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GeoFoorumi 1
GeoFoorumi SPECIAL ISSUE 2007
Talvivaara construction moves ahead
Advanced projects overview
New mining law set for 2010
GeoFoorumi Special Issue 2007
Publisher: Geological Survey of Finland
Exchange operator: 020 550 11
Service number: 010 191 318
www.gtk.fi
Guest editor: Greg Moore
Layout and design: Raija Sandqvist,
Piccolo Oy
Editorial board: Elias Ekdahl, Greg Moore,
Risto Pietilä, Pekka Nurmi, Marie-Louise
Wiklund, Markku Hytönen, Sini Autio
Front cover: Pekka Perä, CEO, Talvivaara
Mining Company. Photo: Pekka Karhunen/
Kauppalehti
Printed by: Vammalan Kirjapaino Oy
ISSN 1796-1475
GeoFoorumi is the in-house magazine of the
Geological Survey of Finland. It is published
three times a year and its articles cover topics
of interest to the community in large, but also
to prospectors and the mining industry.
The articles are mainly in Finnish.
Contact: [email protected]
GTK Contact Information Geological Survey of Finland
Southern Finland Office
Betonimiehenkuja 4
P.O. Box 96
FI-02151 ESPOO
Fax 020 550 12
Eastern Finland Office
Neulaniementie 5
P.O. Box 1237
FI-70211 KUOPIO
Fax 020 550 13
Western Finland Office
Vaasantie 6
P.O. Box 97
FI-67101 KOKKOLA
Fax 020 550 5209
Northern Finland Office
Lähteentie 2
P.O. Box 77
FI-96101 ROVANIEMI
Fax 020 550 14
3 Director’s note
4 Talvivaara moves closer to production
7 High metal prices drive demand for GTK Mineral Processing Lab services
10 Finland’s new mining law and regulatory improvements
12 Getting more out of GTK online exploration services
13 National drill core depot
14 Invest in Finland: Helping companies establish long-term presences
16 New wave of mining projects rushes ahead
19 Recognizing the role of amateur rock hounds in ore discovery
20 Exploration news
22 Comment: A laboratory for innovation
C O N T E N T S
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
Shoreline on Hiekkapakka Esker in Lake Pielinen, Finland’s fourth largest lake.
GTK’s mineral exploration activities benefit us all
As Finland’s national geodata provider, GTK has estab-lished a rich 122-year tradition of mapping and study of the Earth’s crust. Our activities range from soil and bedrock analyses to seismic imaging of formations tens of kilometers below the surface.
We approach mineral exploration and mine devel-opment in Finland from the perspective of sustainable development of our natural resource legacy. GTK is a pioneer in development of exploration techniques, envi-ronmentally friendly mine planning strategies and novel ore processing methods.
GTK is actively involved in mapping and modeling Finland’s major geological structures and evaluating their mineral potential. We report promising targets to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which then puts all GTK discoveries up for tender. These sales are open to junior ventures and major international mining firms. There is little threat of the state making preemptive claims; GTK’s own claims are a mere 32 km2, or 0.009% of Finland’s land area.
Unlike consultants or in-house geology staff at mining companies, GTK’s work is not commercially moti-vated. Quantifying of GTK’s material contribution to society must be considered in the context of the macro-economic and social impacts of successful mining ventures. Moreover, mineral exploration companies typically mitigate risk by sticking with known quantities. It is rare even among world-class mining firms to maintain multi-year phase-one exploration and research efforts or study a wide range of targets simultaneously. Junior mining companies succeed with even tighter focus on development of a specific target and production of just a few metals, because development of a deposit requires years of planning and long-term commitments. It is only reasonable then that the state bear the burden of assuring on-going scientific exploration.
Twenty mines (currently operating or decommissioned) are the direct result of GTK mineral discoveries. GTK finds and our high-quality geological data support the current renaissance in mineral exploration and min-ing activity in Finland. Our contracting services serve clients locally and internationally with on-spec geological survey work and assistance ranging from institution-building to development of mineral processing methods.
Finland is relatively underexplored and underdeveloped compared to similar metallogenous regions in the world. But change is coming – internationally significant mine projects are underway and ore production is on track to soon top 30 million tons a year. Moreover, Finnish mining holds special significance for Europe. Last summer saw the release of a working group document for the Commission of the European Communities on the competitiveness of non-hydrocarbon extractive industries in EU (Commission Working Document SEC 771, 2007). The paper reflected a growing concern over Europe’s access to raw materials and possibilities for raw mate-rial independence through increased exploration. It is widely expected that mining of the Fennoscandian shield will help close the raw material gap for Europe.
The on-going stream of deposit discoveries and innovation in ore reprocessing technology should secure investment for Finland’s mining industry. The international community benefits from new opportunities in a safe, well-regulated business environment. Mining projects, in turn, contribute to local communities through the creation of jobs and demand for support services and training. They encourage new skill sets and technology transfer, and they offer hope for Finland’s less populous regions. Mineral exploration is a gift that keeps on giving and benefits us all.
ELIAS EKDAHL
Director General
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
D I R E C T O R ’ S N O T E
GTK made its initial bedrock studies of the Talvivaara area in eastern Finland in the early 1900s. The ore deposit was iden-tified and mapped from 1977 to 1983, and accompanied by the discovery nearby of two more deposits, Kolmisoppi and Kuusilampi. Yet the decision on how and who would mine and process the ore was not answered until 2003, when Pekka Perä, a former Outokumpu mine engineer, began promoting an open-pit mine using a novel bioleaching process suited to the low-grade Talvivaara black schist ore.
Talvivaara moves closer to productionA 30-year vision to build Europe’s largest nickel mine is about to be realized.
As all mine developers well know, the arc of development from ore discovery
to production can span decades. Development of the Talvivaara nickel mine
is no exception.
TEXT: MARIE-LOUISE WIKLUND
PHOTOS: PEKKA KARHUNEN/KAUPPALEHTI
Making the FTSE 250
“Talvivaara has hit all its benchmarks and deadlines,” notes Perä, CEO of the Talvivaara Mining Company. “The environ-mental impact studies were completed in 2006. In 2007, we re-ceived our environmental permit, our final bankability study, and demonstrated the process at pilot scale. This year we also completed our IPO, so basically our financing is secure. Right now the focus is on construction. We have about 550 people at
4 GeoFoorumi
site and are on schedule to begin production in late 2008.”Perä served as an engineer at the Forrestania nickel mine
in Western Australia for Outokumpu Oy as well as at several of Outokumpu’s domestic mines. Still, bioleaching in cold environments is new. He raised initial funding from private investors and loans and grants worth 1.6 million from Tekes and TE-keskus in 2004, and then received two more funding rounds from strategic investors including the state industrial investment fund in 2005−2006. Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2007, rais-ing over 300 million. In September, the company joined the FTSE 250. The mine is expected to generate revenues of about
310 million annually.Talvivaara has patented claims over the Kolmisoppi and
Kuusilampi deposits and is currently finalizing the expansion of the patented claim area to cover an area of about 60 km2. Mining, ore crushing, heap-leaching and concentration activ-ity will take place on about a third of that area. The Talvivaara deposit is presently estimated to have 340 million tons of classified resources. The ore averages 0.27% Ni and 0.14% Cu. Annual production will be around 33,000 tons of nickel, 60,000 tons of zinc, 10,000 tons of copper and 1,200 tons of cobalt.
