https://www.miningweekly.com

PEA recommends opencut diamond mine in eastern Finland – Karelian

1st August 2017

By: Mariaan Webb

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dublin-headquartered Karelian Diamond Resources has received the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Lahtojoki kimberlite pipe in eastern Finland, which recommends that a mine should be developed to extract more than $200-million worth of diamonds.

The PEA, which was carried out by Brennan Mining Services, estimates that about 2.11-million carats could be recovered from a mine operating for nine years.

The study states that the Lahtojoki mine will cost about $22-million to build and that the project will have a net present value of $39.1-million and an internal rate of return of 55%.

The PEA is based on a non-Joint Ore Reserve Committee resource estimate of 2.23-million carats with a contained value of $222.5-million and estimates plant recovery at 95%.

The study states that analysis of combined microdiamond and mini-bulk sample data suggests a +1 mm recoverable grade of 39.7 carats per hundred tonnes and indicates the presence of high-quality stones within the diamonds that have been recovered to date. 

Drilling indicates 5.6-million tonnes are present to a depth of 160 m below the surface.

“Clearly much work remains to be done but this report is a major and very encouraging step forward in our assessment of the Lahtojoki diamond project and of its potential for development as a mine,” Karelian chairperson Richard Conroy said on Tuesday.

Lahtojoki deposit has the potential to be the first diamond mine in Europe, outside Russia.

The company’s diamond projects are based on the diamond prospectivity of the Karelian Craton, which is comparable in size to the diamond-rich Slave Lake Craton in Canada. The Karelian Craton stretches across north-eastern Russia and northern Finland. The Lomonosov and Grib Pipe diamond deposits have been discovered in the Russian section of the craton and Russian diamond giant Alrosa has indicated that the region presents strong growth possibilities.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION