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Stockholm, 20 March 2023 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT” and Börse Stuttgart: “EBM”; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the Company”), is pleased to announce that FinnCobalt Oy together with AFRY Finland Oy has completed the Hautalampi mining project pre-feasibility study. Eurobattery Minerals owns 40% of the FinnCobalt Oy and Hautalampi project.
Key points from the pre-feasibility study:
- With a conservative metal price, and a total capital expenditure of 65.1 million euro (excluding contingency) the payback period is 4.6 years.
- Mining will commence after a one-year construction period including rehabilitation of the underground mine, construction of the surface crushing and processing plants, and a new tailings storage facility. The project implementation requires valid environmental permit.
- Total metal production during the anticipated 12 years mining operations will be 11,400 tonnes of nickel and 2,900 tonnes of cobalt in the nickel-cobalt concentrate and 9,600 tonnes of copper in the copper concentrate.
- The pre-feasibility study is based on the underground mining operation with total mining of 4.6 Mt of ore reserves with the grades of Ni 0.3%, Co 0.08% and Cu 0.24%.
- Eurobattery Minerals expects that the investment cost will decrease, and the project economics improve when the actual detailed engineering commences and cost uncertainties due to the current Russo – Ukrainian war will clarify.
“I am excited about the outcome of the pre-feasibility study cementing the strong economic outlook for our Finnish battery mineral mine. With the study at hand and the environmental impact assessment that we expect to be filed soon followed by the environmental permit application, we will now elevate our conversations with several potential off-take partners. Furthermore, we will commence the optimisation of the project and see how we could push the investment costs down and increase the project viability further,” said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
Summary of the pre-feasibility study
The pre-feasibility study is based on the underground mining operations with total mining of 4.6 Mt of ore reserves with the grades of Ni 0.3%, Co 0.08% and Cu 0.24%. Additional 369 kt of inferred mineral resource were also used to create the Life of mine plan and financial model.
The underground mining will commence after a one-year construction period which includes rehabilitation of the underground mine, construction of the surface crushing and processing plants and a new tailings storage facility. The underground mining rate will be some 450,000 – 480,000 tonnes per annum and mining operations will continue for 12 years. Total metal production will be 11,400 tonnes nickel and 2,900 tonnes cobalt in the nickel-cobalt concentrate and 9,600 tonnes copper in the copper concentrate. Based on the extensive metallurgical test work, concentrates are of very good quality, without any deleterious elements and should be easily marketable either for Finland’s domestic metallurgical industry or internationally.
| Hautalampi Ore Reserves as of 7th March 2023 @30€/t NSR Cut-off. | ||||||||
| Ore Reserve | Grade | Contained Metals | ||||||
| Tonnes | Ni | Cu | Co | Ni (t) | Cu (t) | Co (t) | ||
| Proven | 1,871,000 | 0.36% | 0.30% | 0.09% | 6,800 | 5,700 | 1,600 | |
| Probable | 2,693,000 | 0.25% | 0.19% | 0.07% | 6,900 | 5,300 | 1,900 | |
| Total | 4,564,000 | 0.30% | 0.24% | 0.08% | 13,700 | 11,000 | 3,500 | |
(1) The ore reserve estimate has an effective date of 7thMarch 2023. (2) The estimate has been prepared and reported in accordance with the recommendations of the 2012 Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2012). (3) Exchange rate used: USD/EUR 1.00. (4) NSR cut-off value for the estimate is 30€/t. (5) NSR = net smelter return. NSR is calculated using (USD prices of) nickel USD 20,000 /t, copper USD 9,000 /t and cobalt USD 60,000 /t. Recoveries for Ni 82%, Cu 86.5% and 82% for Co. Payment to concentrate percent for Ni 70%, Cu 90% and Co 50% were used. (6) Mining recovery of 95% was assumed in reserve conversion and mining dilution ranging from 10-15% was applied. (7) No inferred mineral resource was converted to ore reserves.
