Pyhäsalmi Mine

Pyhäsalmi Mine

250px Old tower and surrounding buildings of Pyhäsalmi mine
Location
Pyhäsalmi Mine
Location	Pyhäjärvi
Region	Northern Ostrobothnia
Country	Finland
Coordinates
Production
Products	Copper, Zinc, pyrite, Silver, Gold
Type	Underground
History
Opened	March 1, 1962 (1962-03-01)

Pyhäsalmi Mine, the second deepest metal mine in Europe (having depth of 1,444 metres or 4,738 feet) is located at the Pyhäjärvi municipality in the south of Oulu province, Finland. The zinc and copper mine is owned by First Quantum Minerals, a Canadian mining corporation.

History

In 1958 a local farmer discovered gossan ore during a well construction. Shortly after a sample was delivered to Outokumpu Corporation for analysis and a more thorough geological survey was commenced, revealing a rich volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit (VMS-deposit) rich in zinc and copper. In 1959 a decision was made to open a new mine in the area and after few years of construction the mine was opened on March 1, 1962.

Pyhäsalmi mine was worked as an open cast pit until 1967, when underground mining operations commenced. In 1975, open cast mining was stopped. During the years the underground mine has been made gradually deeper. The so-called Olli Shaft was completed in 1985, making the mine 730 metres (2,400 ft) deep. New ore was discovered yet deeper, and a depth of 1,050 metres (3,440 ft) was reached in 1996. Later a new shaft, called Timo Shaft was built to exploit the ore deposit between 1,050 and 1,440 metres (3,445 and 4,724 ft). Timo Shaft's construction work completed in 2001. By 2003, 38.2 million tons of ore have been processed, containing 1.2% copper, 3.1% zinc, 0.46 grams per ton of gold and 14.6 grams per ton of silver, 15.6 million tons of ore remained.

The mine houses the Centre for Underground Physics in Pyhäsalmi.

The mine is also the home of the worlds deepest sauna, at 1,410 metres (4,626 ft) underground. (Guinness World Records)