Reuters reported that Environmental activist group Greenpeace blocked on Friday a coal mine in Norway's Svalbard archipelago deep in the Arctic, protesting plans for more coal production in one of the world's northernmost regions.

More than a dozen protesters stopped a conveyor belt at the Svea mine carrying coal to a ship due to sail to Portugal with 70,000 tons this weekend.

Protester Mr Martin Norman said "Coal is a huge climate change factor yet Norway wants new mines in one of the most pristine regions in the world. He said some protesters planned to spend the night in a tent pitched on the conveyer belt, weather permitting. The weather there was sunny and the temperature a crisp minus 8 degrees Celsius and expected to get colder overnight.”

Mr Norman said the state-owned Svea mine, the largest in Norway, was due to export 2.5 million tons of coal this year and remain in operation until about 2014. He said that at that time operations would commence on the other side of the same mountain and plans also envisage building a road across a glacier to set up another mining site.

He added that "We can not allow this. Norway's trade and industry ministry was not immediately available for comment.”

(Sourced from Reuters)