Opportunities for UK mining companies in the Arctic region
Major developments expected in the next year with opportunities available for UK businesses to form partnerships and secure contracts.
Dump truck © James Lauritz / Digital Vision / Getty Images
According to the Fraser Institute Global Mining Survey and industry respondents, the Arctic countries together rank as the top 7 most attractive mining destinations in the world. The key destinations include:
Opportunities
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is calling for UK companies interested in developing their business to get in touch to find out more about opportunities in the Arctic region. Local UKTI offices will have the local knowledge and contacts to help you develop your business.
The region offers a wealth of opportunities to UK businesses across different products and services. These include:
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exploration and mining
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construction and infrastructure
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financial and professional services
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equipment and machinery
Finland
According to the Fraser Institute, Finland is the most attractive country in the world for exploration and mining. This is mainly due to:
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rich mineral potential
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availability of geological data
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strong infrastructure
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political stability
The Finnish geology offers good prospects for mining and the probabilities for new discoveries are excellent. Finnish mining projects have included the excavation of iron, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, as well as ores containing critical and rare-earth elements.
The metallic mineral mine projects for the next 5 years indicates several billion direct investments into mine expansions including Kemi, Pampalo, Yara Siilinjärvi mines. Also new construction at Suhanko, Mustavaara, Taivaljärvi, Kuusamo, Hannukainen, Sokli mines.
Norway
With its considerable mineral resources, the Norwegian mining industry has excellent opportunities for growth. At the present, the industry has a few relatively large companies, primarily dealing in the extraction of iron ore, certain industrial minerals and coal.
In 2011 there were only three producers of metallic ores in Norway . However the prospect of increasing demand for metals has led to renewed interest in metal mining in the country.
Mineral exploration in particular has increased dramatically in the recent years. In addition, the Government of Norway is determined to be an attractive country for mining and political goodwill towards the activity exists.
Canada
Canada is one of the largest mining countries in the world. It ranks in the top 5 countries in the global production of potash, uranium, aluminium, cobalt, titanium, tungsten, cadmium, diamonds, platinum, sulphur and nickel.
Mining contributed $52.6 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2012 and more than 400,000 people across Canada work in the mining and mineral processing industries. The country also ranked as the world’s top destination for exploration spending in 2012 and the sector’s economic prospects remain bright.
Sweden
Sweden is the European Union’s strongest mining nation, producing over 90% of the EU’s iron ore and almost 20% of its base and precious metals.
The Swedish government is committed to improving infrastructure connected to mining and to improve regulation to advance both environmental protection and competitiveness in the industry.
The Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB is so committed to its activities in the northern town of Kiruna that it is funding a 5km move of the town centre in order to ensure continued operations.
Greenland
Greenland is moving up on the global mining agenda.
It has received recent attention due to major developments seen with London Mining being awarded the license for the ISUA project which is now being moved ahead. The project provides huge opportunities for UK companies both short - and long term. The project includes:
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construction of harbour facilities
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power projects
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process plants
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road and airstrip construction
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work creating the mine itself
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facilities for the approximately 700 people working there who need water, power, food and shelter for from the elements
Contacts
If you wish to find out more about market prospects for your business in the Arctic region contact:
James Carey
Email: james.carey@ukti.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 721 5 2479