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Finland

Kevitsa Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Copper
  • Nickel
  • Cobalt
  • Platinum
  • Palladium
  • PGM
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
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SnapshotThe Kevitsa Mine is one of Finland’s largest open-pit mines and is an open-pit mine operation using conventional truck and shovel operations. Kevitsa is one of Finland’s biggest-ever mineral discoveries.

In 2023, Because of an unplanned adjustment to the mining plan in Kevitsa, a larger proportion of mined production took place in areas with lower grades.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Boliden AB 100 % Indirect
Boliden Kevitsa Mining Oy (operator) 100 % Direct
In accordance with Finnish regulations, Boliden Kevitsa Mining Oy owns the land within the mining concession. The site operating entity is Boliden Kevitsa Mining Oy.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Magmatic

Summary:

Local
Kevitsa igneous complex layered ultramafic-mafic intrusive rocks dated at 2058 ± 4 Ma (Mutanen & Huhma, 2001). The body of the intrusion extents to 2 km. The Kevitsa intrusions ultramafic units are on lower parts of the intrusion, which is overlain by the gabbroic rocks that are located on the South-West side of the ultramafics. There is a dunite unit in the middle of the deposit, which is disconcordant to magmatic layering as well in the bottom of the intrusion. Xenoliths are common in the ultramafics and within the ore body. They are variable in sizes and by composition; they typically are sedimentary, mafic or ultramafic. There are also several mafic dykes, in the intrusion, ranging in different ages but they are not very voluminous.

The Kevitsa area has undergone several tectonic and metamorphic events which are evident in the intrusion and in the country rocks (Hölttä et al. 2007). The NNE-SSW trending Satovaara fault, and other structures which are associated with it, are a structurally significant feature of the area. The Satovaara fault has deformed the eastern margin of the Kevitsa intrusion and within the deposit, there are smaller scale structures in similar trend.

Property
The Ni-Cu-(PGE) mineralization is located in the centre of the intrusions ultramafic rocks, and it is hosted typically by olivine websterite and its variants. In the broad sense, they can be described as clinopyroxene-dominated rocks with 0-30 % orthopyroxene, 5-25 % olivine and 0-10 % plagioclase. These rocks have very subtle visual and geochemical differences. The distribution and form of observed mineralogical and geochemical patterns are interpreted to represent multiple magmatic phases. There are no internal contacts to these pulses, but in many instances the base of one pulse (olivine websterite) will grade relatively sharply into the upper part of another pulse (plagioclase bearing olivine websterite). These layers are irregular in shape. Geochemically, differentiation within these pulses is most clearly demonstrated by Al2O3. It is proposed by Luolavirta et al. (2017), that the Kevitsa magma chamber was initially filled by stable continuous flow (“single” input) of basaltic magma followed by differentiation in an at least nearly closed system. In the following stage, new magma pulses were repeatedly emplaced into the interior of the intrusion in a dynamic (open) system forming the sulfide ore bodies. This model would explain the contrasting intrusive stratigraphy in the different parts of the intrusion, which likely is reflecting different emplacement histories.

The most widespread alteration in Kevitsa resource area is amphibole alteration of ferromagnesian minerals. The alteration is typically pervasive in style and has generally ‘”sharp boundaries” i.e. it does not grade out. Pervasively amphibole altered rocks are often accompanied by carbonate alteration: there can be millimetre- to metre-scale carbonate or carbonate-quartz veining. The first alteration phenomenon in Kevitsa, being also common, is the serpentine alteration where the olivine is replaced by dark serpentine. Magnetite was initially primary mineral but it is also associated with other alteration styles as veins like serpentine and carbonate alteration. Epidote alteration is associated with the rodingite dykes. Actinolite-chlorite alteration seem to be associated with the structures. Narrow actinolitic selvedges are also common on carbonate ± quartz vein margins, but these wider, green actinolite features are a distinctive vein set. Talc-carbonate alteration is strongly associated with the shear zones, late fractures and veins representing CO2 bearing fluids. The style can range from selective replacement of ferromagnesian species to pervasive alteration of the rock.

Mineralization
The known economic Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization is disseminated in style. While having some minor semi massive sulphide veins. Overall mineralization volume is irregular in shape, and it is cut by several faults which locally are offsetting the mineralization. The predominant mineralization type is Ni-Cu, comprising 95 % of the deposit. Within it, are mineralization domains, which can be separated by the distribution of Cu and NiS grades, and as well with the amount of PGE’s. The so-called Ni-PGE mineralization is in relatively small in volume.

The main economical minerals are chalcopyrite and pentlandite, but mineralogically speaking pyrrhotite is the most common sulphide. Typically, the sulphide grain size varies from fine to medium, and the grain aggregates are in the interstitial spaces of the silicates. In unaltered rocks the sulphide silicate grains are smooth and plain but in amphibole altered rocks the boundaries are irregular and serrated. Chalcopyrite generally occur as large anhedral grains, sometimes with cubanite and talnakhite, and as fine intergrowths within the gangue silicates. Pentlandite can be coarse-grained sub-euhedral, smaller intergranular grain bands between silicates and pyrrhotite, and “exolution flame” inclusions within pyrrhotite or pyrite of very fine grain size. In addition to pentlandite the nickel occurs in crystal lattice of some silicate minerals such as olivine, clinopyroxene and tremolite. The nickel in silicates is not recoverable in metallurgical process and therefore sulphide nickel is analysed by selective leach method. Pd and Pt typically occur as sulfosalts, such as arsenides and tellurides. According to Kojonen et al. (2008), over half of the PGE carrying minerals are as inclusions in amphibole, serpentine and chlorite. PGE carrying minerals which are related to sulphides occur mostly on sulphide grain boundaries, inclusions in sulphides or in late fracture fillings in pentlandite.

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

CommodityProductUnits202320222021202020192018201720162015
Gold Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe13,09520,26120,79015,62612,847
Copper Metal in concentrate M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe4461664538
Copper Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe80110112
Nickel Metal in concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe91414118.8
Nickel Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe105145139
Cobalt Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe445591587322
Platinum Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe30,65150,68345,57337,10931,899
Palladium Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe22,47037,20932,83828,39125,196

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7,681,777 t7,932,917 t8,422,255 t7,674,060 t
Waste  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe32,227,890 t33,495,535 t34,061,403 t31,904,938 t
Total tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe39.9 Mt41.3 Mt42.4 Mt36,937 kt
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7,536 kt7,582 kt7,911 kt7,392 kt6,665 kt
Annual milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe8 Mt9,000 kt

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2023202220212020201920182017
C1 cash costs Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 3.92 / lb   3.15 / lb   2.78 / lb  
C1 cash costs Copper USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1.5 / lb   1.46 / lb   1.39 / lb  
C1 cash costs Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 0.08 / lb **   -0.73 / lb **   -1.5 / lb **  
C3 fully allocated costs Nickel USD
C3 fully allocated costs Copper USD
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency201920182017
OP mining costs ($/t mined) EUR 3.14  2.98  2.78  
Processing costs ($/t milled) EUR  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) EUR  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units2023202220212020201920182017
Capital expenditures M SEK  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2,716   1,221   939  
Revenue M SEK  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2,231   2,922   2,680  
Operating Income M SEK  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 67   974   893  
Gross profit M USD

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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AV - Autonomous

Personnel

Mine Management

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EmployeesContractorsYear
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Aerial view:

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