Dragon Mining is featured in the February issue of International Mining – its mines in Sweden and Finland and its projects. Runge has just completed the maiden cobalt Mineral Resource for the Juomasuo deposit, the largest of the five deposits identified to date on the Kuusamo gold project in the north of Finland. The cobalt resource totals 3,084,000 t grading 0.12% Co and 0.1 g/t Au and is in addition and separate to the recently announced update of the Juomasuo gold resource of 1,955,000 t grading 4.9 g/t Au and 0.14% Co. The Kuusamo Gold Project is located approximately 700 km northeast of Helsinki. It comprises five known gold deposits with a combined Indicated and Inferred Resource of 460,700 oz grading 4.2 g/t Au. Numerous indications of gold mineralisation have also been identified within the surrounding areas. These indications provide a pipeline of prospects to advance and serve to highlight the overall potential of the Kuusamo gold project. In addition to the reported gold and cobalt, the Juomasuo deposit also contains elevated levels of uranium and rare earth elements, at potential quantities ranging from 2 to 5 Mt and grades ranging from 30 ppm to 180 ppm uranium and 240 to 320 ppm total rare earth element oxides (TREO). These quantities and grades are conceptual in nature, as there is insufficient exploration data to define a Mineral Resource and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource for uranium and TREO. Generation of the stated ranges is based on preliminary modelling of available uranium and TREO results from diamond core drilling and follows a review of geological information obtained from the drilling completed (365 holes – 303 diamond core drill holes, 62 percussion drill holes) on the Juomasuo deposit and its immediate surrounds.
The gold lodes at Juomasuo occur within a larger zone of sulphidised and sheared rocks, which also hosts the cobalt, uranium and rare earth elements. The uranium primarily occurs as discrete grains of uraninite, which are sporadically located within the gold lodes and to a lesser extent with the cobalt mineralisation. The rare earth elements occur as minerals allanite, monazite and bastnasite and these are associated equally with both the gold lodes and cobalt mineralisation.
Analysis for uranium and rare earth elements has routinely been undertaken and reported for all drilling completed since the recommencement of exploration at the Kuusamo project in November 2010. Analysis completed prior to this date was not as extensive. The company has instigated a re-logging and re-assaying program of historic drill core to ensure a more comprehensive multi-element database to be available for future Mineral Resource estimates.