Environment

Talvivaara is committed to environmentally responsible conduct in all its operations.

The environmental impact assesment regarding the Talvivaara project was completed on 30 December 2005. The completion of the assesment was a precondition for the environmental permit, which was granted on 29 March 2007 together with a starting order.

The Natural Environment

The state of the natural environment in the Talvivaara area has been monitored since 2004. The objective is to gather comprehensive data from the mining site in order to enable mine planning in an environmentally considerate manner and to make comparisons during-the mining stage possible. The initial monitoring will continue until the mine is opened, after which it will go on as part of the environmental impact assessment.

The main indicators for the state of the natural environment are:

• Soil and groundwater
• Surface waters
• Aquatic bottom flora and fauna
• Birds
• Plants
• Fish and fishing
• Russian flying squirrels
• Social impact assesment
• Traffic

Environmental Impact Assesment

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Talvivaara commenced during the Spring of 2004, when the EIA programme was written to guide the actual assessment work. The EIA for Talvivaara was completed on 30 December 2005.

An essential component of the EIA is the comparison of various mining methods based on their expected environmental impacts. The process comparisons carried out as part of the Talvivaara EIA include the following:

• Extraction of metals from ore (bioleaching vs. acid leaching in autoclaves);
• Methods for crushing and transportation of excavated ore;
• Sources of fresh water and methods for handling process waters; and
• Means of transportation of raw materials and end products.

The EIA process has been regularly guided and followed up by designated project and management groups. Progress with the planning of the mining project and the EIA has been regularly reported in the local media and through briefings addressed to the residents of the area.

Environmental Permit

Application for environmental permits for the Talvivaara mine was submitted to the Northern Finland Environmental Agency in March 2006. Talvivaara received the Environmental Permit  on 29  March 2007.

The mining related industrial area to be built in Talvivaara will require approval of appropriate land use plans. The township of Sotkamo will be responsible for the necessary land use planning and approvals. In addition, the Finnish Safety Technology Authority is responsible for approving the general plan for the area.