The mine will account for over 2% of the world’s nickel production, currently around 1.4 million tons a year. Nickel has historically traded at about three times that of copper and with greater volatility. Long-term historical trends, particu-larly the industrialization of Asia, may, however, help stabilize development of nickel prices during the mine’s projected life of 25 years. In any case, Talvivaara has chosen to base its eco-nomic forecasts on a long-term nickel price assumption of just over $10,000 per metric ton. Nickel presently trades at over $30,000 a ton.
Talvivaara is currently the second largest construction site in Finland.
Talvivaara facts
The Talvivaara deposits are located in the southern
part of the Kainuu schist zone. The deposits comprise
two ore bodies, Kuusilampi and Kolmisoppi. Three mi-
neralogical ore types can be distinguished: fine-grained
dissemination, sulfide breccia and metacarbonate. The
sulfide mineral content is approximately 21% by weight
(mainly pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and
pentlandite).
GTK began study of the Talvivaara area in 1903
and carried out detailed exploration from 1977 to 1983.
Outokumpu Oy was granted mining licenses for the Tal-
vivaara deposits in 1986. As the low-grade ores of this
resource were not amenable to conventional extraction
techniques, Outokumpu studied alternative extraction
strategies in the late 1980s and 1990s. Outokumpu
sold the rights to Talvivaara Mining Company in Februa-
ry 2004, including the rights to the bioheapleaching
approach developed at its research center in Pori.
Combined measured, indicated and inferred re-
sources are 337 million tons of ore, containing 0.27%
nickel, 0.55% zinc, 0.14% copper and 0.02% cobalt.
The orebodies are well-suited for open-pit excavati-
on due to a thin overburden and favorable resource
geometry. Commercial production will commence in the
fourth quarter of 2008.
GeoFoorumi
Infrastructure payback
The Finnish state will ultimately provide 53.5 million for construction of infrastructure. Says Perä, “In partnering with Talvivaara, the government agreed that Talvivaara would ini-tially underwrite the largest infrastructure costs. For example, the construction of a rail line to the mine and connection with the power grid connection will be financed out of pocket, and then the state will provide the mine with grants.” As the rail connections will not be completed until 2009, roadways will also be widened to handle road freighting of concentrates to e.g. the Harjavalta nickel smelter and the Kokkola port area on Finland’s western coast.
Mine planning has also followed the latest practices. Once ore has been leached, it will be landscaped and covered to pre-vent further leaching and minimize impacts to groundwater.
Eastern Finland has traditionally been one of the poorest parts of the Finland, so the construction frenzy is welcome by local administrators. Once operational, the mine will employ about 400 people, boost the tax base and create support jobs in surrounding communities.
Bioleaching breakthroughs
The potential of bioleaching in Finland has long been of in-terest. Talvivaara’s technology chief, Ph.Lic. Marja Riekkola-
Vanhanen first applied her biochemistry skills to the study of bioleaching processes at Outokumpu’s research center in Pori during the 1980s. Some of the hurdles to a commercial pro-cess now seem minor, but were large at the time. For example, a crucial experiment was carried out at GTK’s Mineral Pro-cessing Laboratory in Outokumpu under the EU’s Bioshale Project in March 2005. The process was started in a log col-umn with 106 tons of ore in -20°C conditions, providing a strong indication of the applicability of the process in sub-arctic conditions. Talvivaara also has used raw data from Out-okumpu and the Tampere University of Technology in design of the heap-leaching process. The commercial leaching heaps will be 2,400 meters long, 800 meters wide and 8 meters high. Notes Riekkola-Vanhanen, “Even in a normal Finnish winter, temperature inside the heap leach can average over +50°C.”
Riekkola-Vanhanen was recently named Finland’s Scien-tist of the Year 2007 for her work on bioleaching. “Early in my career it was a surprise to learn that bacteria are found naturally in sulfur and iron rich environments, and that they metabolize sulfur and iron and excrete valuable metals as a byproduct. It has been suggested that if we do find life on Mars or a moon of Saturn, it could very well resemble these creatures.”
Bacteria occurring naturally
in Talvivaara ore do the lion’s
share of the metal extraction
work. As they oxidize sulfides
and iron, they create energy
sufficient to support their
growth (chemosynthesis).
Shown here is a bacteria colony
dominated by Leptospirillum
ferriphilum.
Over two decades of work
have gone into developing
Talvivaara’s bioheapleaching
method, which is suitable to
both the low-grade ores and the
sub-arctic climate.
Bes
tam
in Ä
zkay
a, T
ampe
re
Uni
vers
ity o
f Tec
hnol
ogy
Outokumpu lab studies promising finds from around the world
The small Finnish town of Outokumpu is periodically besieged by lorries carrying
ore consignments of several hundred tons from deposits around the world. Evidently,
the haul is worth it – GTK’s mineral processing laboratory is one of a handful with
capabilities for providing clients with the full range of services from mineralogical
analysis to process engineering.
TEXT: HARRIET ÖSTER
High metal prices drive demand for GTK Mineral Processing Laboratory
Most samples brought to the GTK Mineral Processing Labora-tory are from Finland and other Nordic countries, but GTK regularly studies batches from Africa, Asia, North America and even Australia.
“Large mining companies conduct their own R&D op-erations and they sell their services to outsiders, too. As a rule, though, these companies have specialized in a specific metal and few clients wish to purchase research services from their competitors,” says GTK Mineral Processing Laboratory Man-ager, Kauko Ingerttilä.
“Four or five years ago, the mining industry suffered its deepest recession for 50 years, but now there is considerable demand for our services,” he points out. World market prices for metals have risen, especially prices of “prosperity metals” in the wake of China’s and India’s economic growth. Even poorer ore deposits are now worth exploiting.
Ingerttilä notes, for example, that demand for nickel, a key ingredient in stainless steel and batteries, is through the roof. Not surprisingly, the main focus of research at the mineral processing laboratory recently has been on the production of nickel, gold, platinum and niobium. Increased demand for other base metals (particularly copper, lead and zinc) have also helped to fill GTK Mineral Processing’s order book.
