STRANGE ARRANGEMENT OF THE MINING OPERATION

The author has spoken to several mine owners and mining operators. When the author has explained to them the arrangement of the IC in regard to their mines and their operation, these parties all say that they are not aware of any similar case in Iceland. Their comments cast a shadow on the statement of the GCAS representative at the GCAS meeting when he affirmed that the arrangement of the IC and Eden Mining was conventional in Iceland.[1] 

In Iceland, mine owners sometimes operate their mines themselves. But usually, another company runs the mine for the mine owner. The operation comprises the extraction of the mined material, its refinement/further processing, and its sale (or usage, if the company mines the material for company use).

For clarification, this information is set forth in the following table. The landowner owns a mine and makes a contract with the mining operator (the mining rights holder). The operator operates the mine (mines the material, sometimes refines or processes it, and sells or uses it).

PUT IN TABLE

The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (IRCA) neither mines the material from the mines nor refines/processes it. IRCA hires contractors to mine and process the material, e.g. Myllan inc. in the East of Iceland. But neither Myllan (the contractor) nor IRCA (the mining rights holder) sells the material. Instead, IRCA uses the material directly for road construction and other projects. Myllan inc. is therefore simply a contractor and not the actual mining operator. 

In the table above, there are mines at the same place as the IC-owned mines (the other two mines in Mt. Lambafell), as well as some of the largest mining operators in the country (e.g., Steypustöðin). Neither the neighbors of Eden Mining nor these large mining operators arrange their operation in the same fashion as the IC. The mining operators whom the author conversed with said they knew of no other example that arranged its mining operation like the IC and Eden Mining. The arrangement of the IC and Eden Mining therefore seems to be exceptional in the whole country. 

As was mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, the author has spoken to many mining operators. They have all stated that they simply do not comprehend the arrangement of the IC and Eden Mining, how the IC can accept that Eden Mining takes a considerable amount of the mining operation profit for doing nothing except being an unnecessary intermediary.

[1] Cf. the chapter on the GCAS investigation in this document.