Anglo American invests in Finnish battery chain

Anglo American and Finnish Minerals Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore battery value chain opportunities in Finland.

Finnish Minerals Group is a holding and development company that manages the Finnish Government’s mining industry shareholdings and supports the development of the Finnish battery value chain.

The Finland battery strategy aims to make Finland a leading country in sustainable battery production and electrification by 2025.

It focuses on building an advanced ecosystem in the battery sector and supporting Finland’s sustainable, low-carbon economic growth while helping achieve transport’s climate targets.

“Exploring joint opportunities with Anglo American is a natural choice for us as they already know the Finnish operational environment,” Finnish Minerals Group senior vice president of raw materials Jani Kiuru said.

“In addition, the company has a long history in mining and is a forerunner in sustainability. We believe this collaboration reinforces both parties by combining local and global know-how in sustainability and technological development, thus maximising the value of Finnish minerals responsibly.

“We see there is a mutual understanding on the vast possibilities and importance of Finnish minerals for the green transition.”

Anglo American projects and development director Alison Atkinson described Finland as a “highly attractive investment” location that has a “strong heritage” in mining and innovation.

“We look forward to working with Finnish Minerals Group, whose mission is to responsibly maximise the value of Finnish minerals, to explore the wealth of opportunities that our agreement could offer,” she said.

“This agreement further strengthens our commitment to Finland as well as to our Sakatti project, a true polymetallic orebody very much aligned to Finland’s and the EU’s (European Union’s) critical minerals priorities.”

The Sakatti copper-cobalt-nickel-platinum group element project is located 15km north of Sodankylä, Finland. Atkinson said the project embodies Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining approach to sustainable mining.

“(The Sakatti project is) building on what we have learned in terms of minimal surface footprint and using technology and innovation to deliver ever better environmental and social outcomes, while producing essential raw materials needed to transition to a greener, low carbon energy future,” she said.

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