The geopolitical whirlwinds now buffeting North American miners in the Third World are only underscoring the hard truth that oftentimes it's best for us to stick to First World countries where there is substantial mineral potential and a long history of prosperity, freedom and private wealth creation through mining. Regrettably, the list of countries that actually fit the bill isn't very long: Canada, the U.S., Australia, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Relatively tiny Finland holds a unique place on that list, being especially inviting these days for foreign capital directed at mineral exploration and new mine development. Like the people of South Korea, Poland and the Baltic states, the Finns have managed to emerge triumphant over a particularly tortured 20th century, much of which was spent being viciously trampled upon by their much-larger neighbours. In the tough decades after the Second World War, with Finland limping along in survival mode, mining within the Finnish territory was a strategically important industrial activity off limits to most foreign companies.
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