Agnico Eagle Finland Oy has donated one million euros to the University of Oulu. The deed of gift for the donation was signed at the university on 30 May 2017.

Reasons for the donation include the company’s desire to carry out its mining operations systematically in line with principles of sustainable development and to ensure the availability of expertise in the field. Agnico Eagle Finland Oy operates in Kittilä, where it runs Europe’s largest gold mine.

‘Agnico Eagle wants to ensure that northern Finland has a high-quality education and research centre that focuses on the raw-materials industry. The greatest potential and opportunities for mining are to be found in the northern region. Therefore, it’s essential that mining-related training and research be carried out there,’ explains Senior Adviser Ingmar Haga, who was the managing director of Agnico Eagle Finland Oy for many years. He adds:

‘To secure the continuity of mining operations and the availability of skilled workers in northern Finland, we must ensure that the region can offer training for young people and that there’s no need to recruit employees from elsewhere in Finland. Also, collaboration among local education institutions and the development of the Nordic Mining School are important for the future of the mining industry. Oulu plays a major role in this.’

‘We have a shared goal related to this,’ says Juha Pekka Lunkka, Dean of the university’s Oulu Mining School. ‘The Oulu Mining School is an international education and research centre that specialises in the raw-materials field and operates as part of the University of Oulu. Our goal is to ensure the availability of the human resources required by the industry and to carry out research in mining and mineral processing and in geosciences work that supports that industry,’ he explains.

Rector of the University of Oulu Jouko Niinimäki too appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with Agnico Eagle: ‘Sustainable development is one of the themes emphasised in our strategy. Sustainable use of natural resources in Arctic and other northern regions is pivotal because these areas have some of the world’s cleanest and best-preserved natural environments. Our Arctic research programme is based on strong partnerships, in which collaboration with key operators in the relevant branches of industry plays a central role.’

At the signing event, Agnico Eagle Finland Oy was represented by Pertti Voutilainen, a member of Agnico Eagle’s board, and Mikko Korteniemi, General Manager of the Kittilä mine, in addition to Haga. Niinimäki and Vice-Rector for Education Helka-Liisa Hentilä, Lunkka, and Dean for Education Saija Luukkanen accepted the donation on behalf of the University of Oulu.

Sources of further information:

Ingmar Haga, Senior Adviser of Agnico Eagle Finland Oy, tel. +358 40 700 3518

Juha Pekka Lunkka, Dean for the University of Oulu’s Oulu Mining School, tel. +358 294 48 1434

Sakari Jussi-Pekka, Head of External Relations, University of Oulu, tel. +358 40 546 6866