Media attention on ScandiVanadium‘s plans for Österlen and eastern Skåne is really at a peak currently. Not only did all local and some national Swedish newspapers and TV report about the start of the drilling in Lyby and about the resistance to a Vanadium mine, but even the French Newspaper Le Monde had a long article about the ongoing mining conflict in Österlen. For ScandiVanadium it was of course important to get media attention. In their press release, which was published with short notice, they invited the media to follow the start of the drilling:
VetoNu has collected all articles and reports that have been published regarding ScandiVanadium, their ongoing drilling campaign in Lyby and their plans for opening Vanadium mines in the south Swedish Alum shale. This collection makes for an interesting reading!
In the newspapers and on TV, the CEO (David Minchin) and general manager (Alex Walker) of ScandiVanadium, repeat the same story over and over: five holes will be drilled in Lyby and that drilling each hole will take about 2-4 days. Thereafter samples will be sent to a laboratory for analyses. The results which are expected by end of October/beginning of November will direct further work. According to Minchin and Walker, ScandiVanadium‘s only interest is in saving Planet Earth (by mining Vanadium for use in batteries), whereas those who protest do not really understand. Mr. Walker believes that the worries and unease against the drilling is due to a lack of knowledge, that there is a silent majority, who is positive to ScandiVanadium and that the worries are not at all as big as some people say. “Our door is always open for those who would like talk“, is David Minchin quoted. Dear ScandiVanadium, my door is also always open, but so far you have not grasped the opportunity to discuss the local geology with me.
I think that most people, who oppose a Vanadium mine in the Alum shale, have enough knowledge and experience to understand what the consequences will be. People here in Skåne are not a priori against mines, but they are against mining the Alum shale, because they know out of experience what mining Alum shale entails. Please ScandiVanadium, you need to become aware of the fact that people in Skåne, who oppose your mining plans, are not stupid, but that they very well know what is at stake. There are enough examples of former mines in Alum shale in Sweden and of the mining waste that is still polluting the Baltic Sea, agricultural lands and groundwater. Skåne’s soils are used for forestry and agriculture and a large majority of Skåne’s population depends on these and on tourism, which is one of the largest employers in the region, says VetoNu‘s chair person Anita Ullman. Why trade forestry, agriculture, biodiversity, tourism for Vanadium, just because a company wants to dig here?
I found it quite interesting to read some of Minchin’s and Walker’s statements in the various newspapers. Alex Walker is cited to have said: “Others judge us based on our actions. We judge ourselves based on our intentions and I think that the protests are due because one has not correctly understood what it is we want to do. We want to contribute to a more sustainable future and therefore we will make sure that the mining will be made in a sustainable way” (my free translation of the Swedish text). Just let me add here that I have not seen a single mine (and I have googled really much) that is in any way sustainable.
In protests against the mining company, Skånska Dagblad’s reporter cites Alex Walker, who says that the soils in Skåne are unique and that the clay here is thick and rich. Maybe there was a misunderstanding between the reporter and Mr. Walker, or maybe Mr. Walker does not really know what he is talking about. We are not talking about clay (which is a sediment), but about Alum shale (which is a sedimentary rock that formed on the bottom of an ancient ocean and originally contained clay) and which is known for its content of toxic elements. There are so many varieties of clay and of shale, but here we deal with a shale that really is special.
In the hunt for Vandium has started, the reporter of Sydsvenskan enthusiastically follows the coring at Lyby, where as he writes, the landowners and the commune had given their okay, while “stubborn landowners in Tomelilla refuse to talk to the company” (i.e. ScandiVanadium) (my free translation from Swedish). Sydsvenskan reports that once ScandiVanadium has got permission for their mine, Vanadium will be processed onsite with a method which presses the mineral out under very high pressure. This sounds really easy, but Pressure Oxidation leaching (or this link, or this link) is by far not such a simple process as Mr. Minchin and Mr. Walker want to make people believe! ScandiVanadium‘s Mr. Minchin tells the reporter that this pressure cooker will look similar to the dairy firm at Lunnarp, with tanks and pipes. For those of you who do not know how Lunnarp’s dairy firm looks like, here is a picture.
Now just imagine that instead of milk, Vanadium will be processed, and especially Vanadium Pentoxide. Scroll to the section on Toxicity to learn about the health effects of Vanadium Pentoxide. I would say that producing milk is so much better than processing Vanadium!
Here is a document describing Pressure Oxidation, or POX at it is often called.
The company Outotec has a video on Youtube showing how such a processing plant could function, including an autoclave for POX. Outotec provides leading process technologies and services for metals and mining, industrial water treatment, alternative energy, and chemical industries. Outotec has, among others, developed a complete Pressure Oxidation plant. I could just not find a picture of how such a plant could look like, therefore I use a picture from the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, which could serve as an example for when the Lunnarp diary will be replaced by ScandiVanadium‘s Alum shale mine.
After having read through all the newspaper articles, I had another look at ScandiVanadium‘s Investor Presentation, where the company presents their ‘invisible mine philosophy’. Sure, it does look cute with these small lorries and the tractor, and the green fields, all clean and nice. But where is the POX plant? Where is the groundwater? Where are the dolerite dikes? Where is the Alum shale?
All this leaves me with numerous questions? Where will the Pressure Oxidation plant be built? How will the tons and tons of Alum shale that is being excavated (remember that the company plans to dig up between 160 and 1200 million tons of shale) to extract Vanadium be transported to the POX plant? How many lorries will transport the shale per day? How much pollution will this generate? Where will all the water come from to being used in the excavation and in the POX plant? What is being done with all the mining waste? How ‘clean’ will the mining waste really be? Can ScandiVanadium at all demonstrate, based on science and proven experience, how their sustainable mining philosophy will actually work, or is it just window dressing?
I think that politicians and the so-called silent majority should start asking really relevant questions to ScandiVanadium.
Barbara Wohlfarth 