Junior companies commission basic production planning
With the advent of EU membership in 1995, Finland’s min-ing industry has undergone a complete transformation. In-ternational players are now on the ground actively charting the mineral potential of Finland’s relatively under-explored bedrock. Junior companies often purchase drilling and survey services from third parties in the hope of gaining the rights to a rich deposit they can sell to a senior or even mine them-selves.
“Until recently, our clients were typically sophisticated major companies with a great deal of in-house knowledge and planning resources. Hence, their inquiries tended to be fairly narrow and quite specific. Juniors, in contrast, appreciate the possibility to acquire a wide range of services and technical support from a single source,” says Ingerttilä.
About 70% of the GTK Mineral Processing Lab’s 3 mil-lion turnover comes from work commissioned by clients. GTK is one of the few independent research institutes provid-ing R&D services for clients of all sizes.
Bench-scale tests usually start with one-kilogram samples (e.g. core samples) that have been crushed and finely ground
GeoFoorumi
New formats for cooperation
Customers are finding new ways to take advantage of the
in-house expertise of the GTK Mineral Processing Lab.
Here are three:
Partner in process development and plant design with
international suppliers. Process equipment suppliers sell
to a global market. When their client is developing a new
deposit, the supplier can turn to the GTK Mineral Process-
ing Lab for assistance in tuning a process for a specific ore.
The operating parameters of a new concentration plant can
be verified at bench-, minipilot- and pilot-scale, allowing the
process supplier to guarantee the functionality of the delivery.
Feasibility studies and basic engineering packages.
Once a viable target is identified, particularly one with lower-
grade or complex ores, it is often still unclear what the most
effective engineering approach to developing the resource
might be. The GTK Mineral Processing Lab can suggest
several alternatives, including viable combinations of unit
processes and available processing routes.
A basic engineering package might include process
design and proposals on equipment selection, dimensioning
and siting in accordance with the plant layout. Comparisons
of investment and operating costs are also typically provided.
The GTK Mineral Processing Lab is currently involved with
the basic engineering for seven plants.
Training services. Tailored courses and training events
on ore and mineral processes can be arranged on request
at Outokumpu or the client’s site. Course participants have
recently included mining engineers, process operators, and
entrepreneurs.
for flotation and magnetic or gravity separation. As each ore is unique, the ultimate flotation method, conditions and chemi-cals used must be individually specified.
A new mainstay in soil remediation
Minipilot-scale testing can involve batch sizes from a few hundred kilos to two tons. The equipment is built in a con-tainer, which means that in principle the unit could be moved to a concentration plant and the small side-stream from the process splitted for studies in the minipilot facility.
GTK Mineral Processing’s Outokumpu facilities feature a full pilot-scale plant that can handle up to a ton of material an hour. Batch sizes are usually in the range of 300–400 tons. The plant’s operations can be tailored to the requirements of each client by constructing a suitable unit from various equipment options.
Research services also include mineralogical analysis for determining the structural form and concentrations of valu-able minerals in ore and beneficiation products. The samples are examined using electron microscope equipment. The large amount of data obtained from the images is analyzed and processed by computer.
For clients desiring a one-stop service package in process development, the mineral processing laboratory provides a process flow sheet and a production feasibility assessment.
Material recycling and environmental remediation have become regular project themes for the laboratory. A recent
8 GeoFoorumi
The new Dyna Whirlpool heavy media separator has demonstrated
good separation selectivity with coarse-grained diamond ore feeds.
Kar
i Hel
otie
GeoFoorumi 9
GTK Mineral Processing Laboratory Manager, Kauko Ingerttilä.
study, for example, considered design of a method for recov-ery of lead and copper residue from the soils at decommis-sioned shooting ranges. Other projects have tackled treatment of soils contaminated by toxic metals, dioxins and furans, waste oil and creosote, as well as bitumen-contaminated sand from road sanding.
GTK mineral processing lab tackles the challenge of Kevitsa ore
GTK’s mineral processing laboratory has been involved in a
major process technology development project for the Ke-
vitsa nickel-copper-PGE deposit in Lapland near the town of
Sodankylä. Kevitsa operations, which include the mine and a
concentration facility, are set to launch in 2010.
In the 1990s, Outokumpu Oy devoted considerable study to
finding a floatation process suitable for producing smelter-gra-
de concentrates from the complex Kevitsa ores. Kevitsa’s cur-
rent owner, Toronto-listed Scandinavian Minerals Ltd, turned
to the GTK Mineral Processing Laboratory for assistance in
devising an appropriate flotation method.
Krister Söderholm, Managing Director of Scandinavian
Gold’s Finnish subsidiary, Kevitsa Mining Oy notes, “Concent-
ration of the ore at Kevitsa is a complex and difficult process.
No single problem eclipses the others, rather a variety of fac-
tors such as pH, the flotation chemicals and the reaction times
need to be fine-tuned for the floatation process to succeed.”
“GTK Mineral Processing has the world-class capability of
providing process studies at both bench-top and pilot-plant
scales. Over the past two years, over 500 tons of Kevitsa ores
have been run in the pilot plant to optimize the process,” ob-
serves Söderholm.
Total nickel recovery should average in the range of
70–72%. The process has additional advantages of yielding a
concentrate with very low magnesia, making it smelter-friendly,
and elimination of problematic polyamines such as triethylene-
tetramine (TETA) used to depress pyrrhotite in Ni-Cu flotation.
Close-up of the heavy media separator screening unit.
Feed to the mini-pilot flotation is typically ground in a two-stage
grinding circuit with classification.
Har
riet Ö
ster
Pen
tti K
opon
en
Kar
i Hel
otie
GeoFoorumi 9
Perhaps we could start with some brief history. Where does the current mining law come from?
Up until Finland’s independence in 1918, Finnish mining law followed Swedish law, which is based on the granting of mining concessions. During the 1920s and 30s, the Germanic system of granting licenses under a claim-based system influ-enced Finnish law.
Not surprisingly, the 1943 mining law diverged further from Swedish law. It had only minor significance, however, as metal exploration and production were essentially the prov-ince of the state and state-held entities, notably Outokumpu in base metals and Rautaruuki later in carbon steel produc-tion. The law was also only a half measure as Finland was still embroiled in WWII. It took another two decades of peace, stable economic development, and the emergence of metal production as a core feature of the economy before the pre-sent mining law was codified in 1965.
What did the law say about foreign investors?
Initially, the theoretical possibility for international investors to participate in Finnish mining stayed just that – theoretical. Finland, meanwhile, was investing actively internationally in mines in Canada, Australia, Zambia, Chile, Ireland, Sweden
and Norway, as well as extensive international licensing and sales of its mining and mineral processing technologies.
