Old coal mines clo­sed

Coal mining has always been an important part of Lon­gye­ar­by­en, though of decre­asing importance today. The signi­fi­can­ce of coal mining is imme­dia­te­ly visi­ble for every visi­tor to Lon­gye­ar­by­en, as old coal mines can be seen in many places near Lon­gye­ar­by­en. Some of the­se old mines, such as mine 2B abo­ve Nyby­en, local­ly known as jule­n­is­se­gruve (San­ta Claus mine), are popu­lar sites for walks both for locals and visi­tors. The old mining instal­la­ti­ons are inte­res­t­ing, often with scenic views, and fasci­na­ting for pho­to­graph­ers.

The oppor­tu­ni­ties have recent­ly been great­ly redu­ced. Parts of the roof of a con­vey­or belt of mine 6 in Advent­da­len have col­lap­sed and the who­le mining faci­li­ty at mine 6 has been clo­sed to the public.
It is said that it will be made acces­si­ble again after dan­ge­rous parts have been remo­ved or secu­red. Lar­ge parts are still int­act. But the­re is curr­ent­ly no time plan and nobo­dy can say when the mine will be ope­ned again for visi­tors. The dif­fi­cult eco­no­mic situa­ti­on of the mining com­pa­ny, Store Nor­ske Spits­ber­gen Kul­kom­pa­ni, does not make it easier. At least ever­y­bo­dy invol­ved is awa­re of the high his­to­ri­cal and tou­ristic value of the old mining instal­la­ti­ons, which are part­ly pro­tec­ted as part of the cul­tu­ral heri­ta­ge. This means that seve­ral aut­ho­ri­ties have to be invol­ved in any work to clean up or secu­re the mines, some­thing that is unli­kely to speed up the pro­cess.

Curr­ent­ly, mine 1A (“Ame­ri­can mine”, abo­ve the church), 2B (“San­ta Claus mine”, abo­ve Nyby­en), 5 (End­a­len) and 6 (bet­ween Toda­len and Bol­terd­a­len) are clo­sed until fur­ther noti­ce.

At least, mine 3 is curr­ent­ly acces­si­ble as a muse­um for gui­ded groups.

Source: Sval­bard­pos­ten

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