News that the mining projects Talga Graphite in Nunasvaara, LKAB ReeMap in Malmberget, and LKAB Per Geijer in Kiruna were part of a mass approval on March 24, 2025 by the European Commission was a shock to the Sámi Council, which has issued a strong statement. Other sites are located in the Sámi part of Finland. The mining projects on traditional Sámi territory, some of 47 “strategic projects” around Europe, are the result the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act on May 23, 2024, aimed reducing supply chain vulnerabilities. Many of the areas to be mined can also produce the raw materials required in a conversion to so-called green energy.
The Sámi Council, along with the Sámi parliaments in the Nordic countries have long made it clear that they lack the legal staff and funding to tackle the impacts of each proposed project on the environment and Sámi culture, a culture closely interwoven with the landscape. International corporations had already been expanding in Sápmi. The Australian company, Talga, for instance, which plans to mine graphite in the winter reindeer grazing lands around Vittangi, near Kiruna, has long fought court battles with the Talma Sámi siida. Now, thanks to the fast-tracked status of the project given by the EU, the project can move ahead without the Sámi being likely to mount an effective defense.
“The EU is promoting the exploitation of minerals that contribute to human rights abuses within the EU,” Per-Olof Nutti, president of the Saami Council said. “This is a direct violation of our rights as the only recognized Indigenous People within the EU.”