Boom Times Expected in the Mining Industry
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BULEVARDI 2/4, www.ahjoclub.fi ISSUE 6 • 13 – 19 JUNE 2007 • € 3 (SIS. ALV) FINLAND NEWS BUSINESS LIFESTYLE Selänne finally Few Finns are Travel Smoking ban victorious prepared for organisers ignites mixed SPORT page 12 retirement believe in response Film festival Finland’s appeal in Sodankylä page 5 page 10 page 13 CULTURE page 14 LEHTIKUVA / MARKKU ULANDER Boom times expected in the mining industry SAMI SALLINEN - HELSINKI TIMES possibility of uranium mining in Fin- STT land. According to Pekka Suomela, the Chief Inspector of Mines at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, about THE RISING market prices for gold, fi ve applications for uranium claims nickel and other metals have in Pohjois-Karjala are currently revitalised the mining industry in being processed, and the two already Finland. Finnish and international granted licences are being exam- companies are now racing ahead to ined by the Supreme Administra- exploit the country’s mineral wealth. tive Court. The prospect of domestic Several major mining projects are uranium mining to feed Finland’s expected to start production in the increasing number of nuclear power next fi ve years. plants has attracted strong criticism In a telling sign of confi dence from environmental groups and the in the industry, Talvivaara Min- communities potentially affected by ing Company Ltd had no problem pollution from the mines. raising €310m for constructing a Speaking at the FinnMateria nickel mine in Sotkamo, by list- exhibition in Jyväskylä recent- ing its shares on the London Stock ly, Suomela rued the fact that the Exchange in May. The company is public storm around uranium The hot weather drew more than 60,000 people to enjoy the free Kaivopuisto summer concert in Helsinki last Sunday. Finland’s aiming to start mining nickel and mining has taken away attention jam-packed summer festival season has now begun, and next on the agenda is Provinssirock in Seinäjoki over the weekend. other metals by the end of 2008, from the rapid growth of the mining from what is one of the largest sul- industry as a whole, which will cre- phide nickel deposits in Europe. ate thousands of new jobs in the com- The price of nickel has increased ing years. The mining companies are dramatically in the past year and already competing over workers Talvivaara is expected to produce as the industry is facing an acute Finnish and U.S. foreign 2.3% of the world’s nickel by 2010. shortage of qualifi ed personnel. The most controversial aspect Pots of gold waiting for the of the current boom concerns the enrichment engineers – Page 4. ministers pledge co-operation FINLAND’S Minister for Foreign Af- chair of the Organisation for Se- arrange a meeting between presi- fairs Ilkka Kanerva met with U.S. curity and Co-operation in Europe dents George W. Bush and Tarja Ha- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (OSCE) in 2008. With Russia be- lonen. From the European countries, in Washington on Monday, in the fi rst coming increasingly hostile to the only Yugoslavia (now defunct) has Left-handedness top-level offi cial meeting between U.S. plans for a missile defence sys- waited longer than Finland for a top- the two countries since 2002. tem in Europe and critical of OSCE’s level audience at the White House. gene identified Speaking at a press conference role in monitoring human rights Despite frequent assurances by after the meeting, a beaming Kaner- and democracy, Kanerva may be Halonen of good Finland-U.S. rela- FINNISH researcher Juha Laurén has that a particular mutation of a gene va said his “good conversation” in for a rough ride as OSCE’s next tions, there is an ongoing debate in identifi ed the fi rst link between left- found by him called LRRTM1 trig- with Rice had extended longer than Chairman-in-Offi ce. the Finnish media over whether the handedness and a particular gene. gered left-handedness in a foetus. scheduled and they had discussed Kanerva stated that Finland U.S. has been “punishing” Finland The fi nd will bring valuable new in- The research showed that LRRTM1 all the relevant questions in inter- and the United States share a com- for its refusal to support the war in formation about the development of already works actively in the brains national politics, with a special fo- mon understanding for resolving Iraq. the brain because the tasks associat- of both mice and humans at the foe- cus on Kosovo and Russia. Rice may the Kosovo issue and see the need Kanerva, from the right-wing ed with most of the roughly 23,000 hu- tal stage. pay a return visit to Finland already to maintain intensive cooperation National Coalition Party, became man genes are