AVK valves installed with pipes, Finland, Agnico Eagle project

Case

Supplying more than 100 valves to the largest gold mine in Europe

Agnico Eagle Finland is a subsidiary of the Canadian gold mining company Agnico Eagle. It operates the Kittilä gold mine in Finland and is involved in mineral exploration in Finland and other Nordic countries.

The Kittilä mine is located in the beautiful Lapland, about 900 km from Helsinki and about 150 km from the Arctic Circle. It is the largest gold mine in Europe, and a significant expansion project is expected to further increase the production capacity by 25%.

The project includes a 22 km long, pressurised discharge pipeline of PE with outside diameters of 710 mm and 630 mm. AVK Finland is the main supplier of valves for the discharge pipeline, and they have delivered resilient seated gate valves, control valves, strainers, air valves, fittings and butterfly valves for the project. More than 100 valves in total with valve sizes from DN80 to DN600, including 50 pcs DN600 and 21 pcs DN500 resilient seated gate valves.

AVK valves installed underground in Finland, Agnico Eagle project
AVK valve installed on black barrel outside in Finland, Agnico Eagle project
”AVK is known as one of the largest manufacturers of quality valves. This is very important to us, because it gives us confidence that the valves have all international approvals needed and can be delivered on time. We also appreciate the strict quality control of AVK, including pressure testing of the valves, which besides competitive pricing was one of our decision criteria for this project. The valve deliveries were right on time and the project was finished ahead of schedule”, says Jaakko Saukkoriipi, department manager of environmental control at Agnico Eagle Finland.