Boliden to invest €150mn in Finnish mine and smelter expansion
A metals company, with significant exploration projects in mining, smelting and metals recycling, has announced major expansions plans for one of the only gold smelters in western Europe.
Boliden announced in a statement this week that it will invest around EUR 150 million into the expansion of its Kevitsa copper-nickel mine and Harjavalta copper-nickel smelter, located in Finland.
“A few years ago, we decided to invest in the copper production at Harjavalta and revise our nickel strategy. The Kevitsa copper-nickel mine was acquired in 2016 and is now Harjavalta’s most important concentrate supplier. Today’s investment decision should be viewed as part of the development of Boliden’s overall operations in Finland,” says Lennart Evrell, President & CEO.
The company will invest EUR 80 m in increasing production at Kevitsa. Through the expansion, the project will rise from 7.5 to 9.5 Mtonnes per year from 2021.
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The investments will begin in 2018 and the company is targeting full production in the first quarter of 2021.
EUR 45 m will be invested in Harjavalta and Pori in order to increase copper cathode production from 135,000 tonnes to 170,000 tonnes per year.
“Today’s decision increases copper production and is part of a combined investment programme between 2017 and 2019 of over EUR 200 m. The investments in a new sulphuric acid plant and modernization of furnaces is ongoing”, says Kerstin Konradsson, President Boliden Smelters.
The Kevitsa project is an open-pit mine in northern Finland which comprises a mine and a concentrator, and it has been in operation since 2012.
