The search for the mother lode
Hopes for finding the mother lode of gold were high in the early decades of last century. Several mining companies, such as Prospector Oy, Ivalojoki Oy and Lapin Kulta Oy were founded to search for gold in the bedrock.
 The machine room of Prospektor Company's Lutto mine
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 Deep shafts were sunk in
seach for gold
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The majority of these mining companies worked in the Laanila area. The first of them was Henry Kerkelä's Pohjola Oy. Results were poor and soon the companies went bankrupt one after another.
Lapin Kulta Company's mine, Sotajoki
In 1930s a new generation of mining companies was driving pits and shafts with the help of excavators and other machinery. But again, the results were not good enough to cover the high costs of men and machines.
Workers of Prospektor Company in Laanila