Sokli pilot mine permit draws 45 objections

Several organisations and public bodies want the environmental permit for a planned pilot mine at Sokli rejected, citing risks to water, fish stocks and reindeer herding. The application received 45 statements, Yle reports.

Savukoski municipality, environmental organisations and the local reindeer herders’ cooperative are among those opposing the permit. The municipality says the project’s impacts should be assessed before environmental permitting proceeds.

State-owned Finnish Minerals Group and its subsidiary Sokli Oy are behind the project. The company plans to begin experimental mining and ore processing next summer, with operations lasting up to six years. The state has granted the project nearly 80 million euros in funding.

Sokli Oy chief executive Pasi Heino said the number of submissions was expected for a project of this kind. The company is reviewing the statements and objections; the Permit and Supervision Agency has not yet asked it to respond.

Several submissions dispute whether the planned work can be considered experimental. The Lapland district of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation says the volumes of ore to be mined and processed are substantial. It also argues that the project has been divided into stages, with a small-scale start potentially paving the way for a full-scale mine after damage to the surrounding environment.

The association and local group Friends of Sompio have jointly called for the application to be rejected, noting that no environmental impact assessment has been carried out. They say the plans do not rule out harm to the lake trout of the Nuortti River or deterioration in groundwater conditions.

Savukoski municipality has also raised concerns about uncertainty over water treatment, effects on groundwater and discharges into waterways. It says the mine’s water management should be assessed before a permit is granted. The municipality also notes that the mining concession is subject to an ongoing legal process.

The environmental permits previously granted for full-scale mining at Sokli were overturned by Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court in 2022. The application for the full-scale mine has since returned to the Permit and Supervision Agency for consideration.

The Kemin-Sompio reindeer herders’ cooperative says the project could reduce grazing land and disturb reindeer through noise, light pollution, traffic and emissions. It also warns that the Jänesaapa calving area near the pilot processing plant could lose its importance.

The pilot project would involve mining about 170,000 tonnes of ore in the Loitso area and processing it for several years at a pilot plant in Vihellysaapa. The plans include waste and ore stockpiles and mining waste areas, as well as water use from local waterways and discharge of mine water into the Nuortti river system.