The newspaper Iltalehti revealed on Christmas Day that Dragon Mining planned to empty the gold mine in the Finnish town of Valkeakoski on all gold before the Supreme Administrative Court had had time to decide on the local residents' complaint. The plans were based on a prospectus presented on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The mining company Dragon Mining, which is active in Finland, has no plans to "take the gold and run," says the company's CEO.
The proposed mining tax raises concerns among foreign owners in the mining industry in Finland, writes the Helsinki newspaper HBL
The Australian mining company Dragon Mining denies the claim that the company would take advantage of the Finnish authorities' lengthy complaints process regarding unethical mining operations.
Dragon Mining's CEO Brett Smith claims that the accusation is not true.
- That statement is a distortion of what was said in the prospectus, says Smith.
Smith attended newly the Mining Industry RFF's press conference in Helsinki. At the meeting, representatives of the mining industry tried to correct general misunderstandings regarding the mining industry.
Iltalehti's revelation once again sparked a lively debate on the activities of foreign mining companies in Finland. Several politicians took a position on the issue and considered that Finland should introduce a mining tax. Currently, Finland has no mining tax. Instead, the mining industry pays compensation to the landowner.
Mining industry manager Pekka Suominen believes that the mining tax is on the way.
- I think it seems quite clear that every political party in our parliament has this as a goal in one way or another in the government negotiations, says Suominen, to HBL.
The mining industry nevertheless hopes that the parties will make a thorough assessment of the effects of the tax before making any decisions. There is a risk that Finland will lose valuable investments because of it.
- Our view is that the tax burden for mines as a whole is higher than in Sweden, which means that a tax increase here would support Swedish mines and Swedish employment, says Suomalainen.
- When you look at the mining industry in general, there are a few people who know it in depth in this country.
- The work of the MPs is demanding and they have a lot on their tables. In addition, this is a rather complicated subject, says Suomalainen to Hufvudstadsbladet.
