Beowulf does not expect much progress on Kallak application until mid-September

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – UK-headquartered Beowulf Mining said on Monday that its CEO had met with representatives of the Swedish mining industry, politicians and government agencies at Almedalen last week, to plead the case of its Kallak magnetite iron-ore project.

Kurt Budge used the meetings to detail the chronology of the application process for an exploitation concession for Kallak North, and presented the case that the company's application, and recent supplementary documentation, including a heritage impact assessment, had satisfied the requirements of the prescribed permitting process.

"In meetings, I made sure that it is understood that the Mining Inspectorate has now confirmed to the government of Sweden that the Kallak environmental-impact assessment (EIA) is consistent, in the detail provided, in meeting the requirements of the Supreme Administrative Court's (SAC's) Norra Kärr judgement.

"With respect to Laponia, which was granted World Heritage Status in 1996, I explained the guidelines for the establishment of its boundary, which state that the protected area should typically be so largely defined that exploitations outside the area should not be able to have a significant influence on the core value of the World Heritage Status.

"I also made it clear, that since late 2014, the Swedish Minerals Act and the Environmental Code have not changed, nor has our application, except for eliminating the Jelka-Rimakåbbå transport corridor from future planning in November 2014, and Laponia has been in existence throughout. Also, that in 2015, the County Administrative Board for Norrbotten supported our application and the Mining Inspectorate recommended to the government of Sweden that the exploitation concession be awarded, and now we have it confirmed by the Mining Inspectorate that our EIA is consistent, in the detail provided, in meeting the requirements of the SAC's Norra Kärr judgement.”

Beowulf is in communication with the government of Sweden, but Budge said that the company did not expect much progress on the application until the start of the new Parliamentary session after the Swedish summer holiday in mid-September.