Norway - Svalbard Mine 3 Coal Mine

The history of coal mining is fundamental to the existence and development of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway. The town owes its establishment to coal mining activities initiated in 1906. The city is named after John Munro Longyear, an American entrepreneur who pioneered coal mining in the area. Longyear managed the operations for a decade before selling his interests in 1916 to a Norwegian coal company, which acquired the Arctic Coal Company from him. This company later became the Store Norske Spitsbergen Coal Company (SNSK), which continues to hold ownership of the mines in the region. Over time, SNSK developed seven mines in Longyearbyen. Today, six of these mines have ceased operations, with only Mine 7 remaining active. Mine 7 continues to produce coal, which powers the only coal-fueled power plant in Norway.

Mine 3 was operational from 1971 to 1996 and was one of the last low-drift mines, characterized by coal seams measuring only 60 to 90 centimeters in thickness. Visitors can tour the mine's facilities outside the mountain, including workshops and equipment left exactly as they were on the day the mine closed. This preserved state provides an authentic glimpse into the lives and work of the miners. Upon entering the building, the atmosphere evokes a vivid sense of the mine's past activity.

A 300-meter walk into the mountain leads to coal seams and other historical artifacts. Among these is a significant project undertaken in 1984 by the Nordic Gene Bank. A container with seeds was placed in a side tunnel of the mine to test their longevity in the mountain's natural temperatures over a 100-year period. Every five years, a sample is retrieved for analysis, a process that will continue until 2084.

Furthermore, the mountain hosts a contemporary initiative known as the Arctic World Archive, a project aimed at securely storing data for up to 500 years or longer.