HELSINKI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Kittila gold mine in Finnish Lapland will be expanded, Agnico Eagle mining company announced on Thursday.

The Canadian company said an investment worth 160 million euros will be made on projects including the construction of a one-kilometer-deep mine shaft.

"The shaft will make it possible to make use of the deeper parts of the gold deposits in an economically sensible way," Agnico Eagle said in a press release.

The company estimated the Kittila mine would be in operation until 2035.

The Kittila gold mine is the largest in the European Union area. Its known ore reserves are 27 million tons. One ton of ore includes 4.64 grams of gold.

The gold deposits were discovered in 1986 by Finnish geologists. Production of gold began in 2009. Kittila produced 6,100 kilograms of gold in 2017.

Ilkka Keskitalo, a senior inspector at the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (TUKES), told national radio Yle that interest in searching for gold in Finnish Lapland has increased.

There are currently 60 companies prospecting gold in Lapland, 20 more than some years ago.

There has been criticism in Finland about the fact that most of the mining industry of Finland is in the hands of foreign companies.

The watchdog organization Finnwatch reported in 2016 that Finland had collected 92 million euros in corporate tax from mining in 2011-2014, while the ore collected was worth nearly four billion euros.