ABSTRACT
The Arctic regions represent industrial frontier areas. Large parts are public land and other parts belong to the indigenous people. To enhance development mining regulations are lenient, e.g. tax incentives or large mining acreage. Environmental awareness may change this, and require impact assessments prior to future development. Svalbard represents a unique situation: No indigenous inhabitants; Neither private nor public land prior to 1925; Until recently mining was the sole all-year commercial activity; Prospect evaluation has been decided by economy and environmental issues, although international politics should also be credited. Presently Store Norske is developing a new mine at Svea. Comparatively, this may be one of the most economic and environmentally acceptable coal mines on a global scale. Despite the economic an environmental benefits, there are still numerous discussions whether coal mining is acceptable in highly specialized and sensitive ecosystems like the Arctic.
