00:00A protected Arctic wetland in northern Finland.
00:04So far it's untouched.
00:05But there are plans.
00:07Deep beneath the ground lies valuable deposits of copper and nickel.
00:12Critical minerals that Europe desperately needs for electric vehicles and batteries.
00:18Someone to safeguard nature.
00:21If landscapes like these are not protected against the mining companies,
00:26then where the nature can be safe?
00:29Some want to mine.
00:30If you say that no mining here, where should we do the mine?
00:34Some countries where the legislation is not so developed,
00:37which have a democratic problem, which have a child force.
00:40What happens when treasures lie beneath protected nature?
00:44The proposed mine is located in the municipality of Sudankille in the Finnish Lapland.
00:51The copper and nickel deposits lie beneath Arctic peatland
00:55protected under both Finnish and European law.
01:01Rika Kapinen's fight began long ago.
01:04She grew up in Sudankille.
01:07As a child, she learned that an international company wanted to build a mine beneath the landscape she loved.
01:14Today, Rika is one of the most prominent voices opposing the Sakati project.
01:20This is maybe the most important thing that one person can do when one is worried about their home village
01:29or worried about loss of biodiversity.
01:32I cannot just watch the mining company trying to destroy this beautiful landscape.
01:38Together with reindeer herder Viola, Rika takes us deep into the reserve.
01:44The protected peatland is a popular destination for tourists of the Lapland's Arctic wilderness.
01:51I'm expecting and I am hoping that the Finnish government and the European Union, they respect the laws that are
02:00already made.
02:01And I hope that people can trust that if one area and landscape is doubly protected, it will stay so.
02:09This is Perti Lamberg, the CEO of the Sakati Mining Project, and he really wants to unearth valuable underground resources.
02:18He has spent years trying to bring the project forward.
02:22Electric cars need three times more copper than the combustion cars.
02:27So if all cars are changed from combustion engines to electric, we need three times more copper.
02:35We need to bring new production. We need to open new mines.
02:39To minimise its footprint, Perti says the mine would operate underground.
02:44It's going to be a tunnel going around the mine to minimise the impacts for the mire itself.
02:49All the work which we have done here is showing that there's a possibility, that there is significant impact,
02:55and that's why we need to go to the derogation and then the compensation plan.
03:00Perti hopes mining could begin in 2034, roughly 25 years after the deposits were first discovered,
03:07as long as the project receives all the remaining permits and approvals.
03:12And that's the problem in Europe. Several hundred millions have been put already here.
03:16And if you are putting that amount of money, you would like to get something back.
03:22And time is money.
03:23In Sedankille, a town of just over 8,000 people in the Finnish Lapland,
03:28everybody knows about the Sakati project.
03:31Nature is very important to us.
03:33They always damage to nature, so no thank you.
03:37I'm working where it's children. I should think that yes, more people here, more children.
03:44The other me is thinking the nature. Very difficult.
03:49If we don't have any mining, we don't have jobs, so this village is going to die.
03:57For Europe, it's a difficult balancing act.
04:00EU countries need all these resources and minerals, but EU also wants to honor the local populations,
04:06the opinions of the people, local democracy, all that, and how to balance those needs.
04:11It's kind of a test for the Arctic, and I'm not quite sure how it goes.
04:15Lapland is one of Europe's most important sources for critical minerals.
04:21This can be seen in Lapland's Kemi mine. Operating hundreds of meters underground,
04:27it is Finland's largest underground mine and the European Union's only chromium mine.
04:33It's really important to Europe that Europe has to secure their own value chain.
04:40And I believe that Finland and Sweden can do even more for ensuring critical minerals.
04:49According to the Lapland Chamber of Commerce, every mining job creates three additional jobs in other sectors,
04:57making mining one of the region's most important industries.
05:01Lapland is a large region. We have about 100,000 square kilometers, approximately the same size as Portugal.
05:09And already 30% of our area is under protection.
05:14For centuries, Viola's family has depended on reindeer herding.
05:20Reindeer are deeply woven into the fabric and cultural identity of Lapland.
05:25The animals rely on vast, connected landscapes, roaming across the open wilderness.
05:31Reindeer herding cannot always be the one that moves away.
05:34There is a certain limit to the adaptation capability that we have as reindeer herders and what reindeers as animals
05:42do have.
05:42We cannot change reindeer as an animal.
05:46But what if we don't have a pasture left anymore?
05:49Finnish law requires developers to consult with herders and negotiate compensation for potential impact.
05:56That's happening here too.
05:58There is the question, what can money compensate?
06:02Perti sees a path forward, whilst Rikka sees a line that should never be crossed.
06:07These medals are needed globally.
06:09And as we've seen in the recent years, this has been even a big topic within the leaders of the
06:14European Union,
06:15where we can get these medals.
06:16And I'm in a project where we can contribute on that.
06:21If this Anglo-American mining company will get the permits, it might be a precedent for other mining companies.
06:30That's why it is so important to save this area and to keep it protected.
06:36Otherwise, all the conservation network in Finland would be questioned.
06:41The final decision has not yet been made by the Finnish and European authorities.
06:47Until then, the battle over this Arctic wetland continues.
