Police conclude investigation into illegal waste dumping at Orivesi gold mine

A 7.5-year police investigation into hundreds of tonnes of illegally dumped waste at the Orivesi gold mine in Finland is nearing completion, with prosecutors set to review the case, reports Yle.

Sixteen current and former managers from mining companies Outokumpu, Dragon Mining, and subcontracting firms are suspected of aggravated environmental pollution. Some have admitted to the offence, while others deny wrongdoing, according to Joni Länsipuro, the detective chief inspector leading the case for Central Finland Police.

The illegal dumping site, discovered during a 2018 inspection by the regional ELY Centre, contained waste including tyres, batteries, overalls, and oil filters—some dating back to the 1990s. The mine, operational from 1990 until its closure in 2019, produced around 17,000 kilograms of gold under Dragon Mining’s ownership.

Länsipuro noted that the prolonged investigation awaited the waste’s excavation, completed in 2023, to ensure precise evidence. “We now know exactly what was there—how many kilograms of metal, how many batteries, how many tyres,” he said. The case is unprecedented in Finland, testing legal limits on when environmental crimes expire.

Dragon Mining and Outokumpu previously acknowledged the dumping violated environmental permits and company policy. A cleanup contract was awarded to an external firm, with work finished last year.

Prosecutors will decide whether to press charges, with potential penalties ranging from four months to six years in prison for aggravated environmental pollution.