Nickel, in particular, continued to be seen as a strategic metal. Keeping good relations with our eastern neighbor diminished the political enthusiasm for licensing of major claims to outsiders, who where excluded according the min-ing law. The larger problem, however, was that claimholders technically were granted rights for perpetuity.
As a result, international companies were out of luck if they wanted to mine here. Things only began to change in the 1980s, when top-tier mining firms got their first good look at Finland’s ore potential.
The 1990s saw European integration, several major amendments to the law and new issues.
EU integration in the 1990s had major legal implications for us. 1994 brought amendments to the mining law and in 1995 and 1996 major environmental legislation was passed to bring Finnish law into harmony with the nature conservation act and later on with IPPC directives. This put an environmen-tal permitting scheme in place, along with regulatory mecha-nisms that allowed for routine inspections and the possibility to shut down or modify operator behavior as needed. The doors to investment opened a crack.
Geofoorumi sat down with Pekka Suomela, a lawyer and Chief Inspector
of Mines at the Ministry of Trade and Industry to discuss the implications
of Finland’s new mining law, currently expected in 2010, as well as other
developments on the regulatory front.
Finland’s new mining law and regulatory improvements
TEXT: GREG MOORE
GeoFoorumi
In other words, other regulatory mechanisms were developing in line with, and possibly even overtak-ing, the prevailing mining law.
Environmental officials have seen a massive increase in their sphere of influence over the past decade, with mine permit-ting swept up in the ambit of this trend.
In the past few years we have seen increasing pressure to reconcile access to land and the interests of local municipali-ties. In some cases, a mine plan must be approved as part of the local general plan by the community and may also require the issuance of construction licenses. For example, today the initial permitting hearing required by the local authorities only affects landowners directly affected by the mining opera-tion or road traffic moving to and from the mine. Some in the mining community worry that municipalities, particularly larger towns, will assert their authority by either blocking per-mits or expanding hearings to include large swaths of popula-tion. Personally, I don’t think this will be the case, but this is something that must be addressed in the new mining law.
Hasn’t the new constitution eliminated some of these problems?
Finland’s constitution, partly because of EU membership, was updated over the past ten years. Landowners in Finland still have no special subterranean or mineral rights unless those rights are recognized by the state. Thus, there was no constitu-tional issue when the state earlier came onto a person’s land to develop a mineral resource and compensation was paid where appropriate. In the case of tunneling, such as the subway tun-nels in Helsinki, the state has no obligation to compensate the landowners above.
The big constitutional question is what is implied when the state recognizes mineral rights in the granting of a min-ing concession to a private foreign entity for the benefit of its shareholders, and how those rights stack up against those of landholders and other interest groups. This is at the core of the balancing that the law’s drafters must achieve.
Mine operators should have a fairly set and unsurpris-ing path from mine planning through the mine’s life to clo-sure, but the landowner’s say in how the land is used must also be preserved. And there needs to be clarification on how and at what stages in mine development communities should hold hearings on environmental impact and nuisance issues. How this will work was partly revealed in a very recent ruling by Finland’s Administrative Supreme Court on the first in a series of cases involving uranium mining permits to foreign firms. Once the principles – both specifically and more gener-ally – are in place, the working committee on the new mining should be able to complete and submit its draft. This should occur before next summer, so we are still well on track to have a new mining law in 2010.
Is there hope that processing of mining applications will speed up?
Early this year, it was still taking as long as twelve months for the Ministry to process a mining claim or a mining applica-tions. Our goal is to bring that time down to 3−5 months. We have already made good progress in that direction.
For further information on current Finnish Mining Law, please visit: http://en.gtk.fi/ExplorationFinland/MiningLegislation/.
“Development of the new mining law has required more work than we
originally expected, but we are anticipating a solid result that should
answer the needs of all stakeholders,” says Pekka Suomela, Chief
Inspector of Mines at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
GeoFoorumi 11
Getting more out of GTK on-line exploration services
GTK on-line exploration services
include Active Map Explorer, the
FINGOLD, FINNICKEL, and
FINZINC databases, as well as
information on diamond deposits,
PGE metals, and industrial minerals.
In November 2007, the Fennoscandian
Ore Deposit Database will be added.
For the arm-chair prospector, GTK’s on-line services are a dream come true. You can investigate claim registers, ore analyses and drilling sites. You even get the thrill of gold ex-ploration in Lapland without the mosquitoes.
A good example is GTK’s Active Map Explorer tool. Here are three tips on getting the most out of the experience.
Tip #1: Decide what you want to study before you start.
Zoom to the desired target, select layer and click the add/Re-
move button. If you, say, are interested in a specific drilling site
north of Ivalo, select the “Drilling Sites” box in the legend area.
Click the “Info” radio button at the top of the screen and click the
pull-down menu next to it and select “Drilling Sites” again. The
drilling core information is displayed in the lower right-hand field.
GeoFoorumi
Tip #2: Keep it simple. Only apply two or three layers at a time.
Here we see protected areas under the Natural 2000 Program
and claim reservations, claims and mining concessions in a popu-
lar gold panning area in Lapland.
Tip #3: Try different backgrounds. Here the geographic map
background for the same area has been replaced with an aero-
magnetic map background in gray-scale.
Of course, the best tip of all is to yourself investigate the range of net services at GTK’s exploration homepage www.gtk.fi/ExplorationFinland. Welcome!
Every year, hundreds of geologists visit the Finland’s national depot for diamond drill cores, located about 80 km north of Helsinki in the village of Loppi. Ore exploration companies in particular have been making active use of the service. The depot houses 2.7 million meters of diamond drill cores from nearly 29,000 boreholes. The cores have been obtained from deep drilling operations carried out in mineral exploration, mining, and engineering geology.
Basic data on each core is available from the National Drill Core Register, and the location of each drilling hole can be viewed with GTK’s Active Map Explorer tool. This facility lets visitors preorder their core samples, so the samples are waiting at the inspection tables when they arrive. Core cutting and other technical services are available on request.
The depot was established in 1975, and has become a model for other countries.
National Drill Core Depot
The national depot for diamond drill cores
Established 1975
Location Loppi
Personnel 3
Lot About 10 hectares
Warehouse space 7,300 m2,
plus additional space of approx. 600 m2
Samples 28,800 drill cores
No. of Pallets over 6,000
Core samples 2.7 million meters
Core pallets, each weighing approximately 1,000 kg, will be retrieved from the warehouse before your arrival if the core sets are pre-ordered.
GeoFoorumi 13
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
Visual inspection of drill cores in the inspection hall.
