AWA is located in a well-kept and safe decommissioned mine, Mine no. 3 (Gruve 3) that is owned by Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK). SNSK has more than 100 years’ experience developing and operating mines and infrastructure on Svalbard and is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. SNSK is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the vault, including security and access control for AWA. The vault is protected according to best practice media vault security standards and is under alarm protection and video surveillance 24/7.