...The Sámi families...in Tarvantovaara wilderness area fear the world’s hunger for metals to ramp up the green economy will destroy their indigenous way of life...Studies made by the Geological Survey of Finland show findings of nickel, copper, vanadium and cobalt, all being minerals highly demanded in the production of electric vehicle batteries...

For Minna Näkkäläjärvi, the battle to save her part of Lapland has just started. “It’s not possible for reindeer husbandry and mining to co-exist in the same area,” she says. “The grazing land and migration routes vary from year to year depending on natural conditions,” she explains...Sámi traditions may vanish too if reindeer herding disappears. The Sámi peoples...are the only Indigenous peoples in the European Union...

In February 2020, the Finnish branch of the Dutch-based Akkerman Exploration made a notification reservation. The reservation was approved by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency in April. Jan H. Akkerman, Managing Director of Akkerman Finland OY, says more early-stage exploration studies are needed and that no decision is yet taken on whether or not to apply for an exploration permit...Akkerman welcomes dialogue with local stakeholders and makes clear that a decision whether to apply for an exploration permit or not will be taken after all have had a chance to present their opinion and submitted possible complaints.

For Minna, the assurance that no mining will start without dialogue is not soothing. “Nobody ever asked us before they started geological surveys in the mountain. If mining is approved, we have no rights to appeal according to Finnish law.”...When the mining reservation became known, Minna started a website collecting names for a petition calling on a permanent ban on mining in the municipality of Enontekiö. After two weeks, more than 6,000 people had signed...“We as a people, can’t take the risk that the encroaching mining companies lay waste on our lands and leave us with toxic, barren wastelands,” she states...

The Sámi Parliament has appealed against the mining reservation...“The appeals might not have any impact because the Supreme Administration Court in 2013 decided that under the Mining Act, reindeer herders, reindeer-herders cooperatives and the Sámi Parliament have no right to appeal on reservations in the Sámi homeland. This right is reserved to competing companies only.”...