The History of Gold in Lemmenjoki 

The First Gold Rush at River Ivalojoki

The history of gold in Inari dates back to the mid-19th century, when an expedition sent by the Senate of the then Grand Duchy of Finland  made the first strikes at the Luttojoki and Ivalojoki rivers in the southern reaches of the Inari municipality. In the summer of 1869, two sailors, Jakob Ervast from Oulu and Nils Lepistö from Raahe, arrived at River Ivalojoki. In the course of a few weeks, the men panned two kilogrammes of gold from the river. This strike led to the first gold rush in Inari – during the peak years in 1871–1872, an estimated 500–600 persons stayed at River Ivalojoki for the purposes of prospecting for gold. The epicentre of gold prospecting was the Kultala Gold Village on the north shore of the Saariporttikoski Rapids, a Crown Station originally built to serve as a base for Crown officials. The Crown Station stayed in operation from 1870 to 1900. Some of its buildings have been restored, and the main building is open to visitors.

At the turn of the century, gold prospecting in Inari concentrated on the branches of River Ivalojoki and Laanila. At the time, River Lemmenjoki was still uncharted territory for gold prospectors with the exception of a few odd ones, but in the early years of the 20th century, rumours of big strikes began to attract more prospectors to the area. In 1902, more than 70 claims were established by the river. The strikes remained sparse, however, and the prospectors soon lost interest. Lemmenjoki was left in peace for another few decades.

Gold Fever Rising at Lemmenjoki

In the summer of 1945, three brothers from the Ranttila farm by River Inarijoki – Niilo, Uula and Veikko Ranttila – set out towards Lemmenjoki to find gold. Following the advice given by the "reindeer lord" Kaapin Jouni (aka Jouni Aikio), the brothers focussed their search on the lower reaches of River Morgamoja, right by the mouth of River Vaijoki. They did find a fair amount of gold, and more prospectors arrived at River Lemmenjoki the following summer. Rumours of big strikes escalated, and the discoveries were publicised in the papers – the production company Suomi Filmi even made a short film about gold panning that was distributed to cinemas around Finland. Interviewed in the late 1940s, Niilo Ranttila reported the following:

"I didn't have to do much in winter, as there was plenty of gold. In the best weeks of 1948, I panned a couple of kilos a week. But it's not as if we were left in peace, as the rumours and the stories in the papers kept drawing men to Lemmenjoki."

The flurry of activity at Lemmenjoki increased, and as the 1940s drew to a close, the number of claims by the river approached one hundred. At the end of the decade, Heikki Kokko, Matti Kullervo Korhonen, Jaakko Isola and Jukka Pellinen, amongst others, settled by River Lemmenjoki, later becoming some of Lemmenjoki's most legendary gold prospectors. Prospecting for gold spread from the Morgamoja tributary to its environs and smaller branches of Lemmenjoki: to Ruittuäytsi, Jäkälä-äytsi and Miessijoki.

In 1949, the Gold Prospectors' Association of Finnish Lapland was established at the Pellinen Hut (i.e. the Morgamoja Kultala Hut) to advocate the interests of Lemmenjoki's gold prospectors. The need for cooperation between the prospectors was obvious, and bringing order to a community ridden with problems and disputes was welcomed. The joining fee was two grammes of gold, and the annual membership fees were also collected in gold. The association managed to improve the connections in the Lemmenjoki area – for instance, two air fields for the transport of goods were cleared in the area, and regular boat traffic on River Lemmenjoki commenced. To this day, the association remains an important advocate for Lapland's gold prospectors.

The National Park Is Established and the Excavators Start Rolling In

The 1950s brought about changes that would have long-lasting effects on gold prospecting at Lemmenjoki. Up until the 50s, gold had been dug by the man-and-spade method, but in 1951, Kullervo Korhonen brought the first digging machine to Lemmenjoki's gold fields. The world market price for gold plummeted in the early 1950s and the experiment proved short-lived. As a reminder, Korhonen was left with considerable debt. But the machines had come to Lemmenjoki to stay. Another significant change was the establishing of Lemmenjoki National Park in 1956. The gold area was not included in the national park but was surrounded by it. The Gold Prospectors' Association was not opposed to the national park as long as it did not hinder prospecting. Life by River Lemmenjoki in the early 1950s was hectic, but not all prospectors struck it rich.