For more information: http://en.gtk.fi/Geoinfo/NationalDrillCoreRegister/index.html
Contact: [email protected]
Address: Geological Survey of Finland Loppi Drill Core Depot Mustinsuontie 159 FI-12600 LÄYLIÄINEN FINLAND
Tel.: +358 20 550 2670 Fax: +358 19 445 069
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
Tuomo Airaksinen, the CEO of Invest in Finland (IIF) was a mining engineer earlier in his career. He is often the first contact for companies and serious prospectors contemplating a mining venture in Finland. In conjunction with the opening up of the Finnish economy as part of European integration, IIF’s role has evolved towards providing no-cost consulting for international investors and assisting them in finding the appropriate legal, financial, and technical services. Airaksinen defines his job as “matchmaking.”
IIF helps newcomers because Finland sees mining invest-ment as a two-way street. In exchange for granting investors access to some of Europe’s geologically promising areas, their investments should hopefully help boost local employment, create demand for specialist services and bring in novel tech-nologies. Given the rapidly evolving legislative and regulatory environment and the advantages of using people familiar with local geology and hydrology, outsiders need to know who to turn to in contracting services. This includes law firms, GTK and a range of private contractors for such tasks as environ-mental impact studies, water studies and permit filings.
Investors are flocking to Finland in response to strong metal prices and ore
potential, but these aren’t necessarily the only reasons they are staying.
Invest in Finland: Helping companies establish long-term presences
TEXT: GREG MOORE
Invest in Finland’s CEO, Tuomo Airaksinen, says that Finns do not
always appreciate the benefits of operating here. “We did a survey
recently of our expat client base and found excellent infrastructure
and overall safety topped the list of aspects of Finland they
appreciate.”
14 GeoFoorumi
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
Remarks Airaksinen, “Finland is careful about selecting which investors get to work the country’s natural resource base – but it’s a level playing field. Every claimholder and their claims are posted on-line. In fact, most ventures are surprised at the amount of assistance we provide. For example, jv’s typi-cally go to Toronto or London to raise money for a mining venture, but Finland now can even help with funding at the pre-feasibility stage of promising ventures.” (See box below.)
“The recent boom has concentrated on gold, platinum group metals, base metals, diamonds and industrial minerals, but other opportunities are also emerging. Security of ten-ure, political stability and highly-developed infrastructure are all important to newcomers, but what we are learning from foreign ventures already active in Finland might be summar-ized as four T’s and an S. What they appreciate most are the transparency, trained personnel, low transition costs, high technology, and safety. In some respects, we Finns, living im-mersed in our own society, are blind to these advantages so we take them for granted.”
“First, Finland consistently ranks among the least corrupt countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Per-ception Index. Everybody is expected to follow the rules and the bribery and nepotism common elsewhere in the world in natural resource extractive industries is virtually non-exist-ent.”
“Second, Finland has a generally well-educated work-force, which in part reflects its excellent public school sys-tems. Finnish 15-year-olds shine in international PISA com-parisons, and special chairs at Finland’s universities have long been funded by the mining industry and the state to assure Finland trains enough geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, mining engineers and process technicians. Under the current boom, training has been ramped up around the country and new mining colleges (e.g. Ilomantsi) to assure mining ven-tures get trained workers. Even the flexibility of the labor force has received praise of late, which is interesting because Finnish commentators complain our highlyunionized labor force is stubbornly resistant to changing jobs. It may be that the opportunities for skilled work have made the retasking to mining industries surprisingly easy. For example, we see a recent phenomenon where process personnel laid off from paper mill closures are eager to be retrained for mining and mineral processing jobs.”
“Third, despite repeated warnings from their economists, companies routinely underestimate the transition costs asso-ciated with launching a venture in a new country. The good news about Finland is that the transition costs are surpris-ingly low. We use global standards for industrial processes and much of the infrastructure is either in place or within reasonable distance of mine sites (Finland is roughly the size of Japan or California). Finland’s electrical grid, telecommu-nications networks and transportation systems from rail to ports are world-class. Finland is also in the euro-zone and its banking systems are some of the world’s most advanced. Nat-urally, we encourage people to take a stab at learning Finnish, Swedish, or even Lapp, but you’ll find you can conduct most of your business in English.”
“Fourth is technology. Finland, as its neighbor Sweden, has long traditions in the development of mining and miner-al processing technologies. These have been widely exported. Many of the newcomers have been pleasantly pleased with the local availability of technology, which is not only important in procurement but also in troubleshooting, routine mainte-nance and normal process operation.”
“Finally, our living conditions are relatively safe. Expert personnel that have brought their families to Finland find it refreshing that they don’t have to make special living arrange-ments.”
IIF services cover all aspects of the investment process such as data collection, opportunity analysis, entry alterna-tives, networking and partner search. IIF works in close coop-eration with the Geological Survey of Finland, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Finland’s mining community.
For more information, please go to www.investinfinland.fi or contact Tuomo Airaksinen at +358 10 773 0302.
Finnish Industry Investment offers juniors financing alternative
Finnish Industry Investment Ltd (Suomen Teollisuussijoitus
Oy) was initially funded out of privatization sales of state
assets. Its mission is to promote the growth of Finnish
businesses, employment and economic growth through
targeted investment in promising growth companies and
venture capital funds.
Tuomo Mäkelä, senior advisor on equity participation
in the mining industry, reports Finnish Industry Investment
has set up a program and appropriate monetary facilities
for direct investment in mining and exploration ventures.
“We seek participation in companies that have completed
or are near completion of the conceptual stage in their
mining sector projects and are moving ahead to feasibility
studies. There are presently about a dozen companies at
this stage, but that number could easily double within a
few years.”
Finnish Industry Investment’s mining venture stakes
presently include Endomines Ab, Vulcan Resources Ltd
and Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd. It earlier divested a
stake in Belvedere Resources Ltd. For more, please go to
www.industryinvestment.com or contact Tuomo Mäkelä at
+358 9 6803 6833.
GeoFoorumi 15
GeoFoorumi
New wave of mining projects rushes ahead
An elite handful of Finland’s “new wave” mine projects, backed by international
companies, have already reached advanced stages. In fact, two smaller mines,
Dragon Mining’s Kutemajärvi (Orivesi) gold mine and Belvedere Resources’
Särkiniemi nickel mine are already operational.
TEXT: GREG MOORE
Sin
i Aut
io, G
TK
Over 70% of the refractory gold in the Suurikuusikko ore occurs in an arsenopyrite lattice with the rest in pyrite, making it essentially
invisible to the naked eye. Here a team of international geologists study the Suurikuusikko ore. The Suurikuusikko mine is set to open
in summer 2008.
