STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF ARCTIC MINING. Chief Analyst Hannu Hernesniemi, National Emergency Supply Agency Stockholm, January 27 th 2015

Transcription

1 STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF ARCTIC MINING Chief Analyst Hannu Hernesniemi, National Emergency Supply Agency Stockholm, January 27 th 2015

2 MODERN HISTORY OF THE FINNISH MINING INDUSTRY State-owned base metal and chemical companies took care of most of the mining activities until the 1990s. Their financing was guaranteed by the State and they were also successful in establishing mines abroad. As the prices of minerals went down, companies started to change their strategies - Why mine raw materials? Let s buy them! Upon joining the ETA and EU, Finland opened doors for foreign mining investments and offered excellent geological surveys. Unexpectedly, we discovered a lack of mine entrepreneurs and financing expertise required for the opening of the mines. At the same time, we had to educate a new generation of experts for granting mining and environmental permits. Then came the environmental problems at Talvivaara, which had a major effect on the reputation of the mining industry. This is why Finland is actually a mining university with a great deal of practical problems to be solved. Stockholm 2

3 FINNISH GOVERNMENT: FORESIGHT A NEW GEOGRAPHY FOR THE NORTH A negative ore assessment must be conducted before the construction of residential areas or travel centres University of Lapland is profiled as an expert in mining permits. Oulu becomes an expert in mineral refining. Repurposing old mines: e.g hotels, spas, health and adventure services The Green Mining research programme continues with the research project titled An indistinguishable mine Sustainable implementation of the Sakatti mine and other mines Creating incentives for Arctic railway among international actors and investors Transport of ore in airships Source: 3

4 VISION: TRANSPOLAR ROUTE, EUROPEAN NORTHERN PORT AND ARTIC RAIL ROAD Stockholm 4

5 MARKET AREA FOR THE EUROPEAN ARTIC RAILROAD: COUNTRIES OF THE 1524/1520 MM RAIL ROAD SYSTEM AND THEIR NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES Stockholm 5

6 A TWO-PHASE FUTURE RAILROAD PROJECT The first phase entails a railroad connection from central Lapland to the current Finnish railroad network. The satellite mines transportations are carried out by airships. In the second phase the railroad is extended to the Arctic Ocean, which opens a new trade route from Europe to East-Asia and the North American continent Norway Sweden Finland Russia

7 AIRLANDER: NO MORE ROADS TO MINES IN REMOTE LOCATIONS 1/2 90% of the planning permission challenges are linked to the environmental impact of the access infrastructure. Airships overcome these by flying over the sensitive habitats rather than disturbing the wildlife. Airlander has a lower cost per tonne-km than ice roads and is cost effective in hauling supplies and/or medium value ore concentrates up to 350 km. Airlander has lower capital and maintenance costs than all-weather roads in remote locations, has no removal costs and can be redeployed. It is fully amphibious, capable of take-off / landing / transitioning from water and land (snow, ice, marsh, tundra, muskeg etc.). It has no need for conventional or gravel airfields. Airlander can operate in both conventional and helicopter modes. It carries up to 65 tonnes of payload and fuel with a conventional take-off run. It can take off and land vertically with 20 tonnes of freight on board. Source: Hybrid Air Vehicles 7

8 AIRLANDER NO MORE ROADS TO MINES IN REMOTE LOCATIONS 2/2 Advanced Exploration Phase The Airlander can transport exploration equipment and accommodation blocks up to the size of trucks and bulldozers (drive on, drive off) to the exploration site without the need for roads. Mine Construction Phase The Airlander can transport mining equipment (broken down into several parts if heavier than 60 tonnes) and supplies directly to the mine site from an arctic port, railhead, aerodrome or airport. Mine Operation Phase The Airlander can transport supplies directly to the mine site and mine produce out, without the need for any external roads. Airlander operating costs per tonne-km are lower than for established winter roads whilst operating all year round. Mine Decommissioning Phase The Airlander can economically remove any items not decommissioned on site. There is no associated road external to the mine that needs to be decommissioned. Source: Hybrid Air Vehicles 8

