Tag Archives: Geological Survey of Finland

Metso Outotec supports GTK Mintec’s pilot plant plans with new flotation cells

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec is set to deliver new, smart flotation cells to GTK Mintec’s pilot plant in Outokumpu, Finland, as part of the survey’s modernisation and expansion program.

The delivery consists of around 20 pilot flotation machines and additional equipment, with GTK Mintec replacing existing flotation cells at its pilot plant.

The new flotation cells will support the improvement of the monitoring of beneficiation studies and process design, according to Metso Outotec.

“GTK and Metso Outotec promote sustainable and competitive mining technologies,” Stephan Kirsch, President of Metso Outotec’s Minerals business area, says. “We are pleased that GTK chose Metso Outotec’s leading-edge flotation technology for their test facilities.”

Jouko Nieminen, Head of the Circular Economy Solutions unit for the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), said: “The test plant and laboratory in Outokumpu offer mining customers a comprehensive service package. The whole production process needed for a mineral deposit can be tested there on the scale required by the research problem.

“Through the flotation investment, our domestic and international customers can use state-of-the-art technology in research related to battery minerals and circular economy materials, for example.”

Geological Survey of Finland talks up “unique” exploration database

Base metals, Energy minerals, Mineral commodities, Mineral exploration, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Finland may have only 10 metal mines to its name, but there are plenty more on the horizon, according to Pekka Nurmi, Director of Science and Innovation for the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).

Speaking on the first day of the inaugural Finland Mine Safari tour for analysts and investors in Helsinki on Monday, Nurmi said there had been some €3 billion ($3.5 billion) of investments in mine development in the last 10 years and there was another €3-5 billion due between 2016 and 2025.

Some of these investments will come at existing mines looking to expand like Agnico Eagle Mines’ Kittila gold mine, Outokumpu’s Kemi chromium asset and Boliden’s Kevitsa nickel-copper operation, but Nurmi sees plenty of new discoveries moving into the development phase too.

He reserved particular praise for Anglo American’s Sakatti copper-nickel-platinum group elements project, some 150 km north of the Arctic Circle, which hosts indicated and inferred resources of 44.4 Mt at 1.9% Cu, 0.96% Ni, 0.04% Co, 0.64 g/t Pt, 0.49 g/t Pd and 0.33 g/t Au.

“It appears to be the best discovery in Finland,” he told analysts, investors and journalists, explaining it was already around one-and-a-half-times the size of the historic Outokumpu copper mine. Outokumpu operated from 1913-1989, producing some 28.5 Mt of ore grading 3.8% Cu during that time.

In addition to development capital, Nurmi said some €60 million had been spent on exploration in Finland in 2017, up from €40 million in 2016.

Explorers have leveraged off the GTK’s exploration database, which includes a complete airborne survey package for the whole country at 200 m line spacing.

“It’s a unique data set,” Nurmi said.

And, surprisingly for a well-known exploration destination, many of the country’s new discoveries continue to come close to surface.

Nurmi said the country has some 4 m of cover on average, with parts of southern Finland already having exposed mineralisation.

The country has traditionally been a hotbed for gold, PGM and base metal exploration, but there are a number of interesting battery mineral prospects being lined up, including lithium, cobalt and graphite.

This include’s Keliber Oy’s lithium project (pictured), Savannah Resources’ Somero and Eräjärvi lithium assets, FinnCobalt’s Hautalampi cobalt-nickel-copper project in the historic town of Outokumpu and Beowulf Mining’s Pitkäjärvi and Aitolampi graphite properties, among others.