Description

The Pyhäjärvi mine is an underground mine located in Pyhäjärvi, North Ostrobothnia. It is owned by Canadian First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Ore produced by the Pyhäjärvi mine is excavated at the depth of 1,050 to 1,410 m in the bedrock. The ore contains approximately 3% chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), 4% zinc blend (ZnS) and 66% pyrite (FeS2). Approximately 1.4 tonnes of ore is excavated and processed on an annual basis.

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Toiminta-alue: Pyhäjärvi

Yhteystiedot vastuullisuusasioissa:

Raija Urpelainen
raija.urpelainen@fqml.com
+358 (08) 769 6111

The company in figures in 2015

• Tuotantomäärä: A total of 920,832 tonnes: copper concentrate (Cu), 41,402 tonnes; zinc concentrate (Zn), 39,725 tonnes, and pyrite (FeS2) 839,706 tonnes
• Kokonaislouhinta: 1.4 million tonnes (ore 98%, waste rock 2%) Furthermore, a total of approximately 0.5 tonnes of rock was excavated at a separate quarry for filling up mines and maintaining roads
• Raportoidut malmivarat: 4,796 million tonnes (copper 1.04%, zinc 1.71%, sulphur 41.1%,gold 0.4g/t, silver 13g/t)
• Raportoidut mineraalivarannot: 11,375 million tonnes (copper 0.78%, zinc 0.96%, sulphur 42.0%, gold 0.4g/t, silver 13g/t)
• Toiminnan aloitusvuosi: 957 (exploration), 1962 (mining)
• Kaivoksen arvioitu jäljellä oleva elinikä: 0-5 years
• Kaivosalueen pinta-ala: 412 hectares (of which 97% has been purchased)
• Malminetsintäalueen pinta-ala: 602 hectares
• Omien työntekijöiden määrä: 230
• Työntekijöiden pääasialliset asuinkunnat: Pyhäjärvi 76%, Nivala 6%, Haapajärvi 3% and Oulu 3%
• Vakituisten urakoitsijoiden määrä: 50
• Käyttökate EBITDA: EUR 53.1 million
• Maksettu yhteisövero: EUR 0 (the owner company of Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy, INMET Finland, has paid EUR 0.4 million in corporate tax. Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy paid a group contribution in 2015, during which it did not have taxable income.

About exploration

Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy has conducted ore exploration in the surroundings of the mine since 2004. Before that, Outokumpu Oy conducted exploration in the area from 1957 onwards. The company has valid claims and exploration permits amounting to 453 hectares (numbering 6), all of which are located in the areas adjacent to the mine in Pyhäjärvi. In exploration, Pyhäsalmi Mine makes use of deep drilling and geophysical measurements. A total of 1.6km of deep drilling was carried out in 2015. The company does not currently have exploration applications subject to appeal. Pyhäsalmi Mine OY also has four other mining concessions; Vuohtojoki (Kärsämäki), Hallaperä (Kiuruvesi), Rauhala (Ylivieska) and Mullikkoräme (Pyhäjärvi). In 2015, no exploration was carried out in these concessions (totalling 143ha).

Environment

Yrityksen ympäristökäytannöt:

• Location in a nature reserve: no
• Environmental management system*: yes
• An environmental impact assessment required (in accordance with the EIA Act) no
• Measurements of dust: yes
• Measurements of noise: yes
• Measurements of vibration; if necessary
• Environmental impact assessment completed: yes
• Deviations from the environmental permit (2015)**: yes
• Environmental collateral exists: yes

* Certified in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard. ** Deviations from the permit related to air (2) and water (1).

