Lapland gold prospectors' faces

Introduction

Lapland gold prospecting has many faces. Since the end of 19th century there have been various persons from farmers to doctors. Today, gold prospectors in Lapland have even more wide-ranging backgrounds. Some are second or third generation prospectors, some have found it by chance whilst for another it has been introduced by a relative or a friend.

The time spent in Lapland gold fields stretches from decades of experience to recently started new hobby or career. For a few, prospecting is profession, but many others spend their vacations and free time among it. The term way of life or lifestyle is often used to describe gold prospecting.

Interest in gold prospecting and things related to it connects those in Lapland gold fields, whether you are old or young and old-hand or rookie. One thing is sure, too: you can’t place Lapland prospectors into the same box as they are all different personalities having various backgrounds. In the community, it usually does not matter what you are or what merits you have in “civil” life, you are part of the community as prospector.

What connects gold prospectors in Lapland? Could one factor be sense of community? Prospecting far north and far from almost everything makes people work for common goal. Within certain area, joys and sorrows of life are shared together. But let the prospectors tell you a bit more and you can make conclusions after that.

The prospecting places in the exhibition are according to 1-2 last ones

Photos © Kultamuseo unless stated otherwise

Sources:

Interviews

Magazines Prospäkkäri and Lapin Kullankaivaja

Milla Peltonen’s book ”Äidin kullat”

Ilkka Ärrälä’s book ”Onnen hippuja”

Articles in newspapers and magazines

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SHORTLY ABOUT THE GOLD PROSPECTORS:

Aki

Place: Lemmenjoki

In prospecting since 2000

Aki got interested in gold prospecting just before the millennium changed, and after reading Seppo J. Partanen’s book “Kullan ja luonnon kutsu”. He got to know about prospecting accidentally when studied for wilderness guide in Kuru. He there met a prospector who invited Aki to his claim in Lemmenjoki. Due to the trip to Lemmenjoki and learning how to prospect Aki was sold and still prospects at Lemmenjoki area.

STORY:

In early 2000s we had just returned from a Gold Prospectors Association cruise back to Helsinki. We planned to visit jewllery shops in Helsinki with gold nugget jewellery we had with us. We wanted to present the jewellery to local shops and search possible retailers. With Jukka Kela and few other prospectors we first were heading towards Kulosaari to visit a friend there. On the way we stopped in metro tunnel to listen to street musician and took couple of drinks. We then took metro to Kulosaari and on the station we noticed we did not have the nugget case with us anymore. Very quickly back to railway station square to search for the case but it was not there and neither was the musician. I started to sweat because I was the last one who had held the case before forgetting it.

Soon the guards of the station arrived, they’ve probably monitored our nervous gestures. They immediately asked whether boys had lost something. We told we probably had forgot the case containing gold nugget jewellery at the place. The guards had seen the case and called the police right away. They had strict orders concerning cases left alone in public places, especially as few months earlier the tragedy in Myyrmanni shopping centre had took place (case bomb), raising preparedness for this kind of situations. We took the feedback with blushing ears, apologised and continued towards station police as advised.

In the office they also chided us, and we did not get any mercy for coming from far northern Lapland as usual. They finally asked for our IDs and what there was in the case. “Names Kela or Karvonen does not read anywhere in the case, so we don’t believe this is yours and you won’t get it.” Then it came to my mind the jewellery was Aarne Alhonen’s Lemmenjoki Koru – jewellery. His and his brand name was written in the jewellery boxes and after mentioning that the police belived us. Probably they believed since the beginning, but they wanted to lecture us rascals. We got the case back and we estimated that it was probably worth thousands of euros and all of that had been near the feet of the street musician for a while.

Ami

Place: Lemmenjoki

In prospecting since 1972  

Ami has been involved in gold prospecting since little boy. In early 1970s his mother got interested in gold prospecting, and soon father and two sons followed. Gold prospecting with shovel turned into machinery prospecting in 1982, when it also was already the way of life. In addition to that, prospecting was even more also livelihood.

STORY:

It was autumn and we were driving ATV towards Pihlajamäki after voluntary work done in Morgamoja Creek. On top of fell Pellinen were four tourists that waved us to stop. They had questions and they also were heading to Pihlajamäki. After talks, we took their backpacks on our ATMs and promised to leave them at Pihlajamäki.

When we started to move forward, they said we were friendly. I answered that no, we just run out of food. After glimpsing behind I saw disbelief and wary in their faces.

They were probably very happy when found their backpacks untouched at Pihlajamäki.

Antti

Place: Hangasoja, Selperinoja

In prospecting since 1970

Antti is 3rd generation gold prospector. He got interested in gold prospecting in his childhood when listening to his father’s and uncles’ stories. His cousins and uncle taught him gold panning in Tankavaara panning site when Antti was 7 years.  Summer 1977 he was teenager and worked voluntarily in Tankavaara, asking prospector Nipa Raumala if he can have a real job next summer. Nipa and other veterans hired him next summer and taught him gold prospecting. After that there was no return to normal life.

