(Post 2 of 4) Team leader Joachim Myhrvang shows us the dirty zone where miners get their work clothes each day. From here, they drive more than five kilometers into the mountain in regular cars before switching to specialized mine vehicles. The underground commute takes about 15 minutes.
Our Journey
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(Post 3 of 4) This tunnel leads into the mine where the coal seams are between 120 and 160 cm high, so the men spend each day bent low. “The worst in the beginning is the knees,” says Joachim Myhrvang, “Then you get used to it – like everything else.” The mining method here is…
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(Post 4 of 4) Yes, this is the still Joachim. Back outside and all cleaned up, he’s turning his mind to other things. This boat, the 44′ Ocean Ice, is Joachim’s pride and joy. He’s getting ready to sail her from Bergen up to Svalbard this summer and he had big plans to explore. If…
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Longyearbyen, coal mining and the men’s choir
(Post 1 of 6) Elisabeth Larsen led Eric and I to one of the most magical musical experiences we’ve ever had, and we met her outside the office of the local coal mining company, Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani. Longyearbyen is home to the only coal-burning power plant in Norway. It’s just outside Elisabeth’s office. The…
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(Post 2 of 6) Look at these happy gents and welcome to the Store Norske Mandskor’s annual concert. This is the local men’s choir, named after the mining company, and Eric and I have rarely seen such a combination of skill and heart, and it left me bursting with joy From stirring harmonies about mining…
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(Post 3 of 6) Meet Espen Rotevatn – conductor, music teacher, former church organist and the leader of the newly established Green Party on Svalbard. He’s wearing a few layers because the show took place in an abandoned and unheated mine building that you can see from everywhere in town. Espen opposes mining, but he…
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(Post 4 of 6) Soloists get to wear the hard hats. This is Oddmund Rønning, head of the Liberal Democrats. See the crowd in the next post.
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(Post 5 of 6) It was a packed house at the concert. The abandoned coal packing hub was chilly, but everyone here has the clothes for it. Plus, the choir kept us laughing throughout, which warms the body and the soul.”It’s a magical building,” said Sveinung Lystrup, the show’s MC, “and it just stands here’…
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(Post 6 of 6) The choir’s full story came out in the pub after the show. Between spontaneous bouts of singing, we talked to the head of the trade union, an architect, leaders of three political parties, a teacher, the priest, several staff from the mining company and others. Coal mining is controversial, so why…
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Longyearbyen, Svalbard
(Post 1 of 5) Helge Hovland is the first person I met when I arrived in Longyearbyen. He was driving a bus. He came to Svalbard when he was six years old, and he knows everyone. He says that he likes to stay behind the scenes, but he has introduced us to more people than…
