The Finnish

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

deposits were found in the

Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District, Russia, formerly known as Petsamo * Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast, Russi ...

area near the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

. Until the

Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...

, this was the northernmost part of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. In 1934 it was estimated that the deposits contained over five million tons of nickel. In 1935,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

corporations began mining operations there. The nickel deposits were a lesser known reason for

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

interest in the area during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as potentially of great importance for production of arms and munitions. Both the planned Franco-British support of Finland in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, and German occupation of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

( Operation Weserübung) were partly motivated by control of the nickel mines. During the period between the Winter War and the German invasion of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1941, there were disputes between Finland and the Soviet Union over mining rights in Petsamo. Finland refused to allow the Soviet Union to mine nickel in Petsamo. This was one of the causes of hostility between the Soviet Union and Finland, which led to the Continuation War. As part of the German invasion, troops from Norway occupied the Petsamo region in 1941, securing the nickel supply. The Continuation War ended in September 1944, with the Moscow armistice of 19th September 1944. Finland ceded Petsamo to the Soviet Union. All subsequent nickel production there has been under Soviet or

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n authority. For the

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

of Finnish nickel deposits see, * Genesis of nickel ores * Ultramafic intrusions

Deposits mined later

In more recent years, several small nickel deposits have been mined in other parts of Finland. * The

Stormi mine Stormi Bree Henley (born December 6, 1990), also known simply as Stormi Bree, is an American singer, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Teen USA 2009, after previously winning Miss Tennessee Teen USA ...

in Vammala was mined from 1960 to 1969. * The Kotalahti mine in Leppävirta was mined from 1954 to 1987. * The

Enonkoski mine Enonkoski () is a municipality of Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, ...

in Enonkoski was mined from 1984 to 1994. All of these deposits were mined by

Outokumpu Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the A ...

. * The Hitura mine in

Nivala Nivala is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Geo ...

was operational in 2009. * The

Talvivaara Ahtium (known until 2017 as the Talvivaara Mining Company; fi, Talvivaaran Kaivososakeyhtiö Oyj) was a Finnish mining company that operated the Talvivaara nickel mine from the company's establishment in 2004 until the mining business was sold ...

mine in Sotkamo was to commence operations in late 2008.Talvivaara Press Release
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References

Geology of Finland Economy of Finland Mining in Finland Nickel mines in Finland {{Finland-stub