The mine holds around 3.4 million ounces of gold, and with gold trading at roughly £2,374 per ounce as of April 2025, that gives the site a staggering estimated value of £8.06 billion – and that’s just for the reserves.
First gold was poured in January 2009, and commercial production began later that year.
Open-pit mining wrapped up in 2012, and since then Kittila has operated entirely as an underground mine.
The underground zone stretches across several kilometres and reaches over 1km deep.
According to Agnico Eagle, the mine produced nearly 219,000 ounces of gold in 2024 alone.
Mining methods reportedly include long-hole stoping, and the operation uses Caterpillar trucks and heavy-duty drill rigs to extract ore.
Once brought to the surface, the ore is processed onsite using advanced flotation and leaching systems.
The gold is smelted into bars and shipped for final refining. On average, the mine achieves a gold recovery rate of 92%.
The mill also has an unusual feature: a bomb shelter. It’s a legal requirement in Finland due to laws passed after the country gained independence in 1917.
A major expansion in recent years has increased the mine’s capacity from 1.6 million to 2 million tonnes per year.
This included building a new 1,044-metre-deep shaft, a nitrogen removal plant, and installing new production hoists.
The expansion was completed in stages between 2022 and 2023.
In early 2023, the mine also signed a deal to use only clean electricity, generated entirely by wind and nuclear power.
Kittila currently employs around 475 people and is one of Finland’s most important industrial sites.
