Day 4 - 28.09.2017
Larissa Becker: Pyhäsalmi Mine
Today we visited the mine in Pyhäsalmi, which is one of the deepest in Europe. The mine was founded in 1958 by a farmer and the production started in 1962. The main metals which are exploit at Pyhäsalmi mine are copper, zinc and pyrite but also silver and gold. Nowadays, the resources are nearly exhausted, According to that the mine will close in 2019.
Future of the company
Due to the close in the next two years the company has to take care about ist personnel and the environment around the big mining area. Most of the workers are going to retire but the others have different opportunities like, working at another mine, retrain and do something completely different. Concerning the mine there are various possibilities for example: energy storage, Bioenergy terminal or growing for plants, fish or mushrooms.
1450 m under the earth
After we heard some facts about the mine, we got some very nice clothes because of security reasons. Then we waited for the elevator which took us 1450 m Underground in only three minutes. It was a very cool experience for me and it was very interesting to see how they were working so far under the earth. Finally we went up again and visited a big hall where the preparation of the metals with thickeners and filters take place.
This excursion was very interesting and I got a very good insight into the mining process.
Sarah Neukam: Pyhäsalmi Mine
Today we started an excursion to the Pyhäsalmi Mine. It is one of the deepest and efficient mines of Europe and produces zinc, copper and pyrite. It was founded in 1958 by a farmer and 4 years later in 1962 the whole production started. The mine has strict safety rules and lots of maintenance. The impact of the mine on environment and employment is very high. Due to the mining work around 1150 jobs were established, 250 of the employees are working directly in the mine.
Nowadays almost all resources are removed therefore the mine will close in late 2019. This mine closing leads to a big challenge for the company due to employment and environment. Their aim is to keep as much employment as possible. There are some possibilities, for example retraining to another profession or another sector or staying in mine.
Another big challenge is the land area around the mine. There are various opportunities such as building a Bioenergy Terminal or an Energy storage. Another idea was to build up a high security datacenter or a conference. Nevertheless part of the land area has to be replanted which is very expensive.
After we got to know some interesting facts about the mine we went 1450 meter deep underground in an automated hoisting shaft. It was quite interesting walking around underground and getting to know more about their mining work. Afterwards we went to a big hall where the chemical preparation of the materials took part. It was a great experience to get that close to the processes. For me it was the most interesting excursion of the week.
