North Norway Calls for Mineral Funding
- Både Statkraft og Statnett er viktige instrumenter for norsk industripolitikk, og de bør utarbeide egne nordområdestrategier, mener fylkesrådsleder Tomas Norvoll i Nordland.
Tomas Norvoll, President of Nordland County Government, calls for money from the national government for geological mapping of Norway. This funding was cut from the state budget in 2016 and has not been returned in the budget for 2017.
Tomas Norvoll, President of Nordland County Government, calls for money from the national government for geological mapping of Norway. This funding was cut from the state budget in 2016 and has not been returned in the budget for 2017.
- There is an agreement on the significance of this industry and the potential it carries. That makes it rather odd that the government fails to provide the funding required, Norvoll said during the opening of the GeoNor conference in Mo i Rana, Norway, according to a press statement.
In 2016, the government cut the allocations to the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) by 25.3 million Norwegian kroner (appr. 3 million USD) in order to fund the refugee crisis. This money has not been returned in this year's state budget, which means a halt to a geophysical and geological mapping program aimed at preparing the ground for further development of the mineral industry in Norway.
Kristin Skogen Lund, Director general of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), supports Norvoll.
– The Green Shift requires minerals, and in Norway we have a significant potential as well as resources, she says. She argues that the exploration of minerals in Norway must be increased, and that the industry should be provided with the necessary predictability.
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