Description

Boliden FinnEx Oy is a company engaged in ore exploration with operations in Sodankylä, Lapland. In 2015, the company operated under the name of FQM FinnEx Oy, and was owned by Canadian  First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Following a corporate acquisition in 2016, the company’s ownership was transferred to the Boliden Group.

In its exploration areas, the company principally searches for metal minerals such as nickel, copper, platinum, palladium and gold.

 

Company’s corporate responsibility report

//

Toiminta-alue: Sodankylä

Yhteystiedot vastuullisuusasioissa:

Tommi Lehtilä
tommi.lehtila@boliden.com
+358 (0)44 330 7005

The company in figures in 2015

• Tuotantomäärä: -
• Kokonaislouhinta: -
• Raportoidut malmivarat: -
• Raportoidut mineraalivarannot: -
• Toiminnan aloitusvuosi: 2011
• Malminetsintäalueen pinta-ala: 26,101.39 hectares (maximum area in 2015)
• Omien työntekijöiden määrä: 6
• Työntekijöiden pääasialliset asuinkunnat: Sodankylä 50%, Rovaniemi 33%, and Espoo 17%
• Vakituisten urakoitsijoiden määrä: While the company has no permanent contractors, it uses drilling contractors when necessary

About exploration

Boliden FinnEx Oy has been carrying out exploration in Finland since 2011. The company’s key operations are located in Central Lapland, in the area of the municipality of Sodankylä.  At their most extensive, the company had valid claims and exploration permits amounting to 26,010 hectares in 2015. Of this area, the claims conforming to the old Mining Act amounted to 1,912 hectares (22 claims), and exploration permits conforming to the current Act, 24,189.12 (13 areas). The majority of claims  (1,399.75 hectares) expired in early 2015, and a substantial part of exploration permits (19,806.82 hectares) were abandoned following the completion of exploration. The area was explored for nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), gold (Au) and metals in the platinum group (PGE). In exploration for ore, the company makes use of deep drilling, sampling glacial till and crushed rock, geophysical measurements, sampling using a geological hammer, geochemical sampling carried out using hand-held tools (for moraine, snow and similar), and bedrock mapping. In 2015, the company carried out deep drilling covering a total of 3km.

• Number of areas subject to exploration permit is 13 (while the claims number 22)
• Area overlapping with the lands of the reindeer owners’ associations amounts to 24,047 hectares
• Duration of the remaining exploration is approximately five to 10 years

Environment

Yrityksen ympäristökäytannöt:

	Exists	Does not exist
Location in a nature reserve*	X
Environmental management system		X
Requires an environmental impact assessment (in accordance with the EIA Act)		X
Measurements of dust		X
Measurements of noise**	X
Measurements of vibration		X
Environmental impact assessment completed	X
Deviations from the environmental permit (2015		X
Environmental collateral exists	X

* Belongs in part to the Natura protection programme; the Natura assessment was carried out in 2015 ** For the part of drilling 

Keskeiset tunnusluvut:

• Fuel consumption: 0.35GWh (with non-renewable fuels amounting to 100%)
• Other energy consumption: –
• Water consumption: 0.0004 million m3
• Usage of chemicals dangerous to the environment: 0 kg
• Number of endangered species occurring in the operational area: 11 species (the number of endangered species inventoried in the operational area or found in databases)

Personnel and safety

Yrityksen henkilöstökäytännöt:

	Exists	Does not exist
Employee initiative programme	X
Goal and development dialogue programme covering the entire personnel	X
Personnel training plan	X
Equality plan		X
Personnel representation in company management		X
Occupational and safety management system*	X
All personnel working in the area are in possession of an occupational health card	X

* Certified in accordance with the ISO 9001 standard, which is also applied to contractors

Keskeiset tunnusluvut vuonna:

2015

• Average number of training days per year: 5 days / employee
• Absence due to sickness (excluding contractors) 1.1%
• Lost-time injury frequency rate: 0 accidents per 1,000,000 working hours (accidents leading to a loss of more one shift)
• Working time systems currently in use (Mon to Fri)

Impact on the use of the neighbouring areas and the sources of livelihood

Vaikutukset paikallisiin elinkeinoihin: Exploration is carried out in the reindeer management area. The operations of the company are focused on a specific reindeer management area, largely on the lands of the reindeer owners’ associations of Oraniemi (16,425ha) and Sattasniemi (5,804ha). The municipality, inhabitants of the neighbouring areas, entrepreneurs in tourism, environmental organisations and reindeer owners’ associations are the key stakeholders of the company, and are taken into consideration in connection with the local means of livelihood.

Vaikutukset lähialueen virkistyskäyttöön:

No impact on recreational use.

Vaikutukset maisema-arvoon:

According to the company’s own assessment, the impact of its operations on the landscape value is negligible. Exploration is seasonal and local in character. After the exploration is complete, permanent factors with an impact on the landscape value only include a number of felled trees at drilling sites and the stakes used to mark drill holes.

Interaction with stakeholders

Sidosryhmäyhteistyö:

• The company monitors the social impact by monitoring the general atmosphere and the opinion of the inhabitants in the municipality
• Stakeholders are informed of the activities of the company principally by letter or phone
• From the perspective of the company, the form of collaboration with the reindeer owners’ associations has been good. The Sattasniemi Reindeer Owners’ Association reports that interaction has been good. The Oraniemi Reindeer Owners’ Association reports that interaction has been fairly  good
• The company does not support the activities of the local community

Tutkimus- ja yhteistyöhankkeet:

• The company funds a great number of cooperation projects, such as the NovTecEx and UltraLim projects under Tekes’ Green Mining Programme (Tekes stands for the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation). Boliden also supports several students writing their master’s theses and post-graduate students working on their doctoral theses.