The mining company Dragon Mining's application to mine gold both in opencast mines and underground covered 500,000 tonnes of ore per year and 22 million tonnes of waste rock landfill above ground.
According to the plan, the ore would be transported by truck to a concentrator in Svartliden, 30 km from Fäbodliden.
The increase in vehicles on the stretch would more than quadruple and there would be too great safety risks for unprotected road users and noise for residents along the road, the court says.
Belief in the future again
The court also considers that since the reindeer grazing lands in the area are already heavily exploited by wind farms and it is already problematic to conduct reindeer husbandry in the area, the impact of a mine would further complicate the possibilities for sustainable reindeer husbandry.
Jon Mikael Labba, reindeer herder in Vapsten Sami village, is relieved.
- It has always felt like we have so little to say about so this ruling made it easier and now I have gained new strength and faith in the future again.
There is so much encroachment on these lands, if there had been a mine here, there would be no room for us, says Jon Mikael Labba who has had a bad feeling and doubted in which direction the verdict would go.
Jon Mikael Labba believes that when this mining company has been rejected, the exploration permit applications in that area should decrease.
How would a mine in that area have affected your reindeer husbandry?
- We would not be able to use this land if it had been a mine here.
The land is such that you have to let the reindeer graze scattered in order for them to be able to assimilate the grazing there.
It is not possible to keep the reindeer close together.
All the infrastructure and traffic that a mine entails would have made it impossible to use those lands, Jon Mikael Labba explains.
Negative impact
With regard to discharges to water and the environmental impact on watercourses, according to the court, it has been difficult to get an overview and it has also made it more difficult to assess whether a Natura 2000 permit can be granted.
- The operation can significantly impede reindeer husbandry and the impact from the heavy ore transports is not acceptable to the nearby residents.
We assess that a gold mine in Fäboliden cannot be given such a high priority that it outweighs the disadvantages that the business would entail.
Nor have sufficient protective measures been proposed that could alleviate this negative impact, says councilor Magnus Bygdemark in a press release.