Supreme Court Reopens Case on Church Mining Deal

2026-03-10 - 09:56

A legal dispute over gravel mining on church-owned land in south Iceland will now be heard on its merits after an appeals ruling required the Reykjavík District Court to accept a lawsuit filed by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As reported by RÚV, the case was brought by 21 parishioners who are challenging an agreement between the church and Eden Mining, a gravel mining company owned by two church members. What's the Story? Lawsuit by 21 members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church over a gravel mining agreement on church-owned land Contract allows Eden Mining to extract gravel for export Supreme Court of Iceland ordered the Reykjavík District Court to hear the case after the lawsuit was previously dismissed Gravel mining. Photo: TimePRO TV. Pexels. Public Domain. Legal challenge proceeds The contract permits gravel extraction at Lambafell and Litla-Sandfell, on church land in Ölfus, with materials intended for export through a deal involving the Icelandic subsidiary of German construction materials group Heidelberg Materials. The plaintiffs argue that the contract prioritised private interests over those of the church community and provided insufficient compensation. They also claim the agreement did not follow internal church procedures, stating that such a decision should have been presented to the congregation’s general meeting before being signed. Representatives of the church have sought to remain outside the dispute, leaving Eden Mining to respond to the legal challenge. The company had requested that the case be dismissed and argued that the parishioners did not have standing to bring the claim. The Reykjavík District Court initially rejected the lawsuit on those grounds. However, the decision was overturned by Supreme Court of Iceland, which ruled that the case must proceed to full consideration.