Vapaa-ajan etsinnässä :roll:

[lekhim]

Terve!

We had a very nice family trip to Lapland this summer and we tried gold panning in Tankavaara. Got an idea for next year to go for a longer hiking trip in Lapland with kids and also do some gold prospecting along the way. Is it possible by law to take my gold pan, shovel and a sluice box and do some digging in different places?

Can somebody enlighten me in what is possible without buying land in finland

[Kivenkääntäjä]

Hello lekhim,

nice to hear that you have found Lapland and gold prospecting! I hope you stay with us, but I had to say its not fully legal to search gold as you planned. As "every men rights" you are able to take small samples and pan them, you can take a little bit dirt from different places with shovel (small) and pan it. If you make an announcement to Metsähallitus two weeks before, you can make bit bigger test holes and take small samples on those, but you need to restore the landscape as it was before you stared to dig. But this sample taking is only allowed only progressed by panning, sluicing is prohibited. So you are not allowed to use any kind of sluices (from stream sluice to motor pump sluices). And you need to be citizen of EU of course.

If you want to use sluices, you need to make a claim and thats quite expensive and means that you must come back gold mining year after year. But there is lighter way as well, you can rent your mining site or you can join in LKL (Lapin Kullankaivajan Liitto). By joining to LKL, you are allowed to use LKL's own claims and dig there as much as you want. This cost only 10€ (joining fee) + 25€ (yearly fee) / person and you can see from LKL's websites all the open claims.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask, I'm glad to help you as much as needed and I hope others will join to this conversation.

[lekhim]

Thank you for clarification.

The 10€ joining and 25€ annual fee for recreational digging seems OK. If we are a couple of people then everybody must join the LKL, right?

Can you point me to the LKL website link where LKL claims are? Is there any undug soil still left there?

What do you mean by small holes - is it something like that? http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files ... k=6caLHd7j

[Kivenkääntäjä]

Yes everyone must join, but I think if adult joins in LKL then he can take son/daughter digging with same fee if he/she is under 16. But all over 16 year old must pay joining + annual fees.

Here is list of claims, operated by LKL: http://kullankaivajat.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29&Itemid=132, but this site is only in finnish so you need to use google translator or something like that. At the moment, there is few claims without permits, but I think those will be open for next year. These claims has lots of virgin soil, but also there is lots of soil which is poorly digged up. So even if some places looks mined that does not mean that there is no gold left, many times its easier to go place where hole has been already started.

That hole in your link is more than small hole. Its big test hole which needs announcement to Metsähallitus.