The environmental and water permit application for the Suomussalmi talc project was submitted to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland on 9 May 2025.
The environmental impacts of the project have previously been assessed in the environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA), as a result of which the coordinating authority, the Kainuu ELY Centre, issued an official statement in November 2024. In the official statement, the coordinating authority took a position on the conclusions and the adequacy of the assessment. The conclusions of the coordinating authority were taken into account in the environmental permit application submitted to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland.
Based on the studies of the EIA phase, it was decided to apply for a permit to discharge effluents towards Kivijärvi. Several changes were made to the project plan, for example, to minimize the impact on water bodies. These included changes related to the location of the waste and tailings areas and their base and cover structures. The changes also allowed the size of the mining area expansion to be reduced.
The company’s goal is to enable a modern, carbon-neutral and traceable talc production facility at the current Suomussalmi soapstone quarry and factory site.