TEXT: GREG MOORE
GeoFoorumi
The main pack is led by the Talvivaara nickel mine (see pre-vious article) and Agnico-Eagle’s Suurikuusikko gold mine, which are both set to begin production next year. Close on their heels are Scandinavian Mineral’s Kevitsa nickel-PGE mine, Vulcan Resources’ Kylylahti cobalt-copper mine, both slated to begin construction next year. Next come Dra-gon Mining’s other two mines, Jokisivu (gold) and the for-mer Vammala mine (Stormi and Ekojoki Ni-Cu orebodies); Northland Resources’ Kolari iron(-copper-gold) mine near the Swedish border; and Nordic Mine’s Laivakangas gold mine on the western coast. Finally, the North American Palla-dium-Gold Fields joint venture, the Arctic Platinum Project for development of the Suhanko and other PGE deposits, ap-pears to have broken into this top tier.
Here are brief summaries of some the key projects:
SUURIKUUSIKKO GOLD MINE, AGNICO-EAGLE LTD.Geology
The gold mineralized zones in the Suurikuusikko field are hosted
by the Lapland Greenstone Belt which extends from the Norwe-
gian coast to Russia. The gold at Suurikuusikko is refractory, so
it is mainly found in the lattices of sulfide minerals (arsenopyrite
and pyrite). About 75% of the gold is bound in arsenopyrite and
23% in pyrite. The remaining free gold is manifested as extreme-
ly small grains in pyrite.
History
GTK identified gold potential in the Suurikuusikko area in 1986.
By 1997, extensive diamond drilling had established a resource
of 1.5 million tons with an average grade of 5.9 g Au per ton.
Riddarhyttan Resources AB acquired the resource in 1998 and
Agnico-Eagle acquired a full ownership from Riddarhyttan in
2005.
Reserves and production plan
With over half of the construction phase completed, a 13-year
mining operation will begin in 2008 targeting a gold resource of
16 million tons averaging 5.1 g Au per ton.
KEVITSA NICKEL-PGE MINE, SCANDINAVIAN MINERALS LTDGeology
The large bowl-shaped Kevitsa layered intrusion is located in
central Lapland about 35 km north of the village Sodankylä. It
is completely surrounded by old mica schists and other pelitic
rocks. Kevitsa is a large, low-grade disseminated sulfide deposit
in the upper part of the ultramafic zone. The orebody has an
area at the surface of over 13 hectares and extends to a depth
of over 400 meters. However, the mineralised zone, which all
may someday be economic ore, is open at the depth of 1,000
meters. The ore consists of two predominant ore types: a nickel-
PGE type with a higher Ni/Co ratio than the main ore type, which
has a lower sulfur and copper content. The main ore type makes
up 93% of the orebody containing more than 0.2% nickel.
History
GTK discovered the Kevitsa deposit in 1987. The claim was
subsequently acquired by Outokumpu Oy, then Scandinavian
Gold Prospecting Ab. Scandinavian Minerals Ltd. took over the
claim in 2006.
Reserves and production plan
Kevitsa has a measured and indicated resource of 287 million
tons at a 0.1% nickel cutoff, and a further 544-million-ton inferred
resource. Scandinavian Minerals is currently conducting a feasibil-
ity study based on an open-pit operation extracting approximate-
ly 4.5 million tons of ore per year in conjunction with production
of smelter-grade nickel and copper concentrates near the mine.
KYLYLAHTI COPPER-COBALT MINE, VULCAN RESOURCES LTD.Geology
The Kylylahti deposit contains copper, cobalt, nickel, gold and
zinc. It is over a kilometer in length and plunges at 30 degrees
from the surface to a depth of 700 meters. The mineralization
generally comprises a footwall (east) layer of semi-massive
sulfides comprising 40−80% pyrite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-sphal-
erite-quartz enveloped by a thicker layer of disseminated sulfide
with less pyrite.
History
Geologists who identified the massive Outokumpu copper depo-
sit included the Kylylahti find in their surveys. Vulcan Resour-
ces acquired Kylylahti in late 2004 from Dragon Mining, which
acquired it from Outokumpu in 2003. The mine is located some
24 km north of the town of Outokumpu.
J. P
arkk
inen
, Kev
itsa
Min
ing
Oy.
3D block model of the Kevitsa deposit with Ni-PGE ore depicted in
blue.
Reserves and production plan
The Kylylahti copper-cobalt deposit in eastern Finland which has
a resource of 7.85 million tons grading 1.17% copper, 0.24%
cobalt, 0.22% nickel, 0.49% zinc and 0.70 g/t gold. Mining and
construction is expected to commence early in 2008. Projected
production over a more than 13-year mine life is 550−650,000
tons per annum, yielding an average of 9,000 tons of copper per
annum, 1,300 tons of cobalt, 1,200 tons of nickel, 2,500 tons of
zinc and 8,000 ounces of gold.
KOLARI GOLD-COPPER MINE, NORTHLAND RESOURCES INC.Geology
The Hannukainen Fe-Cu-Au ore field is located in the Kolari regi-
on just 20 km east of the Swedish border in central Lapland. It
includes five main ore bodies all variably enriched in Au, Ca, Cu,
K, Mg, Na, Fe, and S. The ore is hosted by massive to banded
diopside-hornblende and magnetite rocks in a bend in the Pajala
Shear Zone (Kolari Shear System).
History
Iron deposits have been known in the area since the 1600s.
It was mined by Rautaruukki Oy and Outokumpu Oy during
1978–1992 when 1.9 million tons of iron, 40,000 tons of copper
and 4,300 kg of gold was produced.
Reserves and production plan
The present in situ resource estimate is 16 tons of gold, 125,000
tons of copper and 26 million tons of iron. Flotation tests and pel-
letization studies are underway.
LAIVAKANGAS GOLD MINE, NORDIC MINES Geology
The Laivakangas deposit is located near the town of
Raahe. This palaeoproterozoic orogenic gold deposit
18 GeoFoorumi
comprises at least 18 lodes with sets of auriferous, arsenopyrite-
rich quartz veins. The main host rock is quartz diorite. The de-
posit is sited between two major northwest-trending shear zones
of the Raahe-Ladoga suture.
History
Outokumpu Oy discovered the deposit in 1980 following up on
a sample from a glacial erratic boulder found by an amateur
prospector. During the 1980s, Outokumpu studied the deposit,
followed later by Endomines Oy and Nordic Mines AB. Laivakan-
gas is Nordic Mines main project.
Reserves and production plan
The current of for the Laivakangas deposit at Raahe is about 7
million tons, including 2.38 g/t Au. The gold occurs as free gold
in quartz veins associated with shear zones, granodiorite and
volcanics.
