Outokumpu’s Kemi mine to launch ‘European first’ circular economy ecosystem
Outokumpu’s Kemi mine, together with the EU-funded Lapland Mining Hub project and Digipolis in Kemi, is launching a data-driven circular economy ecosystem that aims to, it says, transform the mine’s side streams from waste into valuable resources while reducing the use of virgin raw materials.
The aim is to build a long-term model in which side streams can be utilised on an industrial scale, creating new business in both the Lapland region and internationally. The project, led by the Regional Council of Lapland, aims to strengthen the mining industry’s pioneering role in the region while supporting operators in advancing a vision where a significant share of mining side streams is used as raw material for new products and solutions.
Martti Sassi, President for Business Area Ferrochrome at Outokumpu, said: “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 utilisation 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,” says .
Similar industry- and data-driven circular economy models focusing on mining side streams have not previously been implemented in Finland, Outokumpu says. The production of the Kemi mine generates nearly 3 Mt of waste rock and tailings annually, of which waste rock is utilised in the mining area and outside of it. The currently available volumes of side streams could be used in the future in several new innovative applications, such as soil amendment materials, low-carbon cement replacement, carbon sequestration, thermal energy storage in sand batteries or mineral recovery.
The circular economy project will produce transparent mining data on the quantity, quality and suitability of various side streams for potential new partners. The project is based on strategic cooperation with the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, forming the scientific, technological and international foundation of the ecosystem.
The model to be built in the project will first be tested and validated at the Kemi mine, after which it is intended to be applied to other mining areas in Lapland and eventually more widely to Europe. The goal is a long-term collaboration model in which mining, SMEs, research and public sectors work together.
The ecosystem seeks both domestic and international partners, especially in the fields of technology, processing and material solutions. Local value creation and jobs are at the core, but expertise is also sought outside Finland’s borders – for 2026, primarily from Nordic operators who benefit from the proximity of Kemi.
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