Supreme Administrative Court rules against Tukes in mineral exploration permit case in Valkeakoski

The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland has issued a precedent regarding mineral exploration. It ruled that the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency, Tukes, acted incorrectly when it granted a mineral exploration permit to the mining company Sotkamo Silver in the Hopeavuori area of Valkeakoski. The court stated that the “drilling waste,” generated during deep drilling, should have been mentioned in the permit application. This waste consists of fine-grained rock material, mixed with cooling water, that rises to the surface during the drilling process. According to the Supreme Administrative Court, drilling waste is considered mining waste under the Mining Act. Consequently, the applicant should have included details on how to prevent its generation and how it would be managed in the application. Tukes was required to instruct the applicant to complete the application in this respect.

In its statement to the court, Tukes argued that the drilling waste is not classified as mining waste. The Supreme Administrative Court examined the case after granting permission to appeal from several environmental organizations, including the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the Citizens’ Mining Delegation, and the Save Water Association. These organizations called for the mining company’s exploration application to be rejected.

Despite this error, the court did not revoke Tukes’ decision. It justified this by stating that minimal drilling waste would be generated during the permitted deep drilling, and there were no specifically protected areas near the drill holes, nor were the areas situated on groundwater regions. The exploration permit, originally granted to Sotkamo Silver in 2020, is now owned by a Canadian mining company, which briefly held Australian ownership. The aim of the exploration is to discover gold in the area.