SUHANKO PROJECT (AHMAVAARA AND KONTTIJÄRVI PGE MINES), ARCTIC PLATINUM PROJECTGeology
The Suhanko and Konttijärvi intrusions, located about 40
kilo meters south of Rovaniemi, are part of the large Portimo
Layered Igneous Complex. The Suhanko deposit (site
of the Ahmavaara mine) and the Konttijärvi
deposit (site of the Konttijärvi mine)
consist of two bodies
Pajala
0s.
g
opper
25,000
and pel-
SUHANKO PROJECT (AHMAVAARA AND KONTTIJÄRVIPGE MINES), ARCTIC PLATINUM PROJECTGeology
The Suhanko and Konttijärvi intrusions, located about 40
kilometers south of Rovaniemi, are part of the large Portimo
Layered Igneous Complex. The Suhanko deposit (site
of the Ahmavaara mine) and the Konttijärvi
deposit (site of the Konttijärvi mine)
consist of two bodies
Close-up of a gold-bearing vein in a komatite ore sample from the
Pahtavaara gold mine near Sodankylä. The actual width of the sample
shown is about 5 cm.
The Pyhäsalmi mine is the deepest operational mine in Europe.
Pyh
äsal
mi M
ine
Oy
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
GeoFoorumi 19
Jari
Nen
onen
, GT
K
Recognizing the role of amateur rock hounds in ore discovery
TEXT: JARI NENONEN, GTK
Sweden and Finland are unusual in that they put in place over five centuries ago formal systems for collecting and analyzing ore samples collected by lay people. The importance of the layman’s sample persists to this day. Both the Outokumpu copper mother lode and the massive Kemi chromite deposit were discovered by curious amateurs.
GTK invites amateur geologists to submit mineral, soil and rock samples. There is no postal charge from submitting a sample, and in return submitters receive a copy of GTK’s sample analysis and get their names and sample data are re-corded in GTK databases. If the sample is promising, the per-son is also automatically entered into the regional ore explo-ration contest. Prizes run as high as 6,000.
The GTK office for layman’s samples receives nearly 8,000 submissions a year. About 35% of submitted samples merit further analysis and about 200 samples result in on-site investigations. Of these, one in ten leads to drilling investiga-tions.
In response to the sophistication and activity of amateur rock hounds, GTK is working to assure samples are efficiently recorded and the contributions of these amateurs to the na-tional economy is recognized.
It is never too early to learn about rocks. Finnish pebble pups
are not only expected to develop lapidary skills but also a keen
understanding of geological forming processes. Some of the
biggest ore finds in Finnish history were made by amateurs.
of mafic and ultramafic rocks separated by basement rocks
(banded gneisses and granitoids). The smaller, but higher
grade Konttijärvi deposit is situated approximately 3.5
kilometers west of the larger Suhanko intrusive body. The
Ahmavaara deposit is situated on the western edge of the
Suhanko intrusion. The PGE mineralization at both Ahma-
vaara and Konttijarvi is associated with Cu and Ni minerali-
zation in the form of base metal sulfides.
History
Platinum group elements along with nickel-copper minerali-
zation were first discovered in the area by Outokumpu Oy in
1964 during a regional Cu-Ni exploration program. The area
was explored by Gold Fields between 2001 and 2004. In
2005, Gold Fields prepared a feasibility study on the Suhan-
ko Project comprising the advanced stage Konttijärvi and Ah-
mavaara open-pit projects. In March 2006, North American
Palladium Ltd entered into a joint venture with Gold Fields
Ltd to engage in the Arctic Platinum Project in northern Fin-
land. The Arctic Platinum Project covers development of the
Suhanko, as well as PGE resources on the nearby Narkaus
and Penikat intrusions.
Reserves and production plan
The potential of the Suhanko Project is currently being upda-
ted in light of higher commodity prices and new drilling data.
Aker Kvaerner ASA has just completed the rescoping study
and P&E Mining Consultants Inc. are suggesting open-pit
designs and optimization. The present resource estimate
stands at 152.5 Mt averaging 1.067 g/t Pd, 0.245 g/t Pt,
0.115 g/t Au, 0.077% Ni and 0.187% Cu from the Ahmavaara
and Konttijärvi deposits combined. Metallurgical test work
is being conducted by SGS Lakefield Research to examine
processing options to improve metal recoveries and lower
operating costs. The final feasibility study should be ready
in 2008.
Rau
taru
ukki
Oyj
Finns have mined the Hannukainen Fe-Cu-Au ore field in Kolari
for five centuries. Shown here is a view of the Rautuvaara mine
in the 1980s.
Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd
to start nickel production in late 2008
in Sotkamo, Eastern Finland, using a
bioheapleaching method. The annual
nickel output should be about 33,000
metric tons. The mine is also expected
to produce zinc, copper and cobalt. The
company was listed on the London Stock
Exchange earlier this year and joined the
FTSE 250 index (owned by The Financial
Times and the London Stock Exchange)
in September.
Last April, Scandinavian Minerals
Ltd commenced its final feasibility study
(takes about 12 months) for the Kevitsa
Ni-Cu-PGE project. The study is based on
an open-pit operation mining producing
about 5 million tons of ore a year. A drill
program has been commenced to up-
grade a portion of the inferred resources
to a measured and indicated category and
obtain data for pit modelling.
Belvedere Resources Ltd’s first
shipments of concentrate from Särkini-
emi nickel mine in central Finland were
delivered in July. Total ore deliveries to
the mill were 8,753 tons, slightly ahead of
plan. The ore is blended with ores from
the Hitura mine and the concentrate is
shipped to Norilsk Finland’s Harjavalta
smelter.
Sunrise Diamonds Plc has started
drilling on three diamondiferous kimberlite
pipes in the company’s Nordic Diamonds
Joint Venture claim areas in the Kaavi-
Kuopio region in central Finland.
Northland Resources Inc has defined
a NI 43-101 compliant resource, at a 15%
Fe cutoff for Hannukainen (Kolari, northern
Finland) of 84.6 million tons (34.6% Fe,
0.20% Cu, 0.093 g/t Au) in the measured
and indicated categories and an additional
81.6 million tons (35.7% Fe, 0.13% Cu,
0.036 g/t Au) in the inferred category. The
company is also planning to commence
iron ore production at the Stora Sahavaara
deposit in Sweden. The plan includes also
ore dressing and pelletizing plants.
Vulcan Resources Ltd is planning to
start mining at its Kylylahti (eastern Fin-
land) Au-Cu-Co deposit. The decision will
be made during late 2007.
Dragon Mining has restarted gold ore pro-
duction at its Orivesi mine on the Sarvisuo
deposit. Sarvisuo production activities
should continue for two and half years.