"The distribution of luck and skill took a heavy toll on the number of Lemmenjoki's gold diggers. For many hopefuls, the mean living earned by this backbreaking labour was not enough to afford the very necessities of life. They left the gold fields disappointed. Yrjö Hummarkoski and Arvi Koivisto left a sign at Puskuoja, saying, 'The funfair has left town. You may keep whatever you find.' Today, the Tivoli Hut serves as a reminder of this comment." (Tivoli = Finnish for funfair)

Serving Life Sentences

The gold areas were attached to Lemmenjoki National Park when the park was expanded in 1971. During the same decade, automated gold mining gathered new speed despite the area's national park status. Large droves of prospectors had left Lemmenjoki during the 1950s, but the toughest prospectors, the so-called Lemmenjoki "lifers", had hung on.

"Jaakko Isola became a hermit at Miessi after his mates had vanished from around him; the second chairman of the Gold Prospectors' Association, Jukka Pellinen, was killed in a gun fight; Heikki Kokko ended up getting married; Niilo Raumala stuck it out at Pusku; Heikki Pihlajamäki was busy creating his own reign at Miessi; Veikko Nevalainen took to growing lettuce and rhubarb at his claim by Jäkälä-äytsi; Matti Kullervo Korhonen escaped his excavator debt and hopped across the ocean; and Yrjö Korhonen marched up to Lemmenjoki along the excavator tracks and became a new legend."

In addition to these well-known lifers, a few odd gold prospectors were scouting Lemmenjoki's gold brooks, but the quiet years would go on for a long time. The era of lifers at Lemmenjoki came to an end in the 1980s when, one after the other, the first-generation gold prospectors left the gold fields – some retiring to rest at home and some at the prospectors' lot on the Inari churchyard.

Gold Mining at Lemmenjoki Today

The arrival of a new generation of gold prospectors at Lemmenjoki was witnessed in the 1980s and 1990s. At the time, prospecting had received a lot of media coverage, and gold digging contests were a popular sport. Global economic trends were once again pointing to a sharp rise in the price of gold on world markets, making prospecting more profitable. At this stage, the nature of the game had already changed, and automated mining had broken through for good. The mechanisation of gold mining led to conflict between gold prospectors and the values of nature conservation. The 1990s saw many disputes and court cases related to the Nature Conservation Act and the Mining Act; at times, the prospectors were up against nature conservationists and, at others, Metsähallitus.

Today, there are 25 mining concessions as well as some thirty spade diggers' claims and panning permits in the Lemmenjoki area. Automated gold mining produces a good twenty kilogrammes and spade digging just over a kilogramme of gold per year. During the summer season, roughly one hundred people stay at Lemmenjoki to prospect for gold.

The current Mining Act came into force in 2011. The act puts an end to automated gold mining in Lemmenjoki National Park. The prospectors working with excavators have nine years to continue prospecting and then another year to clean and landscape the digging site. In 2020, another chapter will close in Lemmenjoki's gold-hunting history with the end of automated mining. Man-and-spade prospectors will keep going.

Quotations from the book "Lemmenjoki – The largest national park in Finland".
The photos are from Viljo Mäkipuro and Jukka Pellinen, Gold Museum collections.

Sources:

Kajala, L. (Ed.) 2004. Lemmenjoki – Suomen suurin kansallispuisto / The largest national park in Finland.  Vantaa: Metsähallitus.

Kummala, S. & Ärrälä, I. (Eds.) 2011. Onnen hippuja. Aikalaiskuvaa Lemmenjoen kultamailta. Helsinki: Törmä-Ärrälä Oy.

Stigzelius, H. 1987. Kultakuume. Lapin kullan historia. Suomen matkailuliitto. Jyväskylä: Gummerus.