Terrafame is seeking leave to appeal in the Supreme Administrative Court regarding the Vaasa Administrative Court’s decisions, which have significant impacts
In December 2024, the Vaasa Administrative Court (VAC) passed two decisions relating to Terrafame, one of which concerns the environmental and water permit covering all of Terrafame’s operations, i.e. the main permit, and the other concerns the KL1 waste rock area. Terrafame has evaluated the impacts of the VAC’s decisions on the company’s operations and has today sought leave to appeal in the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). Additionally, Terrafame is requesting the SAC to pass an interim decision regarding key restrictions on operations.
In its decisions, the VAC confirmed the increase in the ore extraction volume to 18 million tonnes per year, approved earlier by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland, but restricted the waste rock extraction volume to 30 million tonnes per year. In its own decision, the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland had approved an increase in the waste rock extraction volume from 30 million tonnes to 45 million tonnes per year. The VAC’s decisions partly restrict the construction and use of the new secondary leaching area SEK5−8 and the new waste rock area KL1.
In Terrafame’s view, there are weighty reasons for the annulment of the VAC’s decisions and the making of an interim decision. The key reasons concern the following aspects:
- The VAC’s decision to restrict the waste rock extraction volume to 30 million tonnes per year restricts ore mining to the extent that it will not be possible to extract 18 million tonnes of ore in line with the business model in the coming years. Moving to the next mining phase at the end of the decade without a production interruption requires extracting 45 million tonnes of waste rock per year to remove enough waste rock from the ore bed.
- The VAC’s decision restricts the construction of the new waste rock area KL1 and the new secondary leaching area SEK5−8. According to Terrafame’s view, the VAC has not estimated the areas’ filling rate correctly, as the capacity of the areas that have received permits will not last until permits can be obtained for the next segments in the new permitting round. The filling up of the waste rock area KL1 is significantly accelerated by the regulation forbidding the use of black shale waste rock as a filling layer below the secondary leaching area. In terms of environmental protection, said regulation is unnecessary, as the filling layer below the secondary leaching area is constructed using similar base structures as in the separate waste rock areas. The regulation also requires extracting pure mica slate separately for the base structure. No mica slate is currently generated in Terrafame’s mining operations, so the VAC’s regulation increases total extraction and thereby contradicts the principles of efficient use of raw materials, significantly increasing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The regulation also has considerable cost effects.
- For segments 1–6 of the waste rock area KL1, the VAC ordered the construction of double base structures that do not create any added value in terms of environmental protection. It should be noted that in its environmental permit application, Terrafame has presented research- and science-based structures that meet the principles of Best Available Techniques (BAT). In its own decision, the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland ordered that significant additional reinforcement be added to the structures due to the safety principle. Now, the VAC has practically doubled the reinforced structures ordered by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland, again appealing to the safety principle without an actual need. According to Terrafame’s view, this cannot be justified from an environmental perspective, and the reinforced structures will cause unreasonable additional costs for the company.
“From Terrafame’s perspective, it was important that the VAC upheld the ore extraction volume of 18 million tonnes per year approved by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland. If upheld, the other regulations pertaining to the VAC’s decisions will, however, negatively impact Terrafame’s operations and cause significant additional costs. We believe that we have presented a very strong argument in our appeal application to the SAC. We see that it would be completely justified to annul the VAC’s decisions,” says Lauri Ratia, Chair of the Board of Directors of Terrafame Ltd.
“Terrafame’s importance to regional economy and employment in Kainuu is significant, as is the company’s impact more broadly in Finland and Europe. Today, the company produces 70% of the nickel produced in Europe, and it has a major role in the creation of a European battery value chain. The VAC’s decisions unjustifiably undermine Terrafame’s operating conditions and create unnecessary uncertainty in the planning of the company’s operations. The key restrictions of the VAC’s decisions came as a complete surprise to the company, and without a dialogue on their impacts. The current permitting system does not conform to present-day requirements, and a clear change in the system is needed,” Ratia concludes.
Terrafame has communicated about the VAC’s decisions in an online news article on 19 December 2024 and about the previous interim decisions on 24 January 2024.
For further information, please contact:
Lauri Ratia, Chair of the Board of Directors, tel. +358 50 2922, ratia(at)lauriratia.com
Veli-Matti Hilla, Chief Sustainability Officer, tel. +358 20 7130 800 (switchboard), veli-matti.hilla[at]terrafame.fi
Terrafame enhances low-carbon mobility by delivering responsibly produced battery chemicals to the global battery industry. One of the world’s largest production lines for chemicals used in electric vehicle batteries is located on Terrafame’s industrial site. The plant is capable of producing nickel sulphate for around 1 million EVs per year. The carbon footprint of the nickel sulphate produced by Terrafame is among the smallest in the industry.
Terrafame’s integrated, unique and energy-efficient production process from the mine to battery chemicals is located on a single industrial site. It provides customers with a transparent, traceable and truly European battery chemical supply chain.
Terrafame Ltd was founded in 2015. Its net sales in 2023 were EUR 560.9 million. Around 1,900 people work on its industrial site, slightly over half of whom are employees of partner companies.
