Join us on the post congress tour of Finnish mines and travel through Finnish countryside. This tour is all inclusive (€ 890), and all transportation is by a dedicated coach. The tour departs from the congress hotel on June 30, and ends in Helsinki on July 3. Hop on!
Programme
Friday, June 30
15:30 Depart from hotel Holiday Club Saimaa
17:30 Arrive in Savonlinna
18:30 Check-in at summer hotel Totti, drop of bags, short down time
Guided tour (45 min.) of Olavinlinna castle, the northernmost medieval castle still standing
20:00 Dinner at Linnankrouvi restaurant
Saturday, July 1
8:00 Depart from Savonlinna
10:00 Arrive at Outokumpu Mining Museum, an old mine site converted to a museum
Guided tour and lunch at the museum
12:30 Depart from Outokumpu
14:30 Arrive in Siilinjärvi
Visit of the Yara apatite mine
17:00 Depart from Siilinjärvi
17:15 Arrive in Kuopio
Check-in at hotel Sokos Puijonsarvi
Down time
Short walk to Kuopio City harbor
19:15 Visit of Kuopio Wine Festival, includes dinner in VIP area and concert tickets. The theme country for the festival is USA. Finnish pop stars Lauri Tähkä and Antti Tuisku in concert.
Sunday, July 2
9:00 Depart from Kuopio
11:30 Arrive in Tuhkakylä village
Lunch
13:00 Arrive at Terrafame for mine visit. The mine produces nickel and zinc by bioheapleaching
16:30 Depart from Terrafame
18:30 Arrive in Kiuruvesi village
Check-in at hotel Sininen Helmi
Dinner & Traditional Finnish Sauna night by the lake
Monday, July 3
8:30 Depart from Kiuruvesi
9:00 Arrive at Pyhäsalmi mine
Visit the mine and descend to one of the deepest and oldest mines in Europe. It produces copper, zinc and pyrite.
Lunch
14:30 Depart from Pyhäsalmi
18:00 Dinner in Jyväskylä
Coffee break and health breaks
23:00 Arrive in Helsinki (airport). Tour ends.
Note Due to Oulu airport traffic area renovation we are not able to fly out from Oulu, which was the original plan. Instead we will drive to Helsinki.
More information about the visits
Outokumpu Mining Museum
The mining museum in Outokumpu is Finnish mining history. The museum area is located upon the hill from which the underground mining of the copper ore first started in 1913. The museum includes authentic buildings, a mine shaft tower, a crushing plant and concentrator among other artifacts from the early 20th century. There is a museum tunnel exhibiting mining history from the beginning of 1900 up to today, and an exhibition house with a unique mineral collection.
Siilinjärvi Apatite Mine (Yara)
The apatite mine started at Siilinjärvi in 1979 and is unique in Finland and western Europe. The ore is hosted by one of the oldest carbonatite complexes on Earth at 2610 ± 4 Ma. Currently the mine is composed of two open pits, the large southern Särkijärvi pit of 250 m deep and the small Saarijärvi pit. The production is roughly 11 Mt of ore per year (4.0 wt% of P2O5, average in situ grade). The main product is apatite concentrate and by products mica concentrate and calcite concentrate. Since the beginning of full operation, almost 400 Mt of rock have been mined, of which 260 Mt is ore.
Terrafame Nickel Mine (Talvivaara)
Terrafame (Ltd) produces primarily nickel and zinc by bioheapleaching at its mine located in Sotkamo. The production of merchantable Ni, Zn, and Co sulfides started in late 2008. In August 2015, Terrafame acquired the business operations and assets of Talvivaara Sotkamo Ltd. from its bankruptcy estate and is now carrying on the mining operations. Terrafame is owned by Terrafame Group Ltd., which is wholly owned by the State of Finland. The Talvivaara Ni-Zn-Cu-Co ore deposit, currently the largest sulphidic Ni resource under exploitation in Western Europe, is hosted by amphibolite-facies black shales of the Talvivaara formation in the Kainuu schist belt, eastern Finland. The ore deposit is low-grade, averaging 0.22 wt% Ni, 0.50 wt% Zn, 0.13 wt% Cu, and 0.02 wt% Co. Mineral resources includes averagely 4,5 Mt nickel and 10 Mt zinc.
Pyhäsalmi Cu-Zn-pyrite mine
Pyhäsalmi is one of the oldest and deepest underground mines in Europe and produces copper, zinc and pyrite. In 1962, the mining operation started in an open pit mine, followed by the first underground development. A new ore body was found in 1996 and the production via a new shaft commenced in 2001. The Pyhäsalmi mine is one of the most efficient underground mines in its size class. The deepest point of the mine is 1444 m below surface. Total production at Pyhäsalmi since the beginning of mining has been 51 Mt (end of 2013) grading 0.92% Cu, 2.45% Zn, and 37.4% S. The ore also contains, on average, 0.4 g/t Au and 14 g/t Ag. Along with production from the Pyhäsalmi mine, three satellite deposits have also been processed in the Pyhäsalmi mill.