Outokumpu’s Kemi mine, in partnership with the EU-funded Lapland Mining Hub project and Digipolis Kemi, has launched a groundbreaking data-driven circular economy ecosystem. The initiative aims to transform the mine’s side streams—traditionally considered waste—into valuable resources, while reducing reliance on virgin raw materials.

 

The project, led by the Regional Council of Lapland, seeks to create a long-term industrial model that utilizes side streams at scale, generating new business opportunities both regionally and internationally. It is also designed to strengthen the mining industry’s pioneering role in Lapland and push operators toward a vision where a significant share of mining by-products serve as raw material for new products.

 

“The EU's green transition increases the need for new kinds of solutions, especially as the need for critical raw materials and material efficiency requirements are rapidly changing the operating environment. The utilization of side streams is no longer just an environmental act, but part of competitiveness and supply security. 

 

"Our Kemi mine is the only chromium mine in the EU and plays a strategic role in ensuring critical mineral self-sufficiency as well as the entire stable and low-emission value chain. The project now launched at the mine is part of Outokumpu's wider ecosystem in Kemi-Tornio, the future potential of which we see as significant. 

 

"Our business is strongly based on the circular economy, as more than 95% of the raw materials we use are already recycled,” said Martti Sassi, President for Business Area Ferrochrome at Outokumpu.

 

The initiative is the first of its kind in Finland. The Kemi mine produces nearly 3 million tonnes of waste rock and tailings annually, currently used to some extent in and outside the mining area. Future applications for these side streams could include soil amendments, low-carbon cement replacement, carbon sequestration, thermal energy storage in sand batteries, and mineral recovery.

 

The ecosystem will provide transparent mining data on the quantity, quality, and potential applications of side streams for partners. Strategic cooperation with the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland will form the scientific and technological backbone of the project, while positioning it for international collaboration.

 

The Kemi mine will serve as a pilot site, with plans to expand the model to other Lapland mines and eventually across Europe. The project aims to establish a long-term collaborative framework linking mining, SMEs, research institutions, and public-sector stakeholders.

 

“We want to create a functional and permanent mining industry ecosystem in the Lapland region, where mine side streams are systematically utilized, and where we are known as a pioneer in responsible mining and the circular economy also outside Finland's borders. 

 

"The project is funded by the Regional Council of Lapland's European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is why the aim of the solutions to be developed is to make them replicable and applicable in other areas as well,” said Ida Paaso from the Lapland Mining Hub project.

 

The ecosystem is seeking both domestic and international partners in technology, processing, and material solutions. Local value creation and job opportunities are central, but expertise from Nordic operators and beyond will also be leveraged in 2026, taking advantage of Kemi’s strategic location.