INTRODUCTION

This report portrays the opinion of the author (and the arguments supporting it) and is his interpretation of the data he has collected. The author does not believe that this report is flawless. It is nearly impossible to set forth an opinion that is free from all error. Moreover, the author has not had access to all the documentation and data necessary to write an even more thorough treatment of the issue at hand. (The EXCOM has refused to answer inquiries from church members and has in its possession many documents which would have improved this document.) However, the author does not think that the main tenets of his argument will be disproven upon inspection and by the publication of more data.

If the reader finds any factual errors or grievously wrong interpretation in this report, he or she is encouraged to contact the author and share corrections or points with him, which he will most happily take into consideration. If these furnish the occasion, the author will correct this report accordingly and publish an updated version.

The Importance of the Mining Case

For several months, the project of Heidelberg Materials and Eden inc. in the town of Þorlákshöfn and the Þrengslin Pass has been prominent in the Icelandic media. The project is based on a contract between the Icelandic Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (IC) and Eden inc. about the mines in Mt. Lambafell and Mt. Litla-Sandfell. The project is of such magnitude that it will not only transform an entire town but in fact the appearance and policy of an entire municipality. The estimated profit will run in billions of ISK (the Icelandic currency króna). The project is the largest business project that the IC has ever been involved in since Adventism arrived to Iceland. This “mining case” has become the most controversial case of the last decades in the IC. Despite the obvious importance of the mining case, over the last few years the EXCOM has refused as much as possible to answer inquiries and criticism from the church members. The EXCOM has provided some answers, but the answers have been reluctant and late and neither substantial nor clear. The case is therefore quite strange and unique in the history of Icelandic Adventism and the conduct of the EXCOM as it relates to the case has yet to be explained (the EXCOM signed a new contract with Eden inc. in 2022 and has tried to stop investigation into its former contracts with Eden inc. from 2008 and 2009).

Purpose of the Present Document

As increasingly many church members started to investigate the mining case over the last few years, they were able to gather some information. Though this information was not comprehensive and did not answer all their questions, it is the opinion of the author that there are strong arguments for the opinion that the present EXCOM has violated the bylaws of the IC, has allowed Eden inc. to violate the former contracts (from 2008 and 2009), and has shown an inexcusable conduct by negotiating a new contract with Eden (in 2022) and by refusing to show this contract in full to church members. This opinion is not baseless insinuations. It is supported by the GCAS report and legal memos of Icelandic lawyers.

As long as the EXCOM refuses to provide church members with information about the mining case, and as long church members have not made an informed decision about the case in its entirety, the case remains unsolved and open.

But how are church members supposed to inform themselves and understand the case? To make the mining case as accessible and comprehensible as possible, I have decided to set forth the information I have been able to collect in a simple manner. This has been possible because so much of the information about the case can now be found in public documents. By now it is clear what questions the EXCOM has yet to answer – and what the main alleged breaches of contract are.

I hope that this report will help the reader to understand better what the mining case really is about and that we as a denomination can solve the case successfully as soon as possible.