Boliden scraps €1 billion Kevitsa mine expansion over environmental and economic pressures

Boliden Kevitsa Mining has abandoned a planned €1 billion expansion of its nickel-copper mine in Sodankylä, northern Finland, and will instead close the operation in 2034, a decade earlier than previously projected, the company announced last week.

The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) claimed Tuesday that environmental concerns—rather than the economic factors cited by Boliden—were the decisive factor in the reversal. Sisli Piisilä, regional director for FANC’s Lapland branch, pointed to criticism from Finland’s Permit and Supervision Authority over the company’s Natura 2000 impact assessment, which concluded that expanding the open-pit mine would cause “significant harm” to adjacent protected nature areas.

“According to the competent authority, the most environmentally sound option is to operate under the current permit, which ensures the mine closes sooner,” Piisilä said. The authority’s assessment found that sticking to the existing permit would spare land from construction and end operations earlier, reducing overall environmental impact.

Boliden disputed the environmental interpretation. Johanna Holm, the mine’s environmental manager, told Yle that the Natura assessment “has not influenced the expansion decision in any way” and that an updated evaluation would be submitted later this year. The company had previously framed its withdrawal as a response to rising mining taxes, higher electricity costs, reduced emissions-trading subsidies, and insufficient protection under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

While acknowledging the economic pressures, FANC chair Hanna Halmeenpää argued that low-grade ore deposits like Kevitsa’s should not be exploited at all. “Now that taxation has been adjusted to a still-reasonable level, it’s clear that mining such deposits isn’t profitable in all market conditions,” she said.

The original expansion plan would have extended operations to 2045. Boliden has said it will continue mineral exploration in the Sodankylä area despite the closure.