August 20, 2026 – Yesterday afternoon, the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) published its professional assessment recommending that Nordic Mining’s Engebø project be granted a temporary permit to continue dumping tailings into Førdefjorden.
The basis of that recommendation relies on an extreme reduction in tailings disposal by Engebø, which would allow the fjord to retain its “good” environmental assessment rating, and avoid the need to prove a “overriding public interest” exemption to deteriorate the fjord. An application of the same calculation standard to Nussir would require disposal in Reppafjord to be cut by 79-95%. The project is dead in the water.
Nussir, and Norway’s Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, know that they cannot rely on the Critical Raw Minerals Act (CRMA) to prove overriding public interest. CRMA Article 10 explicitly states that strategic projects “may be considered to have an overriding public interest provided that the conditions set out in [the Water Framework Directive] are fulfilled”. The Water Framework Directive (WFD), which forms the basis for EFTA Surveillance Authority’s (ESA) intention to seek Nussir’s permit revocation, is a priority for the EU over critical minerals.
In April 2026, Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment answered an EU consultation on reforming the WFD with a remarkable admission: "the [Water Framework] Directive effectively establishes an absolute limit, prohibiting projects that may degrade a water body below good status due to pollution", and even projects with the EU's own strategic-project stamp "might still not be approved under the WFD."
Unlike with Engebø, the NEA is legally bound to enter consultation with the Sámi community in relation to any permitting issues because of the 2021 Fosen ruling (HR-2021-1975-S). The NEA will not be able to rush a “temporary permit” recommendation with a short-window consultation during Norwegian public holidays, rejection of applications for extensions, and the “suck it and see” mentality with regards to environmental surveillance.
Our analysis shows a temporary permit would leave Engebø surviving on life support. Replicating that at Repparfjorden leaves Nussir with two tragic options: shrivel far enough to escape the legal test, at which point the mine's value falls into deep negatives, or continue burning cash while it meets its inevitable fate.
While it is not our primary focus: this report also address some of the NEA’s garbage reasoning on granting even a “temporary” permit to Engebø: a mine that produces no critical minerals, has faced astounding municipal and political opposition, and is so severely unprofitable that the Norwegian government may be left with the cleaning bill.
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