Telkkälä, Finland

DESCRIPTION

Telkkälä lies about 3 km NW of Taipalsaari, or 20 km NW of Lappeenranta.
Telkkälä is a nickel mine. It was worked as an open cast mine from 1969 to 1970. In 1987 a new ore was found in mica gneiss. The new ore were worked on in an underground mine between 1988 to 1992.
The total production in Telkkälä was 605.000 tonns of ore with a mean content of 1.29% Ni and 0.33 % Cu.
Today is the only traces of the mine a small lake and a big rusty dump pile.

GEOLOGY

The ore consists of nickel sulphides in pyrrhotite.

VISITS

I visited this mine during the 1997 Finland geological tour.
We went up to he top of the dumping pile and started to search for nickel minerals. When I asked for how to recognise it, the answer were "You don't". The best way were to take samples of most interesting rocks and test it with nickel tester at home.
I haven't done it yet, so I have a box full of rusty rocks lying in my apartment, but I will do it real soon now.
... The nickel tester was a bad idea! every rock showed traces from nickel and I still don't know how to recognise the nickel minerals. Something for the winter.

Mineral assemblage

Pyrrhotite, Pentlandite, Chalcopyrite, Gersdorffite, Annabergite.

Pyrrhotite
This is some of the most magnetic species of pyrrhotite i've ever seen. Well, I haven't seen so much, but some of the more experienced ones in our group said so.
It is no problem to lift this one wit a magnet, and the bigger pieces can hold the magnet.
Collected 1997-06-26
(300 dpi, 800x600, k)

Annabergite (nickel flower???)
This rock have a surface of annabergite over a mm thin layer of nickeline. The rest of the rock consists of a sand stone or a quartzite.
Collected 1997-06-26
(300 dpi, 800x600, k)

Nickeline
This rock also have a surface of annabergite over a mm thin layer of nickeline, but in this one a chirp is removed, showing some of the nickeline layer below. The rest of the rock consists of a sand stone or a quartzite.
Collected 1997-06-26
(300 dpi, 800x600, k)

If you have some questions, suggestions or comments you are welcome to write me a line or two.

Locality index. Main index.

axelsson@acc.umu.se

	Pyrrhotite This is some of the most magnetic species of pyrrhotite i've ever seen. Well, I haven't seen so much, but some of the more experienced ones in our group said so. It is no problem to lift this one wit a magnet, and the bigger pieces can hold the magnet. Collected 1997-06-26 (300 dpi, 800x600, k)
	Annabergite (nickel flower???) This rock have a surface of annabergite over a mm thin layer of nickeline. The rest of the rock consists of a sand stone or a quartzite. Collected 1997-06-26 (300 dpi, 800x600, k)
	Nickeline This rock also have a surface of annabergite over a mm thin layer of nickeline, but in this one a chirp is removed, showing some of the nickeline layer below. The rest of the rock consists of a sand stone or a quartzite. Collected 1997-06-26 (300 dpi, 800x600, k)