At Nordic Mines AB’s Laiva gold deposit
in Laivakangas near Raahe in central
Finland, test mining and pilot test work
has been carried out. The pre-feasibility
study suggests opportunities for a healthy
revenue stream and rapid payback of
investments.
In May, Adriana Resources commenced
a full scoping study to evaluate the eco-
nomics of the mineral reserve (Fe-Ti-V)
at Mustavaara (mined 1974−1985) in
northern Finland.
As of October 18, 2007, the Ministry of
Trade and Industry had 16 claim applica-
Exploration News
GeoFoorumi
Exploration and mining in Finland’s protected areas
At the request of Finland’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of the Environment, GTK has produced a guide on
the special challenges of ore exploration and mining in Finland’s protected areas.
The MEKO guide brings readers up to speed on ore exploration in Finland, including descriptions of traditional and
state-of-the-art exploration methods. It includes discussion of mine planning strategies to mitigate environmental effects
throughout a mine’s operating life and beyond. The guide stresses responsible exploration techniques as ore discoveries
rarely translate into successful mining operations.
Companies may find some rules of conduct on exploring for ores in protected areas exotic. In Lapland, for instance,
many protected wilderness areas are congruent with traditional Lapp reindeer ranges. Most of Finland’s protected areas
have been formalized as natural heritage sites under the EU’s Natura 2000 program for nature and biodiversity.
The MEKO guide is soon available in English, Finnish and Swedish. The guide is regularly updated and downloadable
from the Ministry of Trade and Industry website www.ktm.fi.
tions for uranium exploration, all in eastern
and northern Finland: 8 by Namura
Finland Oy (Paltamo, Kuhmo, Sotkamo,
Eno, Kontiolahti, Kärsämäki, and Kuopio),
4 by Mawson Energi AB (Eno, Nilsiä,
Paltamo, and Tervola), 3 by Karelian
Resource Services Oy (Eno and Salla)
and one by Agricola Resources (Eno).
At the moment (7.11.2007), there is one
non-appealable uranium claim In Finland
(Kuusamo, Northern Finland).
Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) has
published The Rock Geochemical Data-
base of Finland. The database contains
whole rock geochemical data for 6,544
bedrock samples throughout Finland.
Detailed description of the database:
Rasilainen, K. et al., 2007. The Rock Geo-
chemical Database of Finland
Manual. Geological Survey of Finland,
Report of Investigation 164, 38 p.
http://arkisto.gsf.fi/tr/tr164/tr164.pdf.
The Helvetinjärvi National Park in Central Finland is renowned for its rugged terrain and primeval
forests.
Kuv
aliit
eri/
Ism
o P
ekka
rinen
GeoFoorumi
GTK spins off its chemical analysis unit
GTK’s chemical analysis
services, which were not a core
GTK activity, have been reorga-
nized as a separate company.
The new company, Labtium Oy,
launched its operations at the
beginning of September 2007.
It provides chemical laborato-
ry, measurement and testing
services, as well as consulting
services. The company is 100%
state owned. The change of
form responds to market needs
and levels the playing field for
all companies providing analyti-
cal services domestically.
Some 90 former GTK staff are
now employed by Labtium.
For more about Labtium,
please visit its website:
www.labtium.fi
The popular mining press in recent years has presented sever-al reasons investors and operators should get involved in de-velopment of Finland’s mineral resources. The articles point out our promising metals and diamond geology, long min-ing traditions, excellent databases on bedrock and soils, and a national policy that welcomes exploration. Unmentioned, however, is the accompanying development of transferable exploration and mining practices that may be most important to the mining industry in the long run.
Finland has long served as a laboratory for trying out new ideas, or in the current terminology coined by the Har-vard business school’s Clayton Christensen, Finland has been a regular source of “disruptive innovation.” Such disruption can be the result of a simple technology that major players initially felt no interest in challenging or a situation where the currently available technology is unable to get the job done properly or fast enough. At the end of WWII, for example, energy constraints in Finland compelled Outokumpu Oy to develop autogenous, or flash, smelting for its nickel and cop-per ores. The new process, which came out of desperate cir-cumstances, was soon applied worldwide. Engineers, seeking to avoid stringing phone lines in Lapland, repurposed what was once called police radio to devise a wireless phone net-work in the 1970s. This quickly led to a Nordic standard for analog wireless phones and eventually evolved into Nokia’s core business. A Finnish 15-year-old, Linus Torvalds, seeking better response from his computer games, came up with his namesake computer operating system, Linux, which today is used on servers everywhere.
A laboratory for innovation RISTO PIETILÄ, GTK REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR NORTHERN FINLAND
GeoFoorumi
Jari
Vää
täin
en, G
TK
C O M M E N T
GeoFoorumi
To some extent the noise of high world demand for met-als has blocked out the true picture of what is happening in the mining field in Finland. Right now every able-bodied ge-ologist in this country is working flat out. Some of my col-leagues have even been pulled out of retirement. We also are seeing an influx of talented geologists and geophysicists from all over the world. Mining engineering and geology courses at the universities are packed and the state is preparing to edu-cate a new generation of miners. Yet it is likely that even these current efforts are inadequate to the task we face.
Finland has an opportunity to help Europe become more self-sufficient in raw material supply. We will no doubt look to the world for best practices, but innovation must also play a role. Finland is perhaps unique in the advanced state of its Geological Information Systems (GIS) and their accessibility in such forms as GTK’s on-line Active Map Explorer Service and commodity databases.
We know exploration rarely leads to successful mining operations, which means a good deal of exploration does not translate into immediate economic benefits. The big techni-cal issue is how to accomplish a huge amount of exploration efficiently and quickly. Obviously, there is a need for better low-invasive exploration technologies to accommodate ex-ploration without tramping heavily on the rights of private landowners or disturbing natural habitats. Right now we have high-quality airborne geophysics for all of Finland, but great-er depth penetration is needed. As one would expect, several exploration companies are working with deep penetrating airborne electromagnetics and gravimetrics.
We must also design ways to compensate landowners when exploration moves to heavier phases. A flexible ap-proach that allows balancing in proportion to the significance of the target avoids one-size-fits-all policies, allowing for eco-nomic development of Finland’s sparsely populated areas and respecting current land uses in developed areas.
Once again Finland is a lab – this time for research and development of 21st century exploration approaches. What we learn here will no doubt find wide applicability and create new business opportunities.
GTK ContactsExploration opportunities: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]
Kai Nyman, GTK
GeoFoorumi
“The Kvarken Archipelago features spectacular De Geer moraines, formed under the melting continental ice sheet. The Kvarken Archipelago is Finland’s first World Natural Heritage Site included in the list of UNESCO’s protected sites in 2006 and complements the High Coast World Heritage site in Sweden.
Photo: Seppo Lammi
