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Norway’s last Arctic miners struggle with coal mine’s end

'Merry Christmas' is written in Norwegian on the wall at the bottom of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miner Jonny Sandvoll works at the bottom of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. Sandvoll said he wished people understood more about coal and its uses before deciding to close the mine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) A coal miner operates machinery at the bottom of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Snow falls on a disused wire rope tramway in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. For more than 100 years, people came to the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to work in coal mines. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miner Bent Jakobsen walks to the break room of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miner Bent Jakobsen indicates a point on a map of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. "A long, long tradition is fading away," said Jakobsen. "We're the last miners. Makes me sad." (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miners rest during a shift in the break room of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The mine is scheduled to be shut down in two years, cutting carbon dioxide emissions in this fragile, rapidly changing environment, but also erasing the identity of a century-old mining community that fills many with deep pride even as the primary activities shift to science and tourism. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) A coal miner makes a sandwich in the break room of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The mine is scheduled to be shut down in two years, cutting carbon dioxide emissions in this fragile, rapidly changing environment, but also erasing the identity of a century-old mining community that fills many with deep pride even as the primary activities shift to science and tourism. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miners rest during a shift in the break room of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The mine is scheduled to be shut down in two years, cutting carbon dioxide emissions in this fragile, rapidly changing environment, but also erasing the identity of a century-old mining community that fills many with deep pride even as the primary activities shift to science and tourism. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miners rest during a shift in the break room of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The mine is scheduled to be shut down in two years, cutting carbon dioxide emissions in this fragile, rapidly changing environment, but also erasing the identity of a century-old mining community that fills many with deep pride even as the primary activities shift to science and tourism. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Crosses mark graves at the cemetery in Longyearbyen, Norway, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. The cemetery, established in 1917 for miners -- at least 124 died on duty since then -- is now considered in the "danger zone" from increasing avalanches and landslides. A new burial ground is in the works, though the approximately 30 old graves will not be moved, the Rev. Liv Simstrand said. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Trond Johansen, 70, and fellow retired miners gather for coffee at a coffee shop in Longyearbyen, Norway, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Reindeer rest beneath a disused wire rope tramway used for mining in Longyearbyen, Norway, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. For more than 100 years, people came to the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to work in coal mines. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) An old wire rope tramway leads from the Gruve 7 coal mine to Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. For more than 100 years, people came to the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to work in coal mines. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Light shines in a pathway descending into the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miners work at the bottom of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) A wall of coal is visible at the bottom of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miners refill machinery with oil at the bottom of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Coal miner Jonny Sandvoll poses for a portrait in the break room of the Gruve 7 coal mine in Adventdalen, Norway, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Gruve 7, the last Norwegian mine in one of the fastest warming places on earth, was scheduled to shut down this year and only got a reprieve through 2025 because of the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine. Sandvoll said he wished people understood more about coal and its uses before deciding to close the mine. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)