Kaivosyhtiö Arctic Ametisti Oy

Arctic Amethyst Ltd. - Lampivaara Amethyst Mine


Useful Information

Location: On Pyhä-Luosto's Lampivaara fell.
North of Rovaniemi, near Luosto. Follow 962 to Luosto, right before the town turn left, Ukkoluosto parking lot, signposted.
(67.118350, 26.938344)
Open: JUN to mid-JUN Mon-Sat 11-17.
Mid-JUN to mid-AUG daily 11-17.
Mid-AUG to SEP daily 11-16.
OCT Mon-Sat 11-15.
Tours start every hour on the hour.
DEC to mid-APR Mon-Sat 12, 15.
Closed 24-DEC.
[2022]
Fee: Summer: Adults EUR 22, Children (3-15) EUR 12, Families (2+2) EUR 56.
Winter: Adults EUR 35, Children (3-15) EUR 17.
[2022]
Classification: MineQuartz Mine amethyst mine.
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours: D=60 min, St=426.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Arctic Amethyst, Luostontie 4, 99555 Luosto, Tel: +358-16-624334. E-mail:
The mining company Arctic Amethyst Ltd., Alaportti 1 D, FIN 02210 Espoo, Tel: +358-927090-203, Fax: +358-927090-209,
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1985 mine discovered.

Description

Arctic Amethyst is the only working amethyst mine in the world. At least that's what they stated a few years ago on their website. But they removed it, and it is obviously not true. Gem mines are rare, and especially gem mines outside India are rare, as most gems sold in the world are from deposits in India. The semi-precious amethyst is found all over the world, the differences are in the colour, quality, and how difficult they are to mine. This is the only amethyst mine in Finland, but most amethysts sold on mineral fairs are from Minas Gerais in Brazil.

Amethyst is a variety of quartz, SiO2 or silicon dioxide, like many other semiprecious minerals. The crystals have the same form like ordinary quartz crystals, but the colour is light purple to dark violet. The purple depends on the type and number of foreign elements, that give the mineral its colour.

The mine is located on a fell, a flat mountain ridge typical for the Finish landscape. The classic way to reach the mine is by foot, from the parking lot it is a walk of about 2.5 km/45 minutes. There is a service road but only taxis and buses are allowed to use it. If you do not want to walk, take a taxi from the Amethyst Shop in Luosto. In winter there is the so-called Amethyst Pendolino from the Ukko-Luosto parking lot.

Beneath the mine with the Lampivaara café, where you can spend the time while you wait for your tour, there is the Amethyst Shop in Luosto centre. So if you are in the area and do not want to visit the mine, you can easily have a look at the amethysts which are mined in the mine. As it is a shop there is no entrance fee, and it is open like other shops.

This mine tour is above ground, and it includes 15 minutes mineral collecting. As this is not a fee mine, it is not allowed to take the finds home, except for one with a maximum size of a fist. Also, the entrance fee is quite massive, so visitors are sometimes quite annoyed by this policy.