STORY:

We did underwater gold prospecting in one river in Ethiopia – headwaters of River Nile. Project had exceeded and water started to rise due to becoming monsoon season. Somebody said we need to stop soon. I told that water can rise quite much and we can still use the equipment easily. Others told that flood brings the crocodiles upstream. I suspected that. When we left for lunch break, we saw a 5-meter “monster” on downstream beach. Men did not go into water after that. We negotiated and decided we’ll keep equipment maintenance day and after that we will move on to very small tributary. There we prospected for another week. Also, then the first time during my trip temperature was under +30C at nights and I could sleep properly. Usually daytime temperatures had varied between 42-44C and nights a bit under +40C.

Anurag 

Place: Palsinoja

In prospecting since 1993

A hitchhike trip to meet a man and visit his claim brought Anurag from Tampere to Lapland and River Sotajoki over 30 years ago. She found the right claim using a small map the man had left. Anurag still prospects in the same area.

STORY:

I prospected alone in Selperi (creek) around Midsummer. I dug gravel just beside a big stone and was careful – in my opinion – not to take any gravel under or near the stone so it will not move. The pitch beside the stone was deep and to get more gravel I bowed down to scratch a bit more gravel. Then I raised and moved a bit to throw the gravel towards back board of sluice box. Then I heard a swooshing sound behind me! The big stone rolled down just to the spot where I had been hunched over a second or couple before. Kind of whole-body cramp went through me when I realized I could have been squeezed under the stone. Neighbours were quite far, and water pump buzzed near the creek so my cries for help would not have been heard.

I recovered from the shock and switched off the pump. In a sluice box I saw some gold and one 1-gram nugget. The stone was now an obstacle so I could not continue prospecting, nature closed its bank. I was grateful I did not hurt myself. Later, I had a necklace done from the 1-gram nugget.

Ida 

Place: Mäkärä, Tankavaara

In gold prospecting since 2017

Ida grew as a daughter of farmhouse in Simo but left to study French at the University of Turku. The aim was as official translator in European Parliament. However, exchange period in southern France turned her mind. She realized peaceful nature and easy-going attitude in northern Finland tempted more than before.

STORY:

During my first summer I practiced gold prospecting at Seppo’s claim when 13-gram Snoopy dinged on a sluice box. Couple of weeks earlier Marko, Seppo and Väiski tried to diddle me by placing a nugget-like object (probably painted stone or brass) on sluice box. They whispered and chuckled so that I did not buy it, they are not actors, after all. Few days after that there was the 13-gram nugget in sluice box. I was still at the bottom of the pit filling wheelbarrow when I heard yelling, swearing and shouting “come here”. At first I did not believe and told them they’re trying to diddle again. But when I went to check I noticed it is real thing now. It was unbelievable to see the real nugget and later in the evening, we celebrated the finding at Tankavaara restaurant.

Kai

Place: Lemmenjoki

In prospecting since 1988

After high school in late 1980s, Kai wrote job applications to coal mine in Svalbard and zinc mine in Greenland, using Swedish he had learned. When those did not pay off, he hitchhiked towards fish factories near Arctic Ocean, Norway.  On his way he stopped in Inari where he first time saw beautiful gold nuggets. Hitchhiking to Arctic Ocean changed towards gold fields of Lemmenjoki where he got a summer job in old gold prospector’s claim. After conscription and army, Kai spent about a year travelling in Siberia, China, Timor and Australia. He then returned to Lapland gold fields, moved for a while to southern Finland to do copywriter job. 1990s recession brought him back, and he also learned the profession of reindeer butcher. The yearly cycle of those two (prospector, butcher) match perfectly. Other profession's high season is another's low one.

STORY:

When Kai finally made it to Darwin (Australia) he walked into the base of gold searching company to ask for a job. He had met company’s geologist in Timor earlier. However, the field manager totally lost his nerves and shouted at Kai asking him to go back to Finland – wherever it is – and get geological qualification and then come back for a job. However, after a while he softened and promised Kai a job as field assistant but the monsoon season that started next week disrupted the preparations for the research expedition.

Maija    

Place: Sotajoki

In prospecting since 1980

Maija got familiar with gold prospecting around 1980 with her husband Risto and Risto’s parents. Maija worked as bank clerk and prospecting was first a hobby but gradually turned the way of life. Today, she has prospected near River Sotajoki almost 45 years. Maija was also chosen as a chair of Lapland Gold Prospector Asscotiation in 2018 for next 3-year term, being first chair outside Lemmenjoki area and first woman as chair.

STORY:

We were on our way towards our campsite after washing our sluice boxes when we noticed couple of fishers near River Sotajoki. After we had arrived in our camp, those fishers – a French father and son – came to our site asking if they could borrow knife and if we could help them with a huge trout they got. We together cleaned the fish and salted it, including its roe, leaving it like that for a while. The father and the son then left to visit their tent on the top of nearby hill. We made a proper blazed trout and boiled season’s new potatoes. The French came later in the evening, and we ate together those delicacies. Next morning, before they left towards home, we offered them bread with roe as topping. They were grateful and sent us later an email from Paris with attached photos taken in River Sotajoki. They thanked us especially because the fish had been the son’s first catch ever.  

