Green Minerals expects delay to Norway's first deep-sea mining licensing round

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Norwegian seabed mining start-up Green Minerals said on Monday it expects a delay of up to 12 months in Norway's first licensing round after the government had to scrap a planned announcement in return for support for the annual fiscal budget.

"The company does not change its estimated timeline for first ore, still expected to take place in the very end of the 2020's," Green Minerals said in a statement.

A small leftwing environmentalist political party in Norway succeeded on Sunday in blocking plans to mine the sea bed at the bottom of the Arctic, by demanding the government scrap its first licensing round in return for support for the budget.

The government, which had planned to offer its first deep-sea mining exploration permits in the first half of 2025, said that although the plan was suspended, preparatory work would continue, including creating regulations and mapping the environmental impact.

At least three Norwegian seabed mineral start-ups - Loke, Green Minerals and Adepth, have previously said they planned to bid in the first licensing round.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Terje Solsvik)