Outokumpu Oy Vihanti mine, also known as the Lampinsaari mine, was opened in 1954. Main product was zinc, other products being copper, lead and sulphur. Since the deposit was located in totally unbuilt forest, everything starting from roads and railroad had to be built before the mine could operate. The several-kilometer-long road leading to the village was built only for this purpose, and it's therefore unusually straight, even considering the place is in the region of Pohjois-Pohjanmaa.

At first they had estimated there would be ore to mine for 14 years. While opening the mine required big constructioning efforts, the whole project was first considered questionable. However, after mining started and continued, they realised that the deposit was much bigger. It had enough ore to mine for nearly 40 years.

The mine was closed for good in 1992, during the deepest economic recession. The village, which was fully dependent of the mine stagnated. It didn't become a ghost town, and most of the houses are still resided, but understandably it's now only a pale shade of what it must have been when hundreds of miners dwelled there. From adventuring point of view the place has dramatically lost it's glamour, since the elevator tower and most other structures have been blown down. Why??