9 AIRSHIPS CAN CARRY LARGE & HEAVY EQUIPMENT TO & FROM THE MINE Airlander 50 has a capacious main cargo bay (20m long x 5.2m wide x 3.8m high) and is able to carry up to 60 tonnes in one trip of up to 1,800 km. A prototype Airlander 10 aircraft will be flying again this year to achieve civil aerospace certification and then undertake funded trials for the UK Ministry of Defence and then in Sweden with Nordic Operating Partner OceanSky before flying on to Canada. Source: Hybrid Air Vehicles 9

10 JUST IN TIME MINING BY VARIALIFT 1/2 Varialift s innovative airships are made of aluminum and have therefore strong inertia, which means that they can take off and land in strong wind conditions. This means that they can operate for as much or more in extreme weather conditions than current aircraft. Icing and fog are not a problem. Their Cargo bays are large, (for example for the 50 tonne payload craft) which is useful to roll-on roll-off stock. When they land on the ground, they become much heavier than air and therefore sit fast very much like a building and do not move. Hangars are not needed for housing the ships. They are built to withstand living conditions outside permanently. This is a huge advantage since hangars for airships this size would be costly to make and spoil the skyline. If you incorporate all costs for operating such an airship, meaning, leasing, insurance, pilots, fuel (not necessary in future solar powered versions), maintenance etc, the cost to transport one metric tonne for one kilometer is between 12 and 17 cents (US dollar). This is cheaper than long haul trucks. But at a speed of 250 Km/hr, in a straight line, productivity is extremely high. Source: Varialift Airships Plc 10

11 JUST IN TIME MINING BY VARIALIFT 2/2 If, for example, the ore is found in an inaccessible place 300 Kms away, then to build a road or rail could cost 1-2 M $US per Km (or more), affecting the environment and disturbing local flora, fauna and the inhabitants. The road/rail would then cost M$, AND would take a few years to build, before even bringing out an ounce of ore. The rolling stock etc. and the consequent maintenance of such a road/rail would involve tens of millions annually. Source: Varialift Airships Plc 11

12 VARIALIFT: TOWARDS LEAN MINING A) The immediate Airlifting of digging/mining /extraction hardware, lodging and supplies. Brings back the ore and sewage/waste if needed. B) The mine would be productive in a month or so according to the speed of deployment. This would permit the mining company to rapidly extract the ore while the price is worthwhile and have the possibility to rapidly re-deploy to other sites if necessary. C) The mining company would not lose time AND money in railroads that become useless once the mine has been depleted, and would D) Reduce the ecological impact to a minimum, thereby having less issues with lobbies against destructive mining Varialift s models will carry 50, 250 and 500 metric tonnes. The range with initial Kerosene engines will be from to Nautical miles. The Solar powered Airship models that will follow will have practically unlimited range. Varialift are accepting orders now and will be producing 1 airship per month in 24 months. They have made experimental prototypes. The first user is expected in 12 months. Source: Varialift Airships Plc 12

13 WE NEED A NEW ARCTIC MINING STRATEGY The Fennoscandian shield contains a lot of minerals for mining, but the arctic nature is extremely vulnerable. For Finland these resources are important because currently the metal processing industry has to import most of its raw materials. Mining could improve Finland s security of supply and keep Lapland populated. To ensure sustainable development, however, we have to take into account tourism and reindeer herding. We need a balancing program, the key elements of which should be: effective mineral and mining policy and the development of green arctic mining, non-mining reservations and an eco-friendly transportation system a European arctic rail road as the main line and airships to carry minerals from satellite mines. Stockholm 13

14 Stockholm 14

15 THANK YOU! For more information: National Emergency Supply Agency Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu 7 A FI Helsinki, Finland