The Regional Administrative Agency of Western and Inland Finland has granted Keliber permission under the Environmental Protection Act to initiate preparatory work for the mining operations for the Syväjärvi open pit lithium mine.
The Regional Administrative Agency has granted Keliber a permission to initiate the preparatory work in the Syväjärvi mining area. The right to initiate the activities under the environmental permit includes the construction of the water management structures, excavation of ditches, removal and stockpiling of overburden, waste rock mining (up to 190,000 t) and crushing of waste rock to be used in the construction of roads, operational areas and dams.
The permit also includes the management of drainage water through water management structures in accordance with the environmental permit decision, and the construction of the lake base sediment storage area, landfill and operational areas, as well as construction of the office and maintenance areas.
The Regional Administrative Agency did not grant the company an authorisation to prepare the draining of Syväjärvi and Heinäjärvi lakes pursuant to the Water Act. The Regional Administrative Agency states that the conditions required by the Water Act for granting a permit do not exist at this stage, but Keliber may request an enforcement order to drain the lakes later when the preparations of the project proceed.
The Regional Administrative Agency states that preparatory activities can commence after the company has obtained the right to use the mining area in accordance with the Mining Act. The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency has granted a mining permit for the Syväjärvi open pit mine in December 2018. The proceedings for establishing a mining area, which gives the right to use the mining area for mining operations are ongoing.
“We are pleased that we have received a decision from the Regional Administrative Agency. We will continue the preparations according our plans and the now received decision,” says Pertti Lamberg, CEO of Keliber.
