Lithium mining commences in Finland
Keliber’s planned lithium mining project was first announced in 2022, but it repeatedly faced financial challenges that threatened its viability. By the end of 2022, however, the South Africa-listed mining company Sibanye-Stillwater acquired a 19.82% stake in Keliber, while the state-owned Finnish Minerals Group held 20%, and a group of Finnish shareholders owned a minority stake of 0.18%.
This week, the first spodumene vein was blasted from the rock at the open-pit mine in western Finland, marking the occasion with a ceremonial event attended by invited guests and media. The Syväjärvi mine is expected to create around 350 jobs. With a targeted annual production of approximately 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM), the facility in the Kokkola region aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on China for this critical battery material.
“Sibanye-Stillwater is proud to announce that the Syväjärvi mine at our Keliber lithium project in Finland officially began operations on 11 February 2026. The opening detonation was carried out under the supervision of Mine Manager Sari Koivisto and her team,” the company stated in a LinkedIn post. “On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are especially proud to recognise Sari’s contribution to this significant milestone.”
The mining area spans three municipalities, with the first blast taking place within the boundaries of Kaustinen. However, the quarry itself is located in the Kokkola region, which is why both names are often associated with the lithium mining project.
The lithium deposit in western Finland was discovered over 60 years ago. However, lithium only gained significance as a battery material much later—and initially, this was primarily in Asia. With rising lithium prices and increasing demand driven by the large batteries used in electric vehicles, Keliber revived the project in 2022. It was only with the investment from South Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater that the project could finally proceed. However, as the Finnish broadcaster YLE notes: “When Sibanye-Stillwater invested, the price was 10 times higher than last summer’s low. It has since rebounded somewhat, but remains below the five-year average.”
The LHM mined in Kaustinen/Kokkola is set to establish not just a European but a fully Finnish supply chain for battery-grade lithium. The lithium-bearing rock from the quarry will be transported to the nearby Päiväneva processing plant. From there, it will be transported by lorry to a lithium refinery in Kokkola. The LHM can then be exported via the local seaport, through the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea.
A cathode material factory is currently under construction in Kotka, south-eastern Finland. Additional factories are located in Germany, Poland, and Hungary. Other lithium deposits exist, for example, in Portugal, but there are no refining facilities there—further processing takes place in other countries. Meanwhile, the lithium deposit in Serbia’s Jadar Valley remains untouched for now, as mining giant Rio Tinto officially shelved the project in November. Beyond mining, there are also projects aimed at extracting lithium from geothermal brine in Europe, such as Vulcan Energy in Germany.
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