End of machine mining at Lemmenjoki


Opening at the Gold Museum in early August 2026, the temporary exhibition “A Photographic Exhibition on the Final years of machine Gold Mining in Lemmenjoki” is the work of veteran photographer Jukka Gröndahl. The exhibition presents visitors with photographs of gold mining and miners in Lemmenjoki spanning several decades, with a focus on mechanical gold mining. Organized by the Lapland Gold Prospectors’ Association (LKL), the exhibition arrives at the museum from the Inari Main Library.

The selected photographs capture the atmosphere of professional gold mining in Lemmenjoki across different decades. Gröndahl’s first photography trip to the area—specifically to the Miessijoki River—took place in the winter of 1988. At that time, a few “lifers”—miners who had started during the original Lemmenjoki gold rush—were still active there. His most recent trip took place in March 2025; by then, machine gold mining had ceased about five years earlier, and the last pieces of heavy machinery were being moved out of the area over the Martiniiskonpalo fell.

As a representative of the LKL put it, the images document the final chapter of a unique era in a traditional profession and cultural heritage: the traces of the work, the people, the machines, and the landscape.

Photographer Jukka Gröndahl (b. 1958) has enjoyed a long career in photography since 1977, working primarily for the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat from the mid-1980s onwards. Gröndahl is currently enjoying retirement in the Kuopio area.

The temporary exhibition will be on display at the Gold Museum from August 3, 2026, to June 6, 2027, and is included in the admission price—welcome!