So what happened after the new mine was opened in 1954 and the old mine featured in the last post was closed?
Well, mining continued all the way until 1989, when enough copper had been extracted. In May that year the mine was closed. They dismantled the machinery either for the museum, resale or just scrap metal.
In 1995 most of the buildings were demolished. Another mining area built in the 1930’s, which lay between the old mine and the new mine, was demolished a few years earlier.
The only building left to stand was the old mining tower. It still stands and is among the highest structures in the Nordic countries.
The road to the mine has been blocked, but as you can see, there are gaps in the fence. The new mine was accessible, but as time was racing and I was supposed to work the following morning, I didn’t proceed. After all, there still was a lot to be toured that day.
The sun was already setting, but we still had several municipalities to visit before heading home some five hours of driving away. The temperature was around +30 Celsius, very hot for the Finnish summer. And the air conditioning in my summer car wasn’t working. We were hungover, hot and exhausted. But there was still one major location to be visited this weekend.
So the story continues.