This homepage is based on a conference which took place March 21,22,23, 2023

Arctic Mining: Environmental issues, mitigation and pollution control for marine and coastal mining

Description of the conference:

Reduced sea ice means that the Arctic is opening up for shipping; meanwhile, there is a growing global demand for minerals driven by the transition to green energy. In response, most Arctic nations support strategies for developing a mining industry that strikes a balance between meeting the demand for minerals and achieving sustainable development, while protecting communities and ecologically sensitive landscapes and marine environments.

Canada and Kingdom of Denmark are jointly organizing this workshop with a shared goal of identifying and deepening our understanding of how to mitigate the impacts of mining on marine environments. This workshop aims to share lessons learned from an environmental and technical perspective.

Overall Workshop Objective:

To identify and better understand key lessons on mitigating impacts of mining on marine environments, and to share lessons from an environmental and technical perspective. In addition, we aim to improve the knowledge base about the potential impacts of mining to support informed decisions, and to identify how the impacts can be minimized.

Through the workshop, we aim to clarify and broaden our understanding of good marine environmental practices in mining with input from across the circumpolar Arctic. We will achieve this by:

• Exchanging case experiences on environmental impact of arctic mining and distilling the lessons – what have we learned, and looking ahead, what should be considered?
• Building practical solutions and guidelines for mining and development, inspiring positive actions going forward; and
• Building professional networks to support one another, fostering an exchange of ideas and information (amongst professionals in a given sector, such as regulators from different jurisdictions).

This workshop will include three days of keynote speakers, short lightning talks, as well as panel discussions and breakouts from key scientists, industry, Arctic Indigenous and community organizations, government agencies and more. During the workshop, we will also facilitate break-out discussions, with topics shaped by the issues and interests identified by participants.