The Government gave the green light for the disputed plans for an iron ore mine in Kallak, Jokkmokk, over two years ago. Now, the Supreme Administrative Court can overturn the decision.
We do not think the decision is lawful, says Camilla Wikland, representing the Jåhkågasska Sami village.
The environmental movement and local Sami villages have been trying to stop the mining plans for years. Even the UN agency Unesco has warned. The reindeer industry and nature are considered threatened.
After a series of twists and turns, the case landed on the Government's desk in 2017. A few years later, in March 2022, the mining company Jokkmokk Iron Mines was granted a processing concession by the Government.
The so-called processing concession gives the company the right to extract the ores and minerals found in the area, but it is not a final permit to start a mine.
After both the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and the Sami villages requested a judicial review of the Government's decision, the case was taken up by the Supreme Administrative Court last autumn.
The verdict will be announced at 10 am on Tuesday.
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, among other things, believes that the Government's decision breaches both Sweden's and the EU's environmental requirements.
According to lawyer Camilla Wikland, there are several circumstances that make the decision unlawful.
It's everything from bias, to lack of proper motivation, and contravention of international conventions, to failure to make a correct weighing of interests, she says.
If the Supreme Administrative Court overturns the Government's decision, the processing concession will fall. If the mining company wants to proceed, it will have to apply again to the Mining Inspectorate.
The large iron ore deposit outside Jokkmokk was discovered in the 1940s.
In 2006, Jokkmokk Iron Mines, a subsidiary of British Beowulf, was granted an exploration permit.
Test drilling was carried out in 2010, and in connection with test mining in 2013, widespread protests broke out.
The same year, Beowulf submitted an application for a processing concession to the Mining Inspectorate. The authority wanted to say yes, but the question ended up with the Government in 2017, after the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten said no.
In March 2022, the Government granted the processing concession, giving the company the opportunity to further explore the mining plans.
In September 2023, hearings were held in the Supreme Administrative Court regarding the Government's decision after the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and the local Sami villages requested a judicial review.
The final permit review for a mine is carried out by the Land and Environment Court.
