Toni Eerola (2026)

Sociopolitical geology: Environmental activism, land use, corporate conduct and geoethics in mining and mineral exploration disputes in Finland

Supervisors: Juha Kotilainen and Tapio Litmanen

Reviewers: Julia H. Haggerty and Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen

Publications of the University of Eastern Finland, Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies, No 421, pp. 216.

Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

https://erepo.uef.fi/bitstreams/a3045dc2-c16a-48c6-86b8-05c33051e8d7/download

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Abstract:

This doctoral study is concerned with assessing social license to operate (SLO) with respect to exploration and mining in Finland, viewed from a sociopolitical geological perspective. The thesis consists of three peer-reviewed, published papers, which provide essential background information that is synthesized and elaborated upon in this introduction. The papers examine and describe the Finnish mining-sceptical movement, mining and mineral exploration disputes (MEDs), and evaluate the corporate conduct of companies involved in mineral exploration in Finland. The study focusses particularly on recent decades that have seen the emergence, development, and adaptation of the Finnish exploration and mining industry to foreign investment and activity, and the accompanying response and rejuvenation of the Finnish environmental movement since the mid-2000s. Papers examine these topics based on the analysis of successive environmental protest waves, the concept of social license to operate, and stakeholder theory with application of mixed methods. This thesis introduction makes a new contribution to research in this area by applying the concept of sociopolitical geology to the examination of Finnish MEDs. The thesis describes the evolution of the Finnish mining-sceptical movement in three stages, from the earlier focus on uranium, through a phase of debating mining in general, to the current concerns relating to the energy transition. It is proposed here that the culmination of this evolutionary progression forms the 6th Finnish environmental protest wave, together the climate-change debate. One of the main findings of the study is that the MEDs in Finland occur in sensitive land use contexts, accompanied by poor corporate conduct (lack of communication and stakeholder engagement), and poor reputation of exploration and mining companies. Sensitive contexts include Sámi homelands, tourism destinations, and areas of second homes, reindeer herding, groundwater and nature conservation and deposits associated to uranium. Operation in or close to tourism destinations and second home areas may lead to resistance by tourism entrepreneurs, tourists, and second homeowners towards mining and mineral exploration. This is recognized as an important and influential phenomenon in Finland, where it is referred to as NIMLA, ‘not in my leisure area’, representing opposition to exploration and mining activities in areas that are considered to have high recreational value. Research undertaken during the present study has also found that corporate online communication about SLO and new low impact mineral exploration technologies (NLIMET) by companies practicing mineral exploration coincides with operation in sensitive contexts and involvement in MEDs. Therefore, adoption, use, and communication of NLIMET does not necessarily contribute to granting of SLO. Instead, these efforts are mainly seen as a strategy to improve corporate image. The introduction of the thesis complements the findings of the published papers by applying the precepts of sociopolitical geology and geoethics to Finnish social science research into mining activities. The aim of the thesis is to present new information concerning MEDs and the mining-sceptical movement and thereby contribute to multidisciplinary research into miningrelated debates in Finland. 

 

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