Terrafame Group’s mission and name to change

The Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy of the Finnish Government has decided to endorse the reorganising of the State’s mining industry holdings into a new holdings and development company. This will advance the development of Finland’s battery and mining cluster. The arrangement transfers Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.’s (Tesi) investment programme for the mining cluster under the responsibility of Terrafame Group Ltd., which will change its name to Finnish Minerals Group Ltd. (Suomen Malmijalostus Oy in Finnish).

The change will not affect the operations or ownership of Terrafame Ltd. Finnish Minerals Group will continue as Terrafame Ltd.’s parent company, its shareholding remaining unchanged at approximately 77 per cent.

The change in question is an internal arrangement of the State’s share portfolio, and its implementation does not require new financing from the State budget. Due to the strong development of Tesi’s results-based financing, a total of EUR 46 million of funds previously allocated to Tesi in the government budget that are still unused by the mining investment programme are planned to be transferred to Finnish Minerals Group’s use. The financial risks or responsibilities of the State will not be affected by the arrangement.

Significant potential for Finland in the battery production value chain

Reaching international climate goals requires a substantial reduction in emissions caused by traffic. Electrification of transport is a key means of reducing emissions. Accordingly, the number of electric cars and rechargeable hybrids, and thus the demand for raw materials for their production, is expected to grow strongly. This development offers very interesting prospects for individual companies as well as for the entire Finnish battery and mining cluster.

“The State’s holdings in mining industry companies that produce raw materials needed in electric car batteries can be developed as a strategic entity in the future. To maximise their value, raw materials and components should be further processed and refined in Finland as much as possible. Moving up the value chain would result in new jobs as well as tax and export income,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.  

“It is important to act quickly. If Finland misses the beat on the development in the battery industry, it may become more difficult to get involved later. Finland has an opportunity to be at the forefront of advancing sustainable mining and moving towards climate-friendly transport,” Lintilä continues.

Finnish Minerals Group to actively develop the Finnish battery and mining cluster

Finnish Minerals Group will continue as Terrafame’s parent company and will also be responsible for the strategic ownership and development of its other target companies as well as the mining investment programme from now on. In addition, the company will advance the development of the Finnish battery cluster on a wider scale. The company has already been actively involved in the EU Battery Alliance which, on the initiative of the European Commission, has been preparing a strategic action plan to boost the battery cluster market in Europe. In due time, the strategic entity will channel funds also to ensuring the availability of raw materials for batteries. Finnish Minerals Group will advance this important topic for Finland by actively participating in the Battery Alliance as well as in the preparations for projects and financing packages that will become available to apply for.

“Finnish Minerals Group will actively take part in the long-term strategic development of its target companies. The company can also make new investments in the battery and mining cluster projects in the future within the framework of the mining investment programme,” says Janne Känkänen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Finnish Minerals Group.

“The goal is for Finnish Minerals Group to act as an active owner and developer of the target companies. The active and international R&D operations created during the operation of Terrafame Group Ltd. will benefit also Finnish Minerals Group’s new target companies in the future, along with their strategic ownership as a whole,” says CEO of Finnish Minerals Group Ltd. Matti Hietanen.

“Projects in the EU’s battery and mining cluster can offer target companies opportunities to participate in long-term development work. For smaller target companies, in particular, Finnish Minerals Group can offer also other operative support in, for instance, corporate responsibility, communications, public affairs, environmental permit processes and international visibility,” Hietanen concludes.

 

Further information:

Finnish Minerals Group Ltd., Matti Hietanen, CEO, tel. +358 40 8806
Finnish Minerals Group Ltd., Janne Känkänen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, tel. +358 50 3964 990

 

About Finnish Minerals Group Ltd.:
Finnish Minerals Group Ltd. is a special-purpose company wholly owned by the State of Finland. It is responsible for managing the state ownership and exercising the owner’s power at Terrafame Ltd. and its other battery and mining cluster holdings as well as managing the mining investment programme and advancing the development of the Finnish battery and mining cluster. Finnish Minerals Group Ltd. operates as a long-term strategic owner and actively participates in developing the target companies’ business operations. The company’s R&D operations are focused on improving process efficiency in the mining industry, improving the utilisation of raw materials as well as creating environmentally sustainable solutions.