Name of the Mine
Kemi mine.

Location  
Elijärvi, in the municipality of Keminmaa, near Kemi, in Finnish Lapland, Finland.

Mine Owner/s  
Outokumpu Chrome Oy a subsidiary Outokumpu Oyj.

Brief Description  
Kemi is an operating underground mine and the only chrome mine in the EU.

It forms part of Outokumpu's integrated stainless steel value chain in Finland. Chromite ore is beneficiated at the mine into upgraded lumpy ore and fine concentrate, which are transported to Outokumpu's ferrochrome smelter at Tornio.

The mine has an ore production capacity of about 2.7-million tonnes a year.

Outokumpu completed a project of more than €280-million between 2017 and 2023 to deepen the mine from 500 m to 1 000 m and install a highly automated ore-handling and hoisting system. 

Brief History  
The chromite deposit was discovered in 1959. 

Mine operations and ferrochrome production started in 1968, initially using openpit mining. 

Underground production started in 2003 and the openpit was exhausted in 2005. 

The mine was expanded to support the commissioning of additional ferrochrome furnaces at Tornio in 1985 and 2013. The deep-mine investment programme was undertaken from 2017 to 2023.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Chromium, hosted in chromite ore.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None reported.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Kemi stratiform chromitite deposit is hosted by the estimated 2.4-billion-year-old Kemi mafic-ultramafic layered intrusion. 

The intrusion extends for about 15 km and hosts several chromite orebodies. 

The principal mineralised zone is steeply dipping and comprises multiple bodies beneath the former Elijärvi and Surmaoja openpits. The mineralisation remains open at depth.

Reserves  
Total proven mineral reserves as at January 9, 2025, were estimated at 62.5-million tonnes, representing a 95% increase from the previous estimate of 32.1-million tonnes. 

Resources  
Outokumpu reports mineral resources as at January 9, 2025, of about 64.9-million tonnes.

Type of Mine
Underground.

Mining Method  
Underground mining started with sublevel stoping from the 500 m level. As mining progressed deeper and geotechnical conditions became more challenging, Outokumpu evaluated and trialled sublevel caving for the deep mine. 

The deepening programme also involved a switch to new extraction technology. Ore is drilled and blasted, loaded and hauled to underground crushing and ore-handling facilities, and hoisted to surface. Mined-out stopes in the established stoping areas are backfilled with cemented fill or waste rock.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
Infrastructure includes a decline and shafts, underground development and workshops, ventilation, dewatering, power and communications systems, underground crushing, orepasses, conveyors, storage silos, and an automated hoisting system serving the deep mine. 

Surface facilities include crushing and two gravity-based concentration circuits producing upgraded lumpy ore and fine concentrate. The process does not use any beneficiation chemicals. Concentrates are transported by road to the Tornio ferrochrome smelter.

Prospects  
The January 2025 reserve update materially extended the operating horizon. Outokumpu has stated that the expanded reserves, together with the completed deep-mine infrastructure, secure chromium availability into the 2050s without further major investment to benefit from the reserve increase. 

Outokumpu continues to work towards Kemi becoming the world's first carbon-neutral mine for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, using biofuels, electrification, and biogas heating.

Contact Details 
Outokumpu Chrome Oy
Tel: +358 16 454 278 / +358 16 453 566
Website: www.outokumpu.com