makola.html

Makola, a place near the middle of nowhere and in the middle of our country got 15 prosperous years when a local self-made geologist found interesting ore from the area. His find was Ni-rich enough to make Outokumpu Oy begin mining at the place. After the initial finding in 1936, industrial mining started in 1941, which naturally was great timing because of a suddenly risen need for bullets.

Statistically, Makola is among the smallest mined deposits in Finland. Operation was ceased around 1953-1954. Buildings got a new user in 1956, when a local institute started arranging vocational courses in former Mining estates. This use lasted for quite some time, but finally they left and emptiness seized the area. Because there was nothing before, the mine developed a society and village totally dependant of the mine and after there was no longer mine, they pretty much disappeared. Makola became a ghost village that has slept until recent times.

A remote village left for decades without use would sound like the most interesting expedition target, but with Makola that is not quite the case. Everything related to the mine itself has been carefully cleaned away. There are old houses, yes, but many of them are today re-used (despite one IRC-log published in WWW, where someone claims the place would be totally abandoned). Also, the remaining unused houses are just small houses and would require karmic and violent actions to enter.

	Shortly before Makola, there is this tiny house. It may have a connection to the mine or not.
	A dirt road leads to Makola and ends at the place where the mine used to be. The road has houses on both sides, some of them modest and some bigger and better conditioned.
	This bigger house was not occupied. Houses so far from more civilised areas have not faced any notable vandalism.
	A top-shape resided house.
	Some of the less-used houses.
	The school of Makola has most probably operated in this building. Maybe it has also provided a canteen for miners.
	There are lamps by the "main" (only) road, but today they're not very functional.
	Heading towards the mine, after the village, there are some ruins..
	Something that only hard technology people can recognise exactly: I heard it's of a Scania Vabis truck.
	Several cans of something..
	A1 turpentine that is. Possible user for 100's of liters of turpentine could be the vocational education satellite unit.
	This bicycle body has rather effective mask colour.
	The forest looks otherwise untouched, but there are too many sharp rocks around which hint that the area was used for dumping.
	The mine, or what's left of it: rusty fence and that's about it. A legend has it that one jeep, stolen from nearby Hitura mine and equipped with highly valuable measuring devices was once driven to the shaft, and the fence would have been built after the case.
	A lake which must be an open pit.
	Don't break the soil's surface it says. I wonder what would happen then? The large waste area is the most concretic memory of mining, although a bit bleaky one.
	The sand is really very orange coloured here. The colour deviations on ground are caused by thousands of fired shotgun shells. Someone's really blasted the shit out of anything that has possibly been around.
	Metallic stench and this kind of concretions tell of what lurks under the sand. Maybe really better leave it conceiled.
	Makola is closed for good, but Hitura continues nickel mining in Nivala. Here are some of their scrap fans.

Shortly before Makola, there is this tiny house. It may have a connection to the mine or not.

A dirt road leads to Makola and ends at the place where the mine used to be. The road has houses on both sides, some of them modest and some bigger and better conditioned.

This bigger house was not occupied. Houses so far from more civilised areas have not faced any notable vandalism.

A top-shape resided house.

Some of the less-used houses.

The school of Makola has most probably operated in this building. Maybe it has also provided a canteen for miners.

There are lamps by the "main" (only) road, but today they're not very functional.

Heading towards the mine, after the village, there are some ruins..

Something that only hard technology people can recognise exactly: I heard it's of a Scania Vabis truck.

Several cans of something..

A1 turpentine that is. Possible user for 100's of liters of turpentine could be the vocational education satellite unit.

This bicycle body has rather effective mask colour.

The forest looks otherwise untouched, but there are too many sharp rocks around which hint that the area was used for dumping.

The mine, or what's left of it: rusty fence and that's about it. A legend has it that one jeep, stolen from nearby Hitura mine and equipped with highly valuable measuring devices was once driven to the shaft, and the fence would have been built after the case.

A lake which must be an open pit.

Don't break the soil's surface it says. I wonder what would happen then? The large waste area is the most concretic memory of mining, although a bit bleaky one.

The sand is really very orange coloured here. The colour deviations on ground are caused by thousands of fired shotgun shells. Someone's really blasted the shit out of anything that has possibly been around.

Metallic stench and this kind of concretions tell of what lurks under the sand. Maybe really better leave it conceiled.

Makola is closed for good, but Hitura continues nickel mining in Nivala. Here are some of their scrap fans.

REFERENCES:

Nivalan Kirja, Toivo Nygård, Nivalan kunta / Nivalan seurakunta, 1970
Kusti Ainasoja (from the book Keskipohjalaisia elämäkertoja), Kari ja Seija Krapu, 1995
Terästeollisuuden metallien kaivokset, statistics of Geological Survey of Finland
Local heritage knowledge told by K. Ahola