Pyhäsalmi Pit
The pit Pyhäsalmi is the deepest ore - mines in Europe (1444 m). It is located across from the city of Pyhäjärvi on the north-eastern shore of Lake Pyhäjärvi in the south of the Oulu Province in northern Finland . The zinc and copper mine is owned by Inmet Mining , a Canadian mining company.
In 1958, a local farmer discovered ore in an iron hat while building a well . Shortly after a sample was delivered to Outokumpu Corporation , analysis and further geological survey revealed a massive volcanic sulphide ore deposit rich in zinc and copper. In 1959 it was decided to build a mine, which opened on March 1, 1962.
The Pyhäsalmi mine was open-cast mining until 1967 , when underground operations began. Open mining ended in 1975. Over the years, ever greater mining depths were reached. The Olli shaft was completed in 1985 and brought the pit to a depth of 730 meters. However, new ore was discovered even deeper, and in 1996 a depth of 1050 m was reached. Then the Timo shaft was sunk , above which deposits between 1050 and 1440 m were exploited. The construction of the Timo shaft was completed in 2001. In 2003, 38.2 million tons of ore were mined, containing 1.2% copper, 3.1% zinc, 0.46 grams per tonne gold and 14.6 grams per tonne silver ; the remaining quantities are estimated at 15.6 million tons of ore, which means that the end of mining can be expected in 2018. 212 people are employed in the mine.
The pit also houses the world's deepest sauna at −1440 m.
Mineral finds
So far (status: 2010) 27 minerals have been detected in the Pyhäsalmi mine. For the Schwertmannite it is also a type locality .
Besides the tasteful occurring elements arsenic and gold also found there anthophyllite , arsenopyrite ( arsenopyrite ), barite ( barite ), Bournonite ( Rädelerz , Spießglanzbleierz ), chalcopyrite ( bornite (gravel) ), calcite , cordierite ( cordierite ), electrum (Var. v .: gold), dolomite , galena ( galena ), various grenade , Hessit ( telluride ), Jordanit , magnetite , molybdenite , the Muskovitvarietät sericite , the pyrites marcasite and pyrite , pyrrhotite ( pyrrhotite ), quartz , Seligmannit , sphalerite ( zinc blende ) , Talk as well as various tourmalines .
Individual evidence
Web links
- Mineralienatlas - Pyhäsalmi Mine Description of the location and mineral list
- Mindat - Pyhäsalmi Mine, Pyhäjärvi, Oulun (Oulu) Lääni, Finland (description of the location, mineral list and map with geographic coordinates)
Coordinates: 63 ° 39 ′ 40 ″ N , 26 ° 2 ′ 5 ″ E