Controversial Kuusamo gold and cobalt mine project moves forward as permitting restarts from scratch

The environmental impact assessment for a planned gold and cobalt mine in Kuusamo’s Juomasuo area has been relaunched after the project’s operator submitted a new assessment programme to Finland’s Permitting and Supervision Authority, Yle reports.

Australian-owned Latitude 66 Cobalt Oy has restarted the permitting process for the Juomasuo mine, located about 40 kilometres north of Kuusamo’s town centre. The company plans to extract gold and cobalt ore from three open pits, with an estimated operational lifespan of roughly a decade. Total excavation is projected at 70 million tonnes of material, yielding 6–7 million tonnes of ore.

Processed ore would be transported seven kilometres south of the town centre for refining, where gold bars and cobalt concentrate would be produced. The assessment programme evaluates two potential sites for a 10-hectare tailings storage area, with water management options including treatment plants or direct discharge into waterways.

The restart follows changes to Finland’s mining laws, which now allow new permit applications even while existing mining concessions are being revoked. Latitude 66 Cobalt’s original permits, granted in the 1990s, were invalidated last year after the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a lower court’s decision to reject the company’s appeal for an extension.

A 2023 feasibility study estimated the mine and processing plant would employ around 200 people. The environmental assessment programme will be open for public review from 29 April to 29 May 2026, with information sessions planned.