Last Updated on May 25, 2026
A major mining project in Norway is drawing criticism from Indigenous Sámi (Saami) communities, who warn that the development threatens reindeer herding lands that have sustained their culture and livelihoods for generations.
The proposed Nussir copper mine is being advanced in Norway’s far north, within the traditional territory of the Sámi peoples, Europe’s only officially recognized Indigenous population. The project is majority owned by the Canadian company Blue Moon Metals.
Supporters of the mine argue that it will help supply the copper needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure and battery technologies, while strengthening Europe’s access to critical minerals and reducing reliance on foreign imports.
For many Sámi leaders, however, the project highlights a growing contradiction at the heart of the global energy transition: efforts to reduce carbon emissions are increasingly driving industrial expansion into Indigenous territories.
The company maintains that the project has undergone extensive environmental review and consultation processes. It also argues that the project can coexist with traditional land uses.
Many Sámi leaders reject those assurances. Reindeer herding organizations have long argued that industrial development fragments grazing areas and migration routes that are essential to maintaining herds.
Because reindeer husbandry depends on access to large interconnected landscapes, even localized infrastructure such as roads, transmission lines, ports and mining facilities can have far-reaching impacts on traditional livelihoods.
A comparable controversy is unfolding in neighboring Sweden.
As IC Magazine reported last month, authorities approved the Nunasvaara South graphite project proposed by the Australian-based Talga Group despite objections from Sámi communities who say the mine threatens traditional reindeer herding areas.
Sámi representatives argued that consultations surrounding the graphite project were inadequate and failed to meet international standards, including the principle of free, prior and informed consent outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Talga, like Nussir’s proponents in Norway, maintains that mining activities can coexist with traditional Sámi land use.
For many Sámi advocates, the question is not whether critical minerals are needed for a low-carbon future, but whether that future will be built in a way that respects Indigenous rights and protects the landscapes that Indigenous peoples have stewarded for centuries.
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
