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Operation Lemmenjoki to move Åkerman away from golden Lapland

Finnish “Gold Rush” style excavating for gold in Lemmenjoki in Northern Lapland, was officially ended in 2020, and gold diggers were ordered to clean up the areas of their working and to also remove their used equipment, much of which is extremely old. This clean up operation was set a deadline of 2022 but due to weather difficulties an extension has been granted.

A group of men from Sastamala headed by rally driver Henri Haapamäki plan to remove the Åkerman H16B starting out on April 1^st 2023. A week has been set aside for the epic journey to move the machine 40km from its remote location to a position where it can be picked up by road going transport. The plan is to drive the 1970’s machine day and night but they are concerned this might not be long enough especially with the inevitable problems that could occur with such an old machine working around the clock.

Where the hell did such an idea come from?

"A friend from the north linked me to the Åkerman's sale announcement on Instagram. And jokingly asked if we were going to pick it up from Lemmenjoki? We talked about this with our friends and it was concluded that of course it will be moved, even though no man has even ever gone hiking in Lapland", grins Haapamäki at first.

The rescue patrol or "Operation Lemmenjoen" as it has been named is made up of five friends from Sastamala who are otherwise used to rugged landscapes; Henri and Juha Haapamäki, Ville Innanmaa, Pekka Kömi and Santeri Wilpola.

There are many experts in the group. Henri's father Juha has the most experience with machines. He has worked as a construction contractor for 40 years.

"It's been laughed at here that the team looks quite good on paper. Two CNC machinists, a TV presenter, a parish master and a retired bus driver are going on the trip. However, everyone has experience with different machines."

Sponsors have been diligently sought and a lot of useful equipment and supplies are already assembled.

"The excellent equipment used in the operation is one of the reasons for our trip. Loukko.com has offered us a 1,000 cubic meter Can-Am Traxter HD10 pro. 

The vehicle in question is a flatbed ATV with a large cabin that runs on tracks. Behind this is a homemade sled, which we use to transport fuel etc. over the terrain. The towing capacity of the Can-Am in question is well over 1,000 kilograms. 

As another attraction, we have Lynx's new turbo-powered party model Commander GLX5900 snowmobile. With this, we can make quick transitions to the accommodation and transport small items. All goods and men are taken from the south to Inari with a large van and trailer provided by Levoranna Autoliikke Oy ,” Haapamäki lists the partners.

There will be a lot of fun on the trip, that's for sure. The team have promised to update their information during the trip on social media and YouTube.

You hope the machine doesn’t freeze

Åkerman H16B awaiting rescue is located in Jäkälä-Äytsi.  "There is not a very clear picture of the condition of the machine. The model is H16B and it has been digging for gold for 25 years. The hauling distance from the gold fields to the roadside is approximately 40 kilometers. 

There is no information about the working hours of the machine, but the engine was overhauled a couple of years ago. The machine should be mostly in a good start-up condition, but we will do a comprehensive maintenance on it and change the batteries, etc., before we start turning the ignition key," explains Haapamäki.

Spare parts must also be taken with you. If only you knew what everything is needed.

Henri Haapamäki, man media and rally

"I am a 34-year-old family man from Sastamala. I guess I'm also a cross between a media person and a racing car driver. I've been racing all my life and have won a couple of Finnish championships in rallycross. At the moment I am competing with a 600+ horsepower 4wd Supercar in rallycross. My job is to do various jobs in the media industry, such as acting as the host of Yle Rally SM series TV shows, rally World Series expert, etc. I'm used to being featured a lot and that's why this "Operation Lemmenjokikki" is videoed and published for the whole nation's enjoyment on my YouTube channel . "

The gold diggers have to landscape their tracks and therefore drive all the machines out of the area. And if driving doesn't work, then maybe in kilo pieces.

Here is the rescue patrol, whose members are still smiling at least at this point. From Left to Right : Ville Innanmaa, Pekka Kömi, Henri Haapamäki, Santeri Wilpola and Juha Haapamäki

"For the most part, I was able to landscape my own footprints already in 2020, when the ban on mechanical digging came into force. In the spring of 2021, we brought out four excavators and a screen pulled by a tractor. Two of the excavators belonged to another gold digger. I brought one machine to the south, the other machines I sold for half-price in Lapland," says Tauno Leino.

On the phone, Olli spoke to Tauno about the upcoming rescue trip for Åkerman by the wild ones of Sastamala.

"Yes, a week is enough if the rollers last. I went to do some renovations on the machine in question, and as I recall, its undercarriage is not great. Changing track pins, for example, is very difficult in terrain. When I used to take a Volvo to a seizure, that's why the pin broke. The accompanying press was of no use when the broken pin wedged itself crosswise. Finally, it had to be removed by flame cutting. Two days were wasted," recalls Leino.

"The machines must be driven away in sheltered weather. The frozen snow freezes on the bottom floor and eventually the basic chains start jumping over the sprocket. The wet protective snow also lubricates and makes things easier," advises Leino.

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It would appear that the old Åkerman excavators were a popular choice for Finnish gold diggers, these venerable machines are well know for their strength and durability!

The first deadline for landscaping and emptying the plots was summer 2022. Tauno says that there is still a lot of equipment in the fells waiting to be driven away or chartered.

You can checkout the video below but unfortunately its in Finnish language so near impossible to understand for us Brits! 

It will be interesting to see how this rescue mission pans out, I look forward to updates from Olli at  Konepörssi  in due course.