Paakkila mine, Finland

An article on the Finnish asbestos industry from the India Rubber Journal, reprinted in Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, in December 1924, said that "the principal asbestos finds in Finland are situated at Paakkila, Tuusniemi, near the town of Kuopio."¹ It told how the Danish firm of Smidth and Company first built a factory at Paakkila, but "owing to transport difficulties, which made the cost of production too heavy, the factory was compelled to close down within a few years."¹ In 1917, the article said, "Suomen Mineraali O. Y., Helsingfors, acquired a majority of the shares in the Suomen Asbesti O. Y. (the Finnish Asbestos Co., Ltd.)."¹ "Active operations recommenced in 1918," at first "confined to the mining of the raw material for export to Germany"; later the company took up the making of asbestos fibre and asbestos flour, "the yearly production of which now amounts to about 3,000 tons."¹ A 1975 article in the journal dated the start of "industrial production at the Anthophyllite operation" to 1918.⁴

Working the mine

In July 1948 Asbestos reported that the mines of Finska Mineral Aktiebolaget, at Paakkila in Northern Savolax and at Maljasalmi in Northern Carelia, were "running full speed, being mostly worked by the surface quarrying method," and that the company was "preparing to switch part of their production to underground mining."² The company produced "about 6,000 tons a year" from the two mines together, "the greater part being used by their own factories."² The issue showed a photograph of the "Asbestos Mill at Paakkila" and noted that the company's own asbestos "is of the anthophyllite variety."² The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1948 reported that the company "produces about 6,000 tons of anthophyllite annually from surface mines at Paakkila in Northern Savolax and at Maljasalmi in Northern Karelia."⁵

For 1955 the yearbook reported that "anthophyllite asbestos was mined at Paakkila and Maljasalmi by underground and open-pit methods," and that "the Suomen Mineraali Oy (company) owned the mines and used the output to produce asbestos board, insulation compounds, some yarn and packings, and asbestos-cement board."³ A 1956 item in Asbestos, credited to Mineral Trade Notes, said that Paakkila used "both underground and surface mining methods," that Suomen Mineraali Oy was "established in 1917," and that "a new milling plant at Paakila ... is expected to increase the output of crude asbestos stone at this mine to about 12,000 metric tons a year."⁶

The closing

The Minerals Yearbook for 1975 reported that "after 58 years of operation the Paakkila anthophyllite mine of Paaristen Kalkki Oy was closed in January," that "marketing problems and labor shortages were among the determining factors," and that "the mill remained open through June."⁷ Asbestos reported in December 1975 that Paraisten Kalkki Oy, of Helsinki, had decided "the operation of the Paakkila Mine is uneconomic," and that "mining operations were closed as of January 1, 1975, although the mill was kept in production during the first half of the year."⁴

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.²

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Location

Output the documents report

Figures as printed, in the units each document uses (short tons before about 1990, metric tons after, in most U.S. chapters). Some are a year's output, some a daily rate or a capacity, some a company's total rather than this mine's alone; the statement for that year below says which.

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1917

• Ownership: “Suomen Mineraali O. Y. ... acquired a majority of the shares in the Suomen Asbesti O. Y.” (Suomen Mineraali O. Y.; Suomen Asbesti O. Y.), as reported by India Rubber Journal, September 27, 1924, reprinted in Asbestos (magazine), p. 41¹

1918

• Worked: “Active operations recommenced in 1918” (Suomen Asbesti O. Y.), as reported by India Rubber Journal, September 27, 1924, reprinted in Asbestos (magazine), p. 41¹
• Opened: “Industrial production at the Anthophyllite operation had begun in 1918”, p. 50⁴

1924

• Output: “the yearly production of which now amounts to about 3,000 tons” (Suomen Asbesti O. Y.), as reported by India Rubber Journal, September 27, 1924, reprinted in Asbestos (magazine), p. 41¹
• Description: “situated at Paakkila, Tuusniemi, near the town of Kuopio”, as reported by India Rubber Journal, September 27, 1924, reprinted in Asbestos (magazine), p. 40¹
• Idle: “the factory was compelled to close down within a few years” (Smidth and Company), as reported by India Rubber Journal, September 27, 1924, reprinted in Asbestos (magazine), p. 40¹

1948

• Fiber: “anthophyllite” (Finska Mineral Aktiebolaget), p. 14²
• Worked: “their asbestos mines are running full speed, being mostly worked by the surface quarrying method” (Finska Mineral Aktiebolaget), p. 16²
• Output: “The company produces about 6,000 tons a year” (Finska Mineral Aktiebolaget), p. 16²
• Mill: “Asbestos Mill at Paakkila” (Finska Mineral Aktiebolaget), p. 14²
• Output: “produces about 6,000 tons of anthophyllite annually from surface mines at Paakkila ... and at Maljasalmi” (Finska Mineral Aktiebolaget), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 11⁵

1955

• Ownership: “The Suomen Mineraali Oy (company) owned the mines” (Suomen Mineraali Oy), p. 12³
• Worked: “Anthophyllite asbestos was mined” (Suomen Mineraali Oy), p. 12³
• Fiber: “Anthophyllite asbestos” (Suomen Mineraali Oy), p. 12³
• Description: “by underground and open-pit methods” (Suomen Mineraali Oy), p. 12³

1956

• Ownership: “The Suomen Mineraali Oy (company), established in 1917, which owns both mines” (Suomen Mineraali Oy), as reported by Mineral Trade Notes, p. 54⁶
• Description: “Anthophyllite asbestos is mined at Paakkila in the commune of Tuusniemi, where both underground and surface mining methods are used”, as reported by Mineral Trade Notes, p. 54⁶
• Mill: “A new milling plant at Paakila ... is expected to increase the output of crude asbestos stone at this mine to about 12,000 metric tons a year”, as reported by Mineral Trade Notes, p. 54⁶
• Fiber: “Anthophyllite asbestos is mined at Paakkila”, as reported by Mineral Trade Notes, p. 54⁶

