May need a billion to resume work at a Svalbard mine

Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani ASLongyearbyen / Svalbard. Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani AS (SNSK) Photo: Tore Meek / NTB scanpix
Store Norske mining company may need as much as a billion  in order to  to commence with the work in Lunckefjell mine on Svalbard , after the recent stop in activity , according to a new analysis.
The government  in February proposed to continue operating  the mines in Svea and Lunckefjell Svalbard for the next three years. The idea is that the community should be given time to build up new industries while the possibility remains open for the start of mining operations if coal prices should pick up again.
According to the local newspaper Svalbardposten and according to the preliminary calculations from Deloitte, the state-owned mining company Store Norske, which owns the mine, may need over 1 billion if they later wish to resume the work in Lunckefjell.
“An eventual startup will also incur costs of about 30 million. kroner (depending on time), and it will require substantial liquidity. The need will vary with the price of coal, but can be over 1 billion NOK, this can probably be  partly financed externally, given that the start happens as a consequence of the prices increasing in such  a way that profitable operations may be expected, “the company said in its analysis, according to the newspaper.
The government has already proposed to allocate NOK 650 million to Store Norske to nurture Mine 7 on Svalbard in the years ahead while continuing the shutdown at Svea and Lunckefjell.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today