YIT builds a lifting tower in a Kittilä mine

YIT and goldmining company Agnico Eagle Finland have signed a contract concerning building a lifting tower in Kittilä’s gold mine Rimpi. The total value of the contract is approximately EUR 10 million. The project will be entered into the order book of the year’s second quarter.

The project’s aim is to build a lifting tower, made of reinforced concrete, whose bottom area is about 12 x 16 metres and height about 100 metres. The lifting tower will be made with the slip-form construction technique, which refers to the uninterrupted casting of concrete so that no lines are created between the fresh and drying concrete.

The construction will start in June 2019 and end in April 2020.

“As a Finnish company, YIT has an impressive history in the field of demanding slip-form construction and industrial building. YIT proved that they can manage the contract well and we reached an understanding quickly”, says Seppo Voutilainen, Development director at Agnico Eagle Finland Oy.

According to Anne Piiparinen, Senior Vice President, Industrial and Structural Engineering Division of YIT, using the slip-form construction technique shortens the construction time.

“Having diverse skills in demanding concrete construction is a matter of honour to us. In Finland, only a few skilled persons still know the slip-form construction technique. We both appreciate and maintain that skill, alongside the equipment”, Piiparinen notes.

YIT has already realised these kind of projects previously. In the sewage treatment plant in Blominmäki, Espoo, YIT used the slip-cast construction technique to build a 100-metre high exhaust air duct. The technique is used, among other things, to realise different kinds of shafts, silos, water towers and other tall structures, while also minimizing the construction time.

YIT is already excavating and reinforcing the mine’s work tunnels in the area. The construction of the tunnels began at the end of 2018 and will end in 2021.

Agnico Eagle Finland is the Finnish subsidiary of a Canadian mining company and it operates Europe’s largest gold mine in Kittilä. The mining activity, started in 2006, looks to continue until the mid 2030’s. In a year’s time, the company produces about 200,000 ounces, or 6,000 kilograms of gold.

More information:
Anne Piiparinen, Senior Vice President, Industrial and Structural Engineering Division, infra projects, tel. +358 (0)40 823 2808, anne.piiparinen@yit.fi
Pirita Tiusanen, Communications Manager, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 (0)44 240 9822, pirita.tiusanen@yit.fi

YIT is the largest Finnish and significant North European construction company. We develop and build apartments and living services, business premises and entire areas. We are also specialised in complex infrastructure construction and paving. Together with our customers, our nearly 10,000 professionals are creating more functional, more attractive and more sustainable cities and environments. We work in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic Countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The new YIT was born when the over-100-year-old YIT Corporation and Lemminkäinen Corporation merged on February 1, 2018. Our pro forma revenue for 2018 was approximately EUR 3.8 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com