4 minute read
Mikael Staffas: Providing metals to Europe in a sustainable way
from Materia 2/2024
In Finland, there is a long standing tradition of extracting and refining metals for the European market. Some twenty years ago, Outokumpu and Boliden reached an agreement which led to a Swedish-Finnish mining and metals giant, at least by European standards. The CEO of the company today is Mikael Staffas who was one of the main speakers at this year´s Vuorimiespäivät in Helsinki.
Mikael Staffas joined Boliden already in 2011, first as the CFO and through the role as Director of Business Area Mines he was appointed CEO in 2018. The acquisition of the Kevitsa mine from First Quantum was of course one of the major decisions during the years responsible for the mining business. Since then, expansions have been carried out both in Finland, Sweden and Norway, all with the ambition to strengthen productivity and develop the units further in order to withstand competition and economic downturns where metal prices are lower. The most important aspect of Boliden is, however, to maintain the delegated leadership within the company. Mikael has stated many times that his job “is to secure that those responsible for the mining and smelting units are free from too much involvement from headquarters”.
Today, Boliden operates the Kevitsa mine in Sodankylä where copper and nickel are produced with among others cobalt as a side metal. Further south, the zinc smelting operation in Kokkola has been a very reliable performer when it comes to providing zinc to the European construction and car manufacturing industries. In Harjavalta, Boliden is continuing the tradition of flash smelting and copper as well as precious metals production whilst in recent years also developing smelting of nickel. Altogether, Boliden has around 1 700 employees in Finland. On top of creating jobs through the operating sites, Boliden is also active within exploration seeking to develop both brownfield as well as greenfield deposits.
During the presentation, Mikael Staffas focused on the incredible strength the Finnish mining and metal industry has shown as well as on the possibilities that lie ahead. As it turns out, during the latest decades the share of mine production in Europe has declined substantially. This has happened to an extent which makes it more and more obvious that this will create a problem when securing raw materials needed for the climate transition. The mining and metals sectors simply need to grow and projects are in a hurry. This is one of the reasons for the launch of the Critical Raw Materials Act by the European Commission, and as the former Chairmain of Eurometaux, a European trade organization for non-ferrous metals producers and recyclers, Mikael simply puts it “It is time for a European awakening. There is simply no responsible climate transition without also taking responsibility for the raw material supply.”
In Finland, the conditions for developing value chains for responsibly produced metals are excellent. Besides the strong technical know-how and the firm commitment to safety in operations, the carbon footprint is favorable. When it comes to nickel, for example, the value chain from Kevitsa through Harjavalta is many times shorter than competition from the far east. And with the increase in demand related to the growing battery industry, of course responsibly produced nickel should be safeguarded and developed.
Besides arguing for a stronger European perspective on raw material supply, Mikael of course also touched upon several other issues, for example how important the network of companies supplying the metals industry is and altogether what such an industry means for tax revenues and development of welfare for all. The main thing is, however, to look forward and increase cooperation between Finland and Sweden in order to build on each other’s strengths. ▲
TEXT: MIKAEL STAFFAS
