3. Implementation experiences
declared that the Sámediggi wished to take a positive stance vis-à-vis the possibility of mineral
activities and had therefore submitted a draft proposal for parliamentary hearings about how
the Sámediggi should position itself with regard to such activities (Minutes, 11.08.2009).
The Sámediggi further underlined that the draft mineral guide was not a draft regulation or
draft law but an attempt to overcome a situation in which the Sámediggi had to say no to
all mineral activities. It recalled that the Sámediggi had twice said no to the Minerals Act
and the activities regulated by that act. It was that political reality that the proposed guide
took into account and sought to handle in a constructive manner. It pointed out that the
Sámediggi had contacts with the mineral business and mineral companies and its experience demonstrated that, if the Sámediggi said no to a given activity, the company concerned
would stop its activity (Minutes, 11.08.2009).
In his response, the Minister said that the Government would provide a coordinated response
on the draft, underlining that the Sámediggi had neither the authority nor the competence to
impose fees, or to impose a duty on companies to negotiate or adopt regulations, as might have
been perceived. In addition, the Minister underlined that the Minerals Act included a number
of points on which the Government and the Sámediggi did agree (Minutes, 11.08.2009).
The draft mineral guide of the Sámediggi was also discussed at the subsequent biannual
meeting in December 2009. At that meeting, the Ministry of Business and Trade (Næringsog handelsdepartementet) pointed out that the Sámediggi’s Mineral Guide would not be
legally binding (Minutes, 15.12.2009). The Ministry suggested that, instead, it might make
sense for the Sámediggi to have internal rules on how to position itself with regard to mineral
businesses (Minutes, 15.12.2009). Among other issues, the Sámediggi highlighted the need
for a predictable policy vis-à-vis mineral companies (Minutes, 15.12.2009).
At the biannual meeting in June 2010, the Sámediggi reported that it had now adopted
the Mineral Guide (Sámediggi, 2010a), as it could not give its consent to the Minerals Act,
given concerns over protection of natural resources, participation in decision-making processes and benefit-sharing mechanisms (Minutes, 14.06.2010). The Sámediggi noted that
its option was to object strongly to any mineral operations or to develop procedures for the
Sámediggi to undertake a separate assessment of each individual mineral project that operators wished to undertake (Minutes, 14.06.2010).
The Mineral Guide defines as its purpose the need to ensure that concern for Sami culture,
economic activities and social life is valued and addressed in the context of plans for use of
mineral resources. The Guide determines the expectations which the Sámediggi has of companies and the form of its collaboration with companies that wish to reach agreement with
the Sámediggi regarding search and exploration operations and plans for exploitation licenses
related to mineral resources. (Sámediggi, 2010a: 3).
In brief, as recorded in the minutes of the June 2010 biannual meeting, the Guide clarifies
the role of the Sámediggi in the context of exploration, exploitation and operation in the
traditional Sami area. The Guide is aimed at ensuring transparency and predictability. The
intention of the Mineral Guide is that the Sami, through the Sámediggi, are able to negotiate
about exploratory activities and operations to ensure that the Sami share in the benefits of
such business. In addition, the Sámediggi emphasized that it has as its aim the achievement
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