lemmy.zip 4 days ago
I may be absolutely super mega wrong here, but I believe that we should absolutely mine the crap out of the minerals.
These are minerals Sweden and the EU needs.
Sweden also has the capability to set up a mine in the right way, especially if we keep it administered by Sweden and not just sell it off to foreign capital.
We have the resources to set up a restoration fund that is run independent of the mining company, which would fund restoration work once the mine is closed, meaning we can limit environmental impact on a long term independent of the mining company.
I know I am posting on a community advocating for indigenous people, so I expect to be downvoted a fair bit, but please explain to me why I am wrong without only going “mine bad, sami good”.
I can absolutely see that a mine in the area would offer plenty of good jobs and bring in money to the local community (if set up properly).