For over a decade, two copper mines have been planned in northern Norway. Copper is a key resource for wind and solar technologies and, since 2024, has been promoted as strategic under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. But the waste from these mines would be disastrous for local fish populations, fisheries, and reindeer herding. Particularly at risk are the Repparfjord a protected salmon habitat and the Fiettàr reindeer grazing district, where the animals give birth to their calves. The latter is the very basis of life for the Indigenous Sámi. Together with Voices, they resisted, at times successfully: for example, Credit Suisse withdrew under Sámi pressure. Yet the struggle continues. Since the takeover by Blue Moon Metals in November and the classification as a strategic EU project, the venture has gained new momentum. In the summer of 2025, the conflict escalated again when the first explosions occurred during the reindeer calving season.
Repparfjord is a small fjord in Norway’s far north, in Finnmark. With its salmon stocks, it is a protected area of high ecological significance and indispensable for local fisheries. Nearby also live Sámi communities, for whom the surrounding pastures are essential for reindeer herding. But beneath the ground lie copper deposits, which the mining company Nussir ASA had been aiming to exploit since 2014 until it was taken over by Blue Moon Metals in 2024 and merged with Nye Sulitjelma Gruver. Today, Blue Moon Metals is part of a broader energy and economic trend: global copper mining has surged and is considered vital for the energy transition, digitalization, and military buildup.
Copper is not only a highly efficient conductor of electricity but also an indispensable component of wind and solar power installations. It is precisely for this reason that Nussir was classified as a strategic project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). With the CRMA, the EU aims to secure supplies of critical raw materials, reduce dependencies, and provide targeted support for certain projects.
Sámi people’s homeland under threat
In the meantime, the new owner Blue Moon Metals is pushing the project forward. Large-scale copper ore extraction is planned at the Nussir and Ulveryggen sites. From the perspective of the local Sámi communities and Voices, the project threatens the environment and violates Sámi rights especially since free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) has so far been absent. The copper mining, the operation of the mines, and the construction of the necessary infrastructure are all to take place on Sámi reindeer herding land. This would endanger traditional reindeer herding in the area and, with it, the livelihood and culture of the Indigenous communities.
But that is not all: the dumping of millions of tons of mining waste into the Repparfjord is also planned. These residues contain heavy metals and chemicals and would be discharged directly into a protected salmon habitat. Experts warn that this would severely endanger fish stocks, coastal fisheries, and the entire ecosystem.
In March 2019, the environmental organization Naturvernforbundet, the Sámi Parliament, and reindeer herders filed a lawsuit against the operating license granted to Nussir ASA, arguing that issuing the license violated the national and international rights of the Indigenous Sámi. To this day, the case remains pending.
In the video, Sami representatives talk about their perception of the planned copper mines in the Repparfjord.
Credit Suisse under pressure
Until 2020, the Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CS) was also involved in these plans: according to research by Voices, the bank acted as a so-called nominee shareholder, managing 20.6 percent of the shares in Nussir ASA for then-unknown clients until 2019. Through its role behind the Norwegian company Monial AS, the major bank thus held responsibility for the second-largest share of the company. The affected Sámi communities, the Norwegian Sámi Parliament, and Voices called on Credit Suisse to renounce its role as nominee shareholder until an agreement with the affected Sámi was reached. In 2019, Voices launched a campaign highlighting CS’s involvement under the slogan “Stop banking against the Sámi!” to put public pressure on the Swiss bank and draw attention to its responsibility for violations of Indigenous rights.
In December 2020, Credit Suisse finally responded to the demands of the Sámi communities and Voices: the bank gave up the management of Nussir ASA shares and has since ceased to be involved as a nominee shareholder. This was a partial victory: with the withdrawal, the previously confidential identity of the actual investor was revealed, who then had to take responsibility directly. After Nussir signed a memorandum of understanding with Aurubis AG, Europe’s largest copper producer, the project moved forward. Sámi communities continued to fight the project through all political and legal means, and also engaged in talks with Aurubis. In the summer of 2021, young activists joined local fishers and Indigenous Sámi on the shores of the Repparfjord to block construction of the mine. Their presence drew further attention from copper giant Aurubis, which announced that it was terminating its supply agreement with Nussir over sustainability concerns.
While Credit Suisse withdrew in 2020, Switzerland is once again linked to the project today through the commodities trader Hartree, which operates out of Geneva. In 2024/25, Hartree invested around C$12.5 million in Blue Moon Metals, acquiring nearly 8 percent of the shares, along with participation rights and a long-term offtake agreement for copper concentrate. This makes Hartree a strategic partner that now helps secure the implementation of the project.
The political struggle continues
With the takeover of Nussir ASA by Blue Moon Metals in November 2024, the project received new momentum: capital, sales markets, and direct control by the Canadian corporation. In June 2025, the first blasting took place right in the middle of the reindeer calving season. Following heavy criticism and protests, it was temporarily halted. Since then, Sámi and their supporters have repeatedly blocked the construction site, chained themselves to machinery, and were several times removed by police. Environmental organizations accuse Blue Moon Metals of acting without full permits already. Together with the Sámi communities, Voices was able to push the Swiss bank Credit Suisse to take responsibility and withdraw from the project. Yet for almost a decade now, the project has posed an acute threat to the local population.
Voices and the affected Sámi communities are thus holding fast to their demands:
- Sámi land rights must be recognized in all projects. In cases of agreements on land use, this requires fair compensation, for example through profit-sharing.
- The project must be stopped until an agreement has been reached with the affected Sámi.
- All actors must respect the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in all future investment projects. This ensures that Indigenous rights are upheld and their participation is guaranteed. This also applies to projects for renewable energy.
