Eco-activists block entrance to Europe’s northernmost copper mine project

On Saturday morning activists are blocking the entrance to the tunnel at the Repparfjord mining project. Photo: Jannik Abel / Nature and Youth Eco-activists block entrance to Europe’s northernmost copper mine project The activists are demanding that permission to dump tailings into the Repparfjord should be withdrawn because of the negative impact on the marine life and coastal indigenous Sami culture. Thomas Nilsen Thomas Nilsen 24 January 2026 - 07:43 More than 70 people from all over Norway entered the mining facility in the early hours on Saturday. They are now blocking both the road to the construction area and the entrance of the tunnel to the underground mining operation currently under development.The action is coordinated by Nature and Youth, a nationwide environmental group in Norway.Demonstrations like this are illegal. The protesters cut the lock on the gate before they walked into the construction site. Police have several times over the last year detained activists near the mine. The project to develop a sub-surface mine is controversial because the tailings will be dumped into the Repparfjord, a national salmon fjord important for Sámi who fish in the northernmost part of Norway.The Norwegian government’s decision to allow the mining company Nussir to extract copper from underneath a mountain plateau in the Hammerfest municipality triggers a tricky environmental dilemma between protecting the pristine Arctic nature versus providing the world with minerals highly needed for the green shift.Authorities have granted the Nussir mining company permission to deposit up to two million tons of excess rock annually into the fjord. The copper is needed for the green shift, the government argued when the permission to dump the tailings was granted. Resources at the Nussir deposit are estimated at 74 million tonnes of copper ore, by far the largest copper resource in Norway. Environmentalists, however, argue that dumping at sea is done because it is the cheapest available solution, although it is harmful to the marine environment. Norway is one of only four countries in the world allowing the mining industry to use fjords as dumpsites for tailings. The others are Indonesia, Turkey and Papua New Guinea. The Repparfjord is located in the Hammerfest municipality in Finnmark, northernmost Norway. Photo: Thomas Nilsen  "A lot has changed in the last 10 years since the discharge permit was granted," says Helene Sofie Smit, a board member with Nature and Youth."New studies show that several spawning grounds for coastal cod will be severely damaged by the marine dumping," she says and adds: "Wild salmon have become permanent fixtures on the red list. Now it is more important than ever that we manage to put nature above short-term profit." One of the activists blocking the entrance to the mine is Sámi artist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen. She makes clear that the Nussir mine is not at all welcome in 2026.The mining projects completely destroy the future basis for coastal Sámi culture and fjords that are alive.  Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen (left) and Helene Sofie Smit are two of the eco-protesters blocking the entrance to the Nussir mining project Saturday morning. Photo: Rasmus Berg / Nature and Youth The activists are blocking the road to the mining construction area. Photo: Jannik Abel / Nature and Youth "We promise a hell - No dumping of tailing in the Repparfjord" the banner reads. Photo: Jannik Abel / Nature and Youth nussir mine copper mining sámi culture repparfjord news environmental impact