The Kittilä mine in northern Finland is the largest primary gold mine in Europe. It achieved commercial production in May 2009, becoming Agnico Eagle's first mine outside of Canada. Since open-pit mining was completed in 2012, Kittilä has been an underground-only operation.
Kittilä is located in the Lapland region of northern Finland, 150 km north of the Arctic Circle. The climate is moderated by the Gulf Stream and is comparable to eastern Canada's, with mining carried out year-round.
Ore is processed in a surface processing plant by grinding, flotation, pressure oxidation, and carbon-in-leach circuits. Kittilä has Agnico Eagle's only pressure oxidation circuit (autoclave), which is required because of the ore's refractory nature.