Mining Intelligence and News
Finland

Rajapalot Project

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StagePreliminary Economic Assessment
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Cobalt
Mining Method
  • Longhole open stoping
  • Overhand Cut & Fill
  • Longitudinal open stoping
  • Transverse open stoping
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Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotIf in production today, Rajapalot would be the EU’s third largest cobalt mine and sixth largest gold mine.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Springtide Capital Acquisitions 7 Inc. 100 % Indirect
On December 20, 2023, Mawson Gold Limited closed the transaction with Springtide Capital Acquisition 7 Inc. (“Springtide”). Pursuant to the Transaction, Springtide acquired the Company’s Rajapalot gold-cobalt project in Finland (“Rajapalot”).

Springtide acquired all of the issued shares and inter-company debt of Mawson’s wholly-owned Finnish subsidiary, Mawson Oy, which holds Rajapalot, for total consideration of C$6,500,000.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Stratabound
  • Hydrothermal

Summary:

The mineralization at Rajapalot is a stratabound, disseminated, hydrothermal, usually sulphide-associated, and structurally controlled gold-cobalt type. These are generally stratabound pyrrhotite-bearing iron-potassic (K-Fe) or iron+/-magnesium (Fe-Mg) systems with a Cu, Mo, W, B, Bi-Te (Se) association. There are no reasons to assume across the broader prospect area a lack of low-S “simple” Au-W-As gold systems.

The Rajapalot mineralization shows many of the characteristics of larger Proterozoic gold deposits, having a predominance of structurally controlled, stratabound occurrences commonly with best grade intercepts associated with fold hinges. Evidence is also emerging suggesting that organic matter also plays an important role in precipitating the high-grade potassic sulphidic gold-cobalt mineralization at Raja.

Prospects with high-grade gold and cobalt at Rajapalot occur across 3 km (east-west) by 2 km (north-south) area within the larger Rajapalot project exploration area measuring 4 km by 4 km with multiple mineralized boulders, base-of-till (BOT) and rare outcrops. High-grade Au-Co mineralization at Rajapalot has been drilled to 540 m deep at Raja and South Palokas prospects, but is not closed out at depth in any prospect. The only surface exposure of mineralization is at Palokas; however, with the exception of East Joki, all mineralization comes to the top of the bedrock below the till, less than 6 m below the surface. East Joki is 110 m from the surface at its shallowest, but is not drilled yet in the up-dip direction.

The Au-Co mineralization at Rajapalot differs markedly from the nuggety Au-U style originally discovered at Rompas. Grade continuity, negligible carbonate and a stratabound potassic or Fe-Mg host to the Au-Co mineralization predominates at Rajapalot, whereas Rompas gold was hosted in and associated with uraninite in dolomite-calcsilicate veins cutting mafic volcanics.

The main prospect areas defined by drilling are, from northwest in an anticlockwise direction, Palokas, South Palokas, The Hut, Terry’s Hammer, Rumajärvi (also herein referred to as Rumaj), Raja and East Joki (also herein referred to as Joki). Geochemically and spatially associated metals with the gold are As, W, Bi, and Te and with cobalt, Cu, FeO, S, and U.

Two distinct styles of gold mineralization dominate the Rajapalot area. The first, is a variably sulphidic magnesian-iron host, previously referred to internally as “Palokas” style. The magnesian-iron host is most likely an ultramafic volcanic (komatiitic) and occurs within approximately 100 vertical metres of the inferred Kivalo-Paakkola boundary (that is, near the incoming of pelites, calc-pelites and quartz muscovite rocks). A largely retrograde mineral alteration assemblage includes chlorite, Fe-Mg amphiboles (anthophyllite and cummingtonite series), tourmaline and pyrrhotite commonly associated with quartz-veining. Subordinate almandine garnet, magnetite and pyrite occur with bismuth tellurides, scheelite, ilmenite and gold, cobalt pentlandite and cobaltite.

The second style of gold-cobalt mineralization at Rajapalot, a potassic-iron (K-Fe) style (formerly referred to internally as “Rumajärvi” type) is characteristically associated with muscovite and / or biotite and chlorite in a diverse range of fabrics. Gold grades of more than 1 g/t Au are associated with pyrrhotite and contained within muscovite-biotite schists, muscovite and biotite-bearing albitic granofels and brecciated, variably micaceous albitic rocks. Magnetite is a common mineral, but not a necessity for anomalous gold grades. The host rocks are grey to white owing to their reduced nature and may be enclosed by light pink to red calcsilicate-bearing albitites.

Gold mineralization uncovered in boulders and drilling at the Boardwalk prospect (220 m SSE of South Palokas) is a variant on the Palokas style; drilling has not yet revealed the main source of the boulders; however, zones up to 20 m thick of above-detection Au in magnetite-altered mafic rocks (“iron formation”) has been intersected. Throughout the entire 10 x 10 km Rajapalot project area, variants of the iron-rich ultramafic rocks (host to Palokas prospect) have been recorded, included in a drill section at South Rompas (some 8 km west of Palokas).

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Gold Metal in doré koz 82699
Cobalt Concentrate kt 34314
Cobalt Metal in concentrate kt 0.32.8
Gold Equivalent koz 92798

Operational metrics

Metrics
Daily processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Waste tonnes, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe
C1 cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Cobalt USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Gold USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

Currency2022
UG mining costs ($/t milled) USD 34.9 *  
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
UG OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M USD 169.3
Backfill costs $M USD  ......  Subscribe
G&A costs $M USD 40.5
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Income Taxes $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Royalty payments $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Net revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
EBITDA (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 15, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 15, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 21, 2023

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

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