Finland
Callio Lab is a new environment for underground research and other activities. The laboratory is located in the Pyhäsalmi Mine, the oldest operating mine in Finland and the deepest active hard rock mine in Europe, going as deep as 1444 metres.
Callio Lab is a part of the Callio Pyhäjärvi concept, which is a unique multidisciplinary operating environment. It offers a wide variety of opportunities for new projects and established operators seeking new horizons, as well as for training and R&D.
The infrastructure of the mine is especially suited to physics experiments due to the massive rock overburden. However, it can also serve other fields of science, offering unique facilities and a wealth of opportunities for a variety of scientific and commercial purposes.
Contact person
Sakari Nokela
Chief Development Officer (CDO)
MINE FOR BUSINESS – CALLIO – PYHÄJÄRVI
Jari Joutsenvaara
Research coordinator
University of Oulu, Kerttu Saalasti Institute
The facility and services available
The deep underground mine is fully accessible, starting with the shallow depths of Lab 1 (75 metres) down to the deepest facility Lab 2 at a depth of 1436 metres. The vast range of available spaces at various depths together with an extensive tunnel network and a number of constructed operational levels provide excellent testing grounds, for example, for mining and tunnelling equipment. Lab 2 and Lab 5, located at depths of 1436 and 1410 respectively, are especially suitable for particle physics experiments requiring a low cosmic ray background.
All of the tunnels are accessible by truck from the 11-km long maintenance road extending to the bottom of the mine at 1.44 km depth. A fast elevator takes you from the surface to the bottom in three minutes. The maximum speed of the elevator is 12 metres/second and there is room for up to 20 people.
The mine offers a quality system for visitors and a safe working environment for employees at all levels of the facility. On the main level (1.44 km) there are large maintenance halls, conference and social facilities, a restaurant, and even a sauna.
A high-speed optical network is available at every access level of the elevator. It provides good coverage, and the network can easily be extended wherever needed. A 3G telephone network is also available at the main level. As a precautionary measure, a state-of-the-art micro-seismic monitoring network is installed in the mine.
Site characteristics
The most common rock type in Callio Lab is granite, and the mining operation centres on a massive vertical volcanogenic sulphide deposit. The bedrock belongs to the Fennoscandia (Baltic) shield, which results in a very low vibration response to plate tectonics.
A rock mechanical study of the deep (> 1 km) part of the mine was performed for the LAGUNA proposal
Site characteristics
Site Description and data Callio Lab
Natural background radiation
NBR Scheme Callio Lab
Travel to Callio Lab
Callio Lab is located in the Pyhäsalmi Mine in central Finland, 160 km south of Oulu and 350 km north of Helsinki. It is located at the intersection of interstates E4/E75 and VT27, and can be reached in five hours by car from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, or in two hours by car from the cities of Oulu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Ylivieska.
Pyhäsalmi is the destination when arriving by train or bus. The closest airports are located in Oulu, Kokkola, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Kajaani, all within a two-hour drive from the Callio Lab.
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