The FINZINC database on Zn-deposits in Finland, in ACCESS® format, was created during 2000-2001 as a joint project between the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and the Department of Geology, University of Turku (UTU), and in cooperation with mining and exploration companies. The project was partially funded by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The database is available on a CD, and its contents also are accessib­le through the Internet pages of the GTK (http://en.gtk.fihttp://en.gtk.fi/ExplorationFinland/ ). Presently (17 February 2009), the database contains information on 117 deposits and significant prospects where zinc is the main commodity.

To be included into the database, a prospect must have at least one drill hole with a grade of ≥1 % Zn for ≥1 m or ≥0.5 % Zn for ≥5 m. All significant aspects of the deposits – location, holdings, discovery, exploration and mining history, deposit and wallrock geology, mineralogy, geochemistry and geo­physical features and genetic modelling – are covered by internally linked tables in the database. The database also includes a large number of photographs, maps and other figures, and geochemical, mineral analysis and petrophysical data in table format. Entries contain references to all primary sources of data.

The FINZINC indicates Zn occurrences nearly throughout the country, in nearly all major geological domains and rock types. The most important Zn province is the Vihanti-Pyhäsalmi Belt in central Finland. Another significant area is the Orijärvi-Aijala Zone in SW Finland. Large deposits elsewhere include the Hammaslahti mine and Talvivaara and Taivaljärvi deposits in eastern Finland, and the Pahtavuoma deposit in Lapland. (http://en.gtk.fi/ExplorationFinland/).