Coal Mining at Svalbard
1918, Svalbard
2
black and white photographies
no. 1: 9,78 × 14,29 cm
no. 2: 19,77 × 28,86 cm
Photography: Sigvald Moa
National
Archives of Norway
RA/PA-1632/D/L0001/0007 and 0009
Coal was the most important energy source in the world from the late 19th to mid 20th century, when it was overtaken by petroleum and natural gas. In recent decades, however, variations in the commercial value of coal and a growing awareness of environmental issues along with policies destined to assure long-term sustainability have all affected the extraction of coal and the nature of the industry.Svalbard, featured here, is an archipelago in the Arctic sea, north of mainland Europe.
In the 17th and 18th centuries the islands were primarily used as a base for whaling activities. In the early twentieth century coal extraction began and became the dominant commercial activity in the islands. Treaties in the 1920s recognised Norwegian sovereignty in the archipelago, and various settlements dedicated to coal mining, both Norwegian and Russian, were created in Svalbard. For many decades, the coal industry in Svalbard was of critical value for Norways economy.
The photographies capture mining activities and mining works in Svalbard in the early decades of the 20th century. In recent decades, the mining industry has progressively diminished on Svalbard. An epoch of intense coal extraction at Svalbard is coming to an end, at the same time as geopolitics has elevated the strategic importance of the Arctic archipelago.