The natural resources of the Barents Region are of strategic importance for Europe. One intensively developing sector is mining, which will bring new opportunities to the region, but which will also cause changes in the environment. The Conference on Best Environmental Practices in the Mining Sector in the Barents Region was held in Rovaniemi in April 2013. The Conference targeted the environmental issues connected to the mining sector and promoted best environmental practices for mines in the Barents Region. The overall goal for the Conference was to increase awareness of the challenges in the mining sector and to exchange information on assessing and managing social and environmental concerns. These Conference proceedings present the Concept Note on Common Challenges of the Conference and the abstracts of the presentations.