Pirjo

Place: Lemmenjoki

In prospecting since 1994 till 2020

It was work that brought Pirjo to Lapland gold fields in the beginning of 1990s. She got more familiar with gold history when arrived to work at Gold Prospector Museum. The topic interested her immediately. At the same time, she spent time in various gold panning competitions in Finland and abroad. She also got to know the domestic and international prospectors, and the museum volunteers as well. All this, gold prospecting and everything related to it, impressed her since the beginning. Pirjo has also won medals in gold panning competitions in Finland and other countries.

She also met her husband in gold prospecting society, and later they prospected in Lemmenjoki gold fields for almost 20 years. In summer 2020, new mining legislation ended mechanical prospecting with diggers in Lemmenjoki.

STORY:

In our claim, the biggest nuggets were usually found when I was far away hundreds of kilometres. Maybe I should have stayed away from the claim more so there could have been more big nuggets…

Samuli

Place: Lemmenjoki ja Naruska

In prospecting since 1990

Samuli has grown near Lemmenjoki gold fields, and he got interested in the topic in his childhood already. His father worked as a boat driver in River Lemmenjoki and its area and his mother kept cafeteria. The mother sometimes left for a hiking trip and quite often took young Samuli with her. For the kid, the people and places in the gold fields were like a tale of its own and fascinating culture, too. Later in adulthood, it was easy dive into that world.

STORY:

When I seriously started prospecting at the claim I just had bought in 2003, I started to move big stones near the trench thinking nobody has prospected gravel under them. Some of the stones probably weighted almost half a ton, so I thought the weight and quite thick growth were sign of untouched gravel. However, when turning stones I saw old markings left by pick-axe and crowbar beneath them. Likely, the stones had been moved already during 1950s when there was more action in the area. All other traces had vanished, though, and only the scratches left by a crowbar were left.

Seppo

Place: Lauttaoja, Mäkärä ja Roivainen

In prospecting since 1976

As a boy, Seppo was fascinated by the books related to gold history, Jack London’s works, for example. The man has been in nature since he was kid, and later he and his workmate made fishing trips to Lapland. He and his friend came to gold fields in 1976, stopped in Tankavaara where he got first touch to gold panning. There they continued to River Ivalojoki and that was it.

STORY:

Once in early 1980s, probably 1983, it was autumn, and I was in Uijemi waiting my friend Pekka Talvio to stop by. He was supposed to take a shortcut nearby my claim on the way to his own claim in Palsi. In the twilight of evening I indeed heard whistling somewhere near, and I went out and whistled back. For a while I heard nothing but then whistling started and I again whistled back. I wondered why Pekka did not stop by and greet despite whistling nearby. Few days later when seeing him I wondered him why he did not say hi when passing by. Pekka was surprised and told he had not been near my claim at the time. However, according to other prospectors, a bear had been noticed in the area and timing matched to whistling. So, I had whistled with bear instead of my colleague and friend Pekka.

Vesa

Place: Moberginoja

In prospecting since 1978

Vesa got to know northern Lapland as a child when his family spent summer holidays at a cottage near Ivalo. Later, River Kirakkajoki and Hammaskaira wilderness area became familiar for teenager youngster. Mäkipuro’s book “Kulta-Lappia ja kullankaivajia” and the gold nuggets Vesa’s father bought from prospector Elias Mäki gave Vesa the first sparkle for gold prospecting. He took also a gold pan with for fishing trips to River Ivalojoki.

STORY

There are many stories but one is over the others in its simplicity:

Viktori Koivula had tried to get in touch with Moberg upper swamp but in autumn he had confronted rock step not quarried yet. At the same came the first frosts and he run out of food, and faith. When I ten years later succeeded in the same place from a bit different direction, we met in Tankavaara and he urged me to prospect that swamp all the way through the bottom and from side to side. I have not quite fulfilled the latter but faithfully the first one. I still have about 100 meters to go. I perhaps can make it just and just, though so far I have shovelled more turf than gravel.

A few more

Marko is a 2nd-generation gold prospector, who lost his heart to Lapland nature as 6-year-old kid. Later, he spent many summers at his father’s claim in Mäkärä. Thus, it was easy for him to continue own gold prospector career after generation transition of the claim in 2017. In “civil life” he has, for example, work experience in Nokia and a degree in graphic studies.

Mikko has prospected gold for 50 years in Creek Palsinoja. He originally got interested in gold prospecting when wanted something new along with hiking trips. He stayed because of “enthusiasm to find a treasure”. The man’s relationship to gold is a bit contradictory:  gold itself does not interest so much but searching and finding the gold appeals. Beside finding, Mikko likes the nature around.

Jouko listened to his uncle’s fascinating Lapland gold field stories as a kid; the uncle was one of the gold prospector legends and worked in Tankavaara. Thus, it was easy for young Jouko to test gold panning, and later the youngster prospected gold at his uncle’s claim in Lemmenjoki. After uncle’s death his claim was passed to Jouko, and prospecting became way of life. That life came to end in 2020 because of the new mining legislation concerning Lemmenjoki. Though prospecting ended, the gold-related experiences remained: finding spouse, the gold found,  being chair of Lapland Gold Prospector association etc.