1975

• Closed: “Mining operations were closed as of January 1, 1975, although the mill was kept in production during the first half of the year” (Paraisten Kalkki Oy), p. 50⁴
• Fiber: “the Paakkila anthophyllite mine” (Paaristen Kalkki Oy), p. 10⁷
• Closed: “After 58 years of operation the Paakkila anthophyllite mine of Paaristen Kalkki Oy was closed in January” (Paaristen Kalkki Oy), p. 10⁷
• Closed: “Marketing problems and labor shortages were among the determining factors” (Paaristen Kalkki Oy), p. 10⁷
• Mill: “The mill remained open through June” (Paaristen Kalkki Oy), p. 10⁷

In medical studies

Medical studies in our research library that name this mine, by how they concern it. A search found every one that names the mine and an AI reader sorted them; the quotation, checked word for word against the text, shows where. Those that name the mine only in passing or in a reference list are left out.

Studies of the mine’s workers (6)

• Karjalainen A 1994: Four cases of mesothelioma among Finnish anthophyllite miners: “As well as work in the Paakkila mine, all four had worked in farming and forestry. They all retired when they left the company.”
• Koskinen K 1996: Screening for asbestos-induced diseases in Finland: “Sixty-five of the residents who had been working in asbestos mines and factories at Tuusniemi and Outokumpu were invited to participate.”
• Meurman LO 1974: Mortality and morbidity among the working population of anthophyllite asbestos miners in Finland: “Since 1936, both mines in Finland have been owned by Suomen Mineraali Oy. One of the mines, Paakkila, is still in use”
• Meurman LO 1994: Incidence of cancer among anthophyllite asbestos miners in Finland: “Two anthophyllite asbestos mines (Paakkila and Maljasalmi) were in operation from 1918, and the salary lists had been”
• Morgan A 1984: The distribution and characteristics of asbestos fibers in the lungs of Finnish anthophyllite mine-workers: “Subject A was 53 years of age at death and had been employed as a laborer at the Paakkila mine for 30 years since the age of 16.”
• Nynäs P 2017: Cancer Incidence in Asbestos-Exposed Workers: An Update on Four Finnish Cohorts: “is the oldest cohort, and comprises workers of the former Paakkila and Maljasalmi anthophyllite asbestos mines in Finland. The Paakkila mine began operating in 1918”

Studies of people who lived nearby (4)

• Hillerdal G 1984: Rarity of mineral fibre pleurisy among persons exposed to Finnish anthophyllite and with low risk of mesothelioma: “The larger one, Paakkila in the Tuusniemi commune, started operations in 1918 and closed down in 1975 because of the dust problem.”
• Kiviluoto R 1979: Pleural plaques and neoplasia in Finland: “A high incidence of pleural plaques has been found in people who have lived near two open asbestos mines in Paakkila (Tuusniemi), Finland.”
• Kokki E 2001: Small area estimation of incidence of cancer around a known source of exposure with fine resolution data: “The study area is a square of size 50 km×50 km around the former asbestos mine consisting of a rural area with three built up areas.”
• Partanen T 1992: Localized pleural plaques and lung cancer: “Tuusniemi is a rural commune in Eastern Finland. Anthophyllite was mined and processed in Tuusniemi from the beginning of the century until June 1975.”

Studies of the mine’s fiber (7)

• Bloise A 2016: Trace elements in hazardous mineral fibres: “Fibrous anthophyllite Ca0.04(Mg5.81Fe2þ 0.92Fe3þ 0.21Mn0.04)6.98(Si7.83Al0.02)7.85O21.63(OH)2.37 Paakkila mine, Paakkila (Finland)d”
• Laamanen A 1965: Observations an atmospheric air pollution caused by asbestos
• Martin J 2017: Effect of accelerating voltage on beam damage of asbestos fibers in the transmission electron microscope (TEM): “is from the Paakkila mine in the Tuusniemi commune, Finland, crocidolite ([Na2Fe2+3Fe3+2Si8O22(OH)2]n) is from the Koegas mine in South Africa”
• Martin J 2017: Effect of temperature on beam damage of asbestos fibers in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) at 100kV: “standard reference sample, from Paakkila mine in the Tuusniemi commune, Finland (Bowes and Farrow 1997).”
• Pollastri S 2014: The zeta potential of mineral fibres
• Varga C 1996: In vivo studies on genotoxicity and cogenotoxicity of ingested UICC anthophyllite asbestos: “UICC anthophyllite, derived from the product of the Paakkila (Finland) mine has the value of 83% for the percentage respirable fraction”
• Ventura GD 2018: Infra Red Spectroscopy of the Regulated Asbestos Amphiboles: “The UICC sample investigated here was from Paakkila (Table 1). Similar occurrences are known in the U.S., such as in Idaho, Georgia, and North Carolina”

Other names

Documents call this mine “surface mines at Paakkila”, “Paakkila”, “Paakkila anthophyllite mine”, “Asbestos Mill at Paakkila”, “Paakila”.

See also

• Paakkila Mine in the Lexicon
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1924, December 1924 (December 1, 1924), pp. 40–41.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1948, July 1948 (July 1, 1948), pp. 14, 16.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1955 (January 1, 1956), p. 12.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 50.
5. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1948 (January 1, 1949), p. 11.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1956, November 1956 (November 1, 1956), p. 54.
7. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1975 (January 1, 1976), p. 10.