still to be discovered. Laurén carried out the research in August, when Kanerva is hosting with Russia. He offered Finland’s Finland’s foreign minister in March In the research for his doctor- at the universities of Helsinki and the Nordic and Baltic foreign minis- expertise to the United States in af- this year, replacing Erkki Tuomioja al thesis, conducted in coopera- Yale. He is defending his doctoral ters in Turku. fairs concerning Russia. from the Social Democratic Party, tion with Dr Clyde Francks from thesis at the University of Helsinki Kanerva said that Rice is aware According to Kanerva, Rice prom- who has been critical of U.S. foreign Oxford University, Laurén found on Wednesday. STT of Finland’s challenging task as the ised to do whatever she can to help policy in the past. STT / HT Subscribe to Subscribe now! Get Helsinki Times HELSINKI delivered to your home for one year 120€! News from Finland in English every week TIMES E-mail your contact information (Name, Address, Telephone, E-mail) to [email protected] 2 13 – 19 JUNE 2007 VIEWPOINT HELSINKI TIMES said&done “If a politician who wants to be taken seriously is wandering An unwelcome sermon in a health centre in the middle of the night with a younger woman, who is NOT a girlfriend, lets the woman in question throw toilet rolls on his behalf and still goes to the local bar from the IMF stone sober, then that would be worrying. In Vanhanen’s case it is just stupid.” Reijo Ruokanen, Iltalehti, 8 June. “It is the duty of the prime minister to step into the public eye to explain incomplete political reforms just as eagerly as he described to the citizens the night-time toilet paper throwing International Monetary episode.” Tuomo Yli-Huttula, Kaleva, 9 June, calls on politicians to ac- Fund economists are cept open debate on controversial issues instead of trying to sti- right-wing politicians fl e it. “An immigrant journalist is contacted when they want a com- without a mandate, ment from an immigrant for some story. It’s not enough that you are invited three times a year to comment on the pages of argues Erkki Tuomioja. a newspaper.” Zimbabwean journalist Percy Mashaire, who has a Master’s Degree from the University of Helsinki and speaks fl uent Finn- Erkki Tuomioja ish, on the diffi culty of getting a job in the Finnish media, Jour- nalisti, 8 June. HE INTERNATIONAL Mone- by denying elderly people any country stupid enough to a strong case for cutting “Finland and Sweden are proceeding hand in hand towards Ttary Fund (IMF), acting as the possibility to retire be- listen to them? Can someone public expenditure on the more liberal cultural policies. The responsibility of the state is the guardian-in-chief of the fore reaching the pension produce an IMF report on any salaries and travel expenses lessening and shifting on to the shoulders of individuals and so-called Washington Con- age, and by driving young country, rich or poor, grow- we pay through our contribu- the markets. At the same time the state still wants to derive sensus, recently despatched people to work earlier through ing or stagnating, which has tion to the IMF in return for economic and image benefi ts for itself from culture. Cultural one of its economic priests, cuts in student benefi ts and ever, during the past twen- these sermons. This would al- policies are constructed with pocket calculators and interna- Lorenzo Figliuoli, to Helsin- by tightening the time-limits ty years, made any other so have the advantage of com- tional media hits.” ki in order to promote the for completing their studies. recommendations than the pelling our Ministry of Finance Fund’s country report on Fin- Public sector productivity ones listed above? Let alone bureaucrats to come out more Annukka Ruuskanen, Teatteri, 4/2007. land and proffer advice. has to be enhanced by out- some recommendations that openly with their identical sourcing contradict those ideas, such policies, instead of recycling H E I M F The IMF does not and priva- as paying attention to the them through the IMF. “The stadium was swarming with police, stewards and offi - Treport’s recognize the success tization. needs of the poorest, or safe- cials with plastic cards hanging round their necks. They had main fi nd- of the Nordic coun- Charges guarding the public interest prepared for crazy drunkards, hooligans, demonstrators and ings and eco- and fees for and the environment against terrorists, but not an eagle owl. ... We the spectators were nomic advice tries’ welfare policies public serv- competition running amok, jubilant because we knew that we had seen something au- to Finland in promoting social co- ices should or promoting more equali- thentic, something that had not been image manipulated, made very fa- be raised.