Ministry demands more evidence for Viiankiaava mine exemption

Finland’s Environment Ministry has asked the Lapland Regional Council for more information on how a planned mine would compensate for damage to nature in the protected Viiankiaava mire, Yle reports. The council must submit the material by the end of January 2027.

The request concerns both proposed compensation for harm to the Viiankiaava Natura 2000 area and the project’s significance in terms of overriding public interest. The European Commission has also requested further information.

AA Sakatti Mining, the Finnish subsidiary of British company Anglo American, plans to mine beneath the mire in Sodankylä. Changes to the mire’s water balance could significantly harm habitats and species protected under the Natura designation, including aapa mires, rich fens and wooded mires, as well as Lapland buttercup and isonuijasammal.

The Permit and Supervisory Agency and Metsähallitus, which provided opinions on the compensation plan, both consider it incomplete and inadequate for several habitats and species. The Commission’s environment department has also asked for details on the expected damage and compensation, along with the planned annual extraction of each metal in the deposit.

Once it receives a revised plan, the ministry will seek fresh opinions from the two Finnish authorities, which will have up to two months to respond. If they find the plan adequate, the ministry will send the additional material to the Commission for its final opinion. The Lapland Regional Council will be able to comment at each stage.

The mine can proceed only if the government grants an exemption from Natura protection. The decision timetable remains unclear. If the government approves the exemption, it would start preparing a bill to amend the Mire Protection Act to allow construction beneath the Viiankiaava mire protection area. The amendment is also needed for approval of the regional land-use plan; without it, the plan would be unlawful.

The mine is planned to have its nearest-to-surface structures about 250 metres underground. The company says operations would last around 23 years and produce nickel, copper and cobalt. The project would also need planning approvals from Sodankylä municipality, a mining permit from Tukes and an environmental permit from the Permit and Supervisory Agency.

Finland has granted a Natura exemption only once before, for a channel required for flood protection on the Kokemäenjoki River.