The large Lahnaslampi talc-magnesite mine is situated in the sensitive nature of Boreal forest in Sotkamo community in Northern Finland. Genetically, the Lahnaslampi orebody is an alteration result of an ultramafic massive, which is an inclusion in black graphite bearing shales and mica schists of Karelian age, 1970 million years. The natural rock type of the ore formation itself and the black shales area are typically easily weathering in comparison to other bedrock types in Finland.

The mine is operated by Mondo Minerals Oy. Volume of annual mining of ore and country rock is about 1,5 million tonnes. Annual production of talc enrichment is 200 000 tonnes.

The main categories of land use in the Lahnaslampi mine area are as follows:

Environmental risks: The mining operations, waste heaps and the tailings produce large amounts of mineral dust material (talc, silicates, carbonate, sulphides) which is distributed to the surrounding enviromnent by wind. Ca, Cu and As are diluted by surface waters from the ore material. Black shales with anomalous amounts of sulphides and heavy metals are abundant in the area. They can cause contamination and acidification of surface and ground waters. Hyperspectral remote sensing offers a new innovative and sustainable method for mapping symptoms of this contamination and studying the related processes of pollution.

The baseline knowledge of this mining area consists of the following information:

1. detailed geology, composition and structure of ore deposit,
2. mining and enrichment processes,
3. rough estimate of distribution and tonnage of waste material
4. chemical composition of waste material in number of control points
5. chemical composition of waste waters in a few control points