Additional mineral resources of the Hautalampi project are as follows. The additional resources estimation has an effective date of 7th March 2023. The estimation is prepared by removing the mining reserve and unmineable areas from the Resource Statement reported on 18th October 2022.
| Addtitional resources | Tonnes | Grade | Contained metals | ||||
| Ni | Cu | Co | Ni(t) | Cu(t) | Co(t) | ||
| 4,707,000 | 0.22% | 0.11% | 0.05% | 10,331 | 5,316 | 2,158 | |
The additional resource of 4,7Mt mineralization is a remarkable asset for the future development and extension of the Hautalampi Mine life span if and when the future metal prices are favorable.
The total investment capital cost has been estimated to be around EUR 65 million excluding the proposed 15% contingency, which brings the total Capital Expenditure to EUR 74.8 million. The total turnover for the mine is some EUR 420 million and the payback period is 4.6 years. The Internal Rate of Return is 20% assuming EUR 10 million grant. Metal prices used in the financial study are Copper 9,750 USD/t, Nickel 20,000 USD/t and Cobalt 70,000 USD/t which are relevant long-term consensus forecast prices. All financial figures are based on the current high-level capital investment cost and assuming EUR 10 million investment grant. The company expects that the investment cost will decrease and the project economics improve when the actual detailed engineering commences and recent construction material price increases due to the uncertainties due to the ongoing Russo – Ukrainian war will disappear.
The complete pre-feasibility report is available from Eurobattery Minerals website https://eurobatteryminerals.com/en/projects/hautalampi/.
Competent Person’s Statement
The information in this release that relates to Mineral Resources and ore reserves is based on information compiled by Mr Ville-Matti Seppä, a Competent Person who has a EurGeol qualification. Mr Seppä is a full-time employee of AFRY Finland Oy. Mr Seppä has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves”. Mr Seppä has reviewed, verified, and approved the contents of this news release as they relate to the mineral resource estimate. Mr Seppä owns no shares in FinnCobalt Oy or Eurobattery Minerals AB.
This information is of the kind that the Company is required to disclose in accordance with the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. The information was issued for publication through the agency of Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals AB, on 20th of March 2023 at 07:30 CET.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB
Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255
E-mail: info@augment.se.
Stockholm, 29 September 2022 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: BAT and Börse Stuttgart: EBM; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the Company”) today announces that it has received an updated resource estimate on the Hautalampi project. The independent JORC-compliant estimate prepared by AFRY Finland Oy concludes that compared to previous analysis in 2021, the available mineral resources in the mine project has almost doubled with almost 40% more metals. Eurobattery Minerals owns 40% of the Hautalampi project and have the option to acquire 100% from its current majority owner FinnCobalt.
“I am extremely pleased! The new estimate exceeds our previous expectations and confirms that the Hautalampi mine project has more than 1/3 more battery minerals available than what was thought. It’s a significant discovery and sends a strong message – our Finnish mine project have all the prerequisites to be an important source for responsible mined battery minerals powering the European automotive and clean energy sector,” said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
Key information and findings
New area covered: The new resource estimate prepared by AFRY Finland Oy includes newly estimated Hautalampi area and its North-Eastern extension known as the Mökkivaara area. Both areas have been the target of the year 2021 core drilling campaign, which was completed in December 2021.
Significant tonnage increase: Compared to the estimate by AFRY Finland Oy in 2021, the total tonnage in the measured, indicated, and inferred resource categories tonnage has almost doubled and contained metal increased approximately 39% in the mine lease area.
JORC-code compliant: The estimate has been prepared and reported in accordance with the recommendations of the 2012 Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves (JORC-code). The mineral resource is estimated using a database containing approximately 86,500 meters of diamond core drilling including 4,600 meters drilled during the 2021 campaign.
Next steps: With the resource update in hand, Eurobattery Minerals will now conduct further technical and economical evaluations of the project viability. This includes investigate different downstream processing and off-take options to receive maximum revenue especially from the Nickel-Cobalt concentrate
Details about the Hautalampi and Mökkivaara deposit measured and indicated mineral resource
- 9.3 million tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of Ni 0.28%, Cu 0.19% Cu and Co 0.07%
- Contained metal Ni 26,100 tonnes, Cu 17,700 tonnes and Co 6,200 tonnes in the measured and indicated category
- Additional inferred resources at Hautalampi area 0.2 Mt at an average grade of Ni 0.21%, Cu 0.12% and Co 0.02%.
