Stop Talvivaara/Terrafame mining disaster

For the rivers and lakes - Stop Talvivaara

Finland is a land of tens of thousands of lakes and rivers.
The Talvivaara polymetallic and uranium mine in Sotkamo was granted a license to mine nickel in 2006. 
Talvivaara has since proven itself to be a hazard for water systems on both sides of the watershed.

Talvivaara mine has exceeded both estimated and permitted levels of emissions by multiple amounts.
Severe damage has been caused to precious wilderness lakes and rivers as far as over one hundred kilometres away from the mine.  
Chemical load from the mine has spread widely into the Oulujoki and Vuoksi drainage systems.

Breaking the terms of environment permit is an adequate reason to cancel and stop operation of Talvivaara mine and to start 
a new environmental impact assessment process.

The second reason to revoke Talvivaara's environment permit is the extraction of uranium which is already 
part of the operation of the mine, but which is yet to be formally approved. Bioheap leaching used by Talvivaara 
causes huge loads of uranium to be dumped in the gypsum precipitate pools, uranium is also transferred into resulting 
solutions and effluent as well. Hundreds of tons of uranium is being extracted already and in spite of the fact that 
uranium was not taken into account in Talvivaara's environmental impact assessment procedure or environment permits.

The methods and technology used at the mine also pose a great risk for workers' health and safety. 
The first death of an employee has already occurred resulting from toxic gas - hydrogen sulfide. 
What is the true level of exposure to toxic chemicals for the employees and what kind of damage to health 
has been already caused to people at the mine?

Local residents around Talvivaara are also living in the danger zone. In addition to pollutants in the water, dust and 
sulphur emissions have also polluted the breathing air for hundreds of households within a radius of tens of kilometres. 
Uranium particles are also being dispersed into the air due to explosions at the mine.

The whole concept of Talvivaara, an open-pit mine on watershed area based on bioheap leaching, is completely unsustainable.
This mining technique was originally marketed as ecological but has proven to be a technique that
causes extreme amounts of chemical emissions and effluent. As well as the potentially permanent pollution of ground water,
open-pit mining results in dust and aerial emissions spreading within an area of hundreds of square kilometres.

Oulujoki and Vuoksi drainage systems are treasures with global value, they are part of our age-old cultural-ecological heritage. 
Now these waters are being used for waste-water by the Talvivaara mining company. These activities are causing the destruction 
of wilderness areas and ruining the possibilities and reputations of the local tourist industry and the image
of Finland as a whole.

We demand that the Finnish government cancel and revoke the environmental permit of Talvivaara mining company. 
Talvivaara mine must be closed.
We courage the stockholders to support efforts for closing the mine.