Keskeiset tunnusluvut:

• Amount of extractive waste: 458,000 t (tailings 100%) Of this volume, about 44% is used for filling up mines (filling up underground quarries)
• Utilisation of waste rock: 100% of waste rock is used
• Fuel consumption: 7GWh (with non-renewable fuels amounting to 100%)
• Other energy consumption (electricity and heat): 82 GWh (the proportion of renewable energy amounting to 5.2 % and that of non-renewable  2.9%, In addition, the proportion of electricity produced for the stock exchange amounted to 91.9%; its distribution broken down by origin remains unknown)
• Water consumption: 5.5 million m3 (of which natural raw water accounts for 68%)
• Number of dams in the mining area: 3 (Class 2)
• Number of endangered species appearing in the operational area: According to the information on endangered species stored in the Hertta-Eliölajit database, supplied by the North Ostrobothnia ELY Cenre, no observations of endangered species have been made in the area of the Pyhänsalmi mine
• Usage of chemicals dangerous to the environment: copper sulphate 388t, zinc sulphate (12%) 549 t, cupric chloride 311 t, and sodium cyanide 8.4 t

Personnel and safety

Yrityksen henkilöstökäytännöt:

• Employee initiative programme exists: yes
• Goal and development dialogue programme covering the entire personnel: yes
• Personnel training plan: yes
• Equality plan: yes
• Personnel representation in company management: yes
• Occupational and safety management system*: yes
• All personnel working in the area are in possession of an occupational health card: yes
• Company rescue unit: yes

* Certified in accordance with the OHSAS 18001 standard, which is also applied to contractors

Keskeiset tunnusluvut vuonna:

2015

• Average number of training days per year: 2.5 days/employee
• Absence due to sickness (excluding contractors): 5.5%
• Lost-time injury frequency rate: 2.6 accidents per 1,000,000 working hours (accidents leading to a loss of more than one shift)
• Working time systems currently in use: 1-shift system, 2-shift system, 3-shift system, 8-hour working day system, flexitime, working day system (Mon to Fri), 6:4 system (6 days of work, 4 days of leisure)

Impact on the use of neighbouring areas and sources of livelihood

Vaikutukset paikallisiin elinkeinoihin: No mining and exploration is carried out in the reindeer management area. Those who earn their livelihood from rural activities and tourism are recognised as being the key stakeholders of the company.

Vaikutukset lähialueen virkistyskäyttöön:

According to the assessment of the company itself, its activities have not impacted negatively on the recreational use of the neighbouring areas. The company has refurbished a nearby sawdust jogging track and a beach for recreational use by local residents.

Vaikutukset maisema-arvoon:

Landscape values have been taken into account in the operations of the company. The decommissioned A basin has been filled and landscaped. General cleanliness of the area is looked after. The company seeks to landscape the mining areas while mining operations are still underway.

Interaction with stakeholders

Sidosryhmäyhteistyö:

• Regular meetings with city representatives
• Summer and training jobs for local pupils and students
• Financial support for various local and national associations and campaigns/events
• Provided facilities for the local community, including assembly facilities for the Ruotanen village association and Ruotanen hobby clubs
• A channel is available for stakeholders to submit feedback, and practices are in place for processing it

Tutkimus- ja yhteistyöhankkeet:

• CUPP (Center for Underground Physics in Pyhäsalmi) continued its operations at the mine, including the EMMA experiment investigating cosmic radiation.
• Calliolab collaboration with Pyhäjärvi Kehitys Oy continued Calliolab seeks to bring to various research projects and similar to the mine after its operation are discontinued.
  Collaboration projects between the mine and Pyhäjärven Kehitys Oy include a clarification entitled Kaivos Energiavarastona (“A mine as an energy storage”) which will be completed during 2016, and the Data Center Kaivoksessa project (“A data center in a mine”) which explores opportunities to locate a data centre in a mine/mining area.In 2015, Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy also provided financial support to the following projects/research projects under the TEKES Green Mining programme (an indiscernible and smart mine).

 

– IMineWa (Intelligent Mine Water Management) project managed by Lappeenranta University of Technology. This project seeks to improve the management of mining water by improving/developing existing technologies and by creating new ones for the treatment of mining water.

– GEOSULF project managed by the University of Oulu This project seeks to find a method which can be used to prevent the dissolution of detrimental substances from sulphidic extractive waste.

– SAM (Sustainable Acceptable Mining) project. During the project, a tool was developed which could be used to assess the efficiency of the mine’s water usage.

In 2015, a TEKES project aimed at developing safety: Turvallisuudesta Työhyvinvointia, laatua ja tuottavuutta (“Well-being at work, quality and productivity through safety”).