The Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining was established in May 2014 to produce new instruments to enhance the sustainability of mining operations in Finland. Since then, the network has published separate sustainability standards for mining and ore exploration, a toolbox for local actions, and a corporate social responsibility report in Finnish covering the activities of 19 mining and ore exploration companies in Finland.

The network includes the mining sector and most of the key stakeholders that are involved with mining, namely the farmers’ union, the metal workers’ union, two environmental civil society organisations, the reindeer herders’ association, a regional organisation representing Lapland and a representative from Sodankylä, a municipality in Northern Finland.

Most of the mining companies operating in Finland are currently participating to the training courses organised by the network. The purpose of the training is to introduce the new sustainability standard and its eight protocols, which cover the entire lifecycle of mining activities. Eventually, similar training courses are expected to be organised on ore exploration.

The Finnish sustainability standard for mining is based on the Canadian initiative Towards Sustainable Mining, which has been modified and complemented with two protocols (water management and mine closure) to comply with the Finnish national legislation.

The network is currently in the process of finalising the framework texts to the Finnish TSM. Once finalised, they will be added to the standard and translated into English, as is the case already with the Finnish TSM protocols.

The experiences and results of the Finnish network have raised increasing interest abroad. The Secretary General of the network has been invited to a multitude of events to introduce its activities, including the European Commission in Brussels, the Organisation for European Security and Cooperation in Vienna, the German Ministry for Mining in Berlin, the Canadian representation in Copenhagen, as well as the annual meetings of the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian Mining Associations.

For further information, please contact Mr Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, Secretary General, Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining, E-mail: eyk@kaivosvastuu.fi and tel: +358-50-3478778.

Photo: Jorma Luhta