The Norwegian Directorate of Mining with the Commissioner of Mines at Svalbard ( no, Bergvesenet med Bergmesteren for Svalbard) is a Norwegian

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

responsible for administrating the extraction of mineral resources within the kingdom. The directorate is subordinate to the

Ministry of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

and co-located with the Norwegian Geological Survey in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, with a separate office in

Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, locally �lɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən "The Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ...

. A total of 18 employees see to the administration of mining legislation, registering

claims Claim may refer to: * Claim (legal) * Claim of Right Act 1689 * Claims-based identity * Claim (philosophy) * Land claim * A ''main contention'', see conclusion of law * Patent claim * The assertion of a proposition; see Douglas N. Walton * A ri ...

, approving mine plans and supervising the

extractive industry Extractivism is the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market. It exists in an economy that depends primarily on the extraction or removal of natural resources that are considered valuable for exportation w ...

. It is also the supervisory authority concerning

environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

for planned extraction.

History

The directorate was created in 1986 when the five mining authority districts were merged into one agency. This process was concluded in 1994. From 2003 the Commission er Mines at Svalbard was merged into the directorate.

References

Government agencies of Norway Mining law and governance Mining in Norway Politics of Svalbard {{Svalbard-stub