The ELY Centre has approved the EIA, and regarding the Natura assessment states that the materials that form the basis of the Natura assessment have been collected over a long period of time and are exceptionally broad and comprehensive. At the same time, the ELY Centre notes that, based on the current Natura assessment, it cannot be ensured that the Sakatti project will not have an impact on the Natura area. The ELY Centre, therefore, proposes that the Natura assessment be updated in the next stage of the project.

“We are pleased with the positive opinion on the EIA, which was submitted following extensive hydrogeological studies. On the Natura 2000 process, we will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders as we progress this work”, says Pertti Lamberg, CEO of AA Sakatti Mining Oy.

Sakatti will be a modern, state of the art mine – highly automated, utilising renewable energy, and occupying a small footprint above ground. The project will provide Finland and the wider European Union with a secure supply of future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast-growing every day demands of billions of consumers.