Finland mining CEO charged with environmental crime
Eastern Finland’s District Prosecutor Heikki Ylisirniö has pressed charges against Pekka Perä, the CEO of the Talvivaara mine, for harming the environment.
The plaintiff in the case is the Kainuu ELY Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.
Talvivaara CEO Pekka Perä is being charged for a decision to pump industrial effluents to the Kuusilampi open excavation between 19 December 2013 and 31 January 2014.
In the preliminary investigation, Perä has denied being guilty of any crime.
The prosecutor has requested to have the case be heard in a District Court trial under way, dealing with Talvivaara environmental crime and possible claims for industrial effluent emissions.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Arctic mining – unexpected social negatives for Inuit women, Radio Canada International
Finland: Finland’s Economic Affairs Minister calls for special audit of Talvivaara mining company, Yle News
Greenland: Analysis: Implications of Greenland’s decision to allow uranium mining, Blog by Mia Bennett
Norway: Svalbard coal mine cuts 100 jobs to reduce costs, Barents Observer
Russia: Analysis – Putin shutters Russian indigenous peoples’, Blog by Mia Bennett
Sweden: Bids given for Pajala mine in Arctic Sweden, Radio Sweden
United States: Alaska – Judge temporarily halts EPA process on Pebble Mine, Alaska Dispatch
