Claim 'Korhonen' at Jäkälä-äytsi

N68° ْ 42.374 / E025° 47.305'  - see name 'Korhonen' at Lemmenjoki map

The gold rush in Lemmenjoki at 1950's spread to 'Jäkälä-äytsi' creek as every ditch was tried in the area. Several claims were made and gold was found. The first machine aided attempt by Kullervo Korhonen (not relative) took place there with very unlucky consequencies.

Yrjö 'The Bear' Korhonen was working two summers as Kullervo's hireling. After Kullervo's bankcruptcy he traded his rifle with a claim, built a cabin (photo above, Yrjö second from left) and established a home and profession for himself for the next 50 years.

From 1951 to 1986 he shoveled thousands of cubic meters of gravel and got kilos of gold. Hydraulic machines came into play from 1986 first in Miessijoki and since 1991 back in Jäkälä-äytsi again. After Yrjö's decease in 2003 the area has been possessed by Yrjös nephew Jouko Korhonen.

Service to the claim is handled mainly at wintertime by snowmobiles (above left). In summertime you take a 20km boat ride (above middle) and a 10km by foot or by ATV (above right).

The claim has been part of mining concession (reg.no 4072/1) since 1993 with a permission for gold mining using machines. The machine set consists of a Pingon 14C12 from 1974 (above left) - a 14 ton mobile excavator (+ two more for spare parts) and an Åkerman EC230B from 1995 (above right) - a 24 ton crawler excavator.

The gravel is digged by machine to a tilted screen feeding a 2 feet wide sluicebox (above left). Water is re-circulated in a closed system by a diesel powered water pump.

The riffle section (above right) contains an expanded metal riffle over miners moss followed by 5 meters of hungarian riffles.

Finally a general view of the plant:

more fotos from spring 2005