The north-east extension of the mineralization, Mökkivaara deposit, with following inferred resource:
- 3.2 Mt at an average grade of Ni 0.22%, Cu 0.13% and Co 0.05%
- Contained metal: Ni 7,000 tonnes, Cu 4,100 tonnes and Co 1,600 tonnes
The mineral resource is estimated using a database containing approximately 86,500 meters of diamond core drilling including 4,600 meters drilled during the 2021 campaign.
Competent person’s statement
The information in this release that relates to mineral resources is based on information compiled by Mr. Ville-Matti Seppä, a Competent Person who has an EurGeol qualification.
Mr. Seppä is a full-time employee of AFRY Finland Oy. He has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves”. Mr. Seppä has reviewed, verified, and approved the contents of this news release as they relate to the mineral resource estimate. Mr. Seppä owns no shares in FinnCobalt Oy or Eurobattery Minerals AB.
Report availability
The complete report on Hautalampi and Mökkivaara deposit project mineral resources estimate will be published on the Eurobattery Minerals AB and FinnCobalt Oy web pages as soon as the companies will receive the report. This is expected in October 2022.
In the attached appendix detailed information about resource estimates and estimations principles can be found along with maps of the Hautalampi project.
This information is of the kind that the Company is required to disclose in accordance with the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. The information was issued for publication through the agency of Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals AB, on 29 September at 07:30 CEST.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
Sara Pinto
Phone: +49 (0) 89-1250903-35
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB: Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255, e-mail: info@augment.se.
Stockholm, 26 September 2022 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT” and Börse Stuttgart: “EBM”; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the Company”), today announces that FinnCobalt Oy, the majority owner of the Hautalampi project, has received a request for additional information for the Hautalampi project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report from the North Karelia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (“ELY-centre“). Eurobattery Minerals owns 40% of FinnCobalt and has an option to increase the ownership to 100%.
The complex nature of the former copper mine site requires more information on the current environmental situation to be submitted as a part of the Environmental Impact Assessment. The authorities also require some more detailed technical information, especially about the proposed Tailings Storage Facilities.
“Our view is that these requirements will help and speed up the process of the final environmental permit application. The work to complete the EIA and preparation of the final environmental permit application will now commence simultaneously,” comments Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals AB.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
Sara Pinto
Phone: +49 (0) 89-1250903-35
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB: Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255, e-mail: info@augment.se
Stockholm, 1 July 2022 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: BAT and Börse Stuttgart: EBM; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the company”), today announced the closing of the acquisition of a 40% stake in FinnCobalt Oy, the current owner of the ground and all mining rights of the Finnish Hautalampi nickel-cobalt-copper project. In consideration of the transaction, the Board of Directors of Eurobattery Minerals today completed a directed issue of 802,734 shares with a total value of EUR 1,000,002. Further to this, EUR 250,000 in cash was paid to the three current owners of FinnCobalt. Eurobattery Minerals has the option to acquire 100% of the shares in FinnCobalt by 2024 at the latest.
“Today’s closing marks an important milestone in the 100% takeover intention of the promising Hautalampi battery minerals project announced in 2020. Alongside the financial aspects of the project, we are constantly making important progress towards establishing a battery mineral mine in Finland to provide Europe with responsibly mined battery minerals from Europe,” said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals AB.
Transaction details
To finalize the transaction of the 40% stake in FinnCobalt Oy, the Board of Directors of Eurobattery Minerals today fulfilled the acquisition contract by paying a total of EUR 250,000 in cash to the three founders of FinnCobalt. Furthermore, the company completed a directed issue of 802,734 shares with a total value of EUR 1,000,002 to the three founders of FinnCobalt, issuing EUR 333,334 each. The terms of the deal finalized today are in line with the financial details of the acquisition agreed on in May 2020. Following the directed issue, Eurobattery Minