This year too, the Kittilä mine is providing dozens of summer jobs and internships. Most of the trainees and summer employees will start their work in early May or in June. Three of the seasonal employees who started with us last week will be working in our two laboratories for the summer.

Between them, our labs employ 16 professionals in laboratory technology. The analytical laboratory analyzes the concentration of various chemical elements in samples obtained from ore processing and our geological team, along with various environmental samples. The laboratory technicians working at our metallurgical laboratory preprocess samples from ore processing, getting them ready for the analytical lab, and perform research to aid in the metallurgists’ work.

Essi Korpi has been studying at the Tampere University of Applied Sciences for two years now to become a laboratory engineer. She will complete the nine-week internship that is part of her course by working at our analytical laboratory and will then continue as a summer employee until the end of August.

“This is my second day at work, and I’ve already learned a lot,” says Essi, who worked in press felt manufacture at Valmet’s factory in Tampere last year.

“I plan to get a better idea of laboratory work and learn about lab equipment, and I expect to analyze test results this summer,” says Essi. Her hopes for after graduation are to work as a laboratory supervisor somewhere in the North. Essi would prefer to work in either an industrial or a hospital environment.

Päivi Ylitalo has a vocational qualification in laboratory technology from Vocational College Lappia, and her studies have recently earned her the title Laboratory Technician. She is delighted with her summer job at our analytical laboratory and says that she hopes to be able to continue working here after September.

“In laboratory work, I enjoy the analysis and working with my hands. I wanted a summer job at the Kittilä mine because the work at the laboratory here is varied,” says Päivi. She did her internship at Eurofins Ahma in Rovaniemi. That’s where the Kittilä mine sends some of its water samples for analysis.

“I enjoy being able to apply what I learned at school and getting to develop my skills further,” Päivi enthuses. She also has a degree in agrology, and her dream job would let her combine her skills related to natural resources with laboratory technology.

Maarit Välimaa has extensive and highly varied experience in working life, and her background also includes a degree in business administration. She is now facing something new as she begins her training in laboratory technology in Kemi. The COVID-19 situation affected teaching there, which is why Maarit’s studies are starting, atypically, with an internship at our metallurgical laboratory. “For me it was a stroke of luck to get a summer job here! I intend to absorb all the information I possibly can here,” Maarit says.

Her other half has been working at the Kittilä mine too, handling various temporary duties. “My father and mother have worked at LKAB’s mine in Kiruna, and so have my brother and his children. In addition, my 17-year-old son is applying for a mining school. Our family clearly has long traditions of work in the mining industry.”

We wish Essi, Päivi, Maarit, and all of our summer employees enriching and safe summer days at the Kittilä mine!