Fearing more stone blockage

On June 19, the company announced it will need to halt development of the first stope panel in the ecotone zone and the panel will therefore be 216 meters shorter than planned. This amounts to a production loss of 128,000 tons of coal, equivalent to 6.5 percent of the normal annual production for Store Norse. The value of this coal depends on market prices, but at 80 dollars per ton would amount to about 61 million kroner.

Considerations
Along with geologists and rock engineers, Managing Director Per Andersson had a full examination before the decision. Now the company is considering drilling extra holes to avoid more surprises.

"It's not a pleasant surprise that we have to deviate from the plan and must leave the coal, that none of us likes," he said. "At the same time, this is a panel in the outer part of the field and there will always be some uncertainty as to the actual conditions in the mountain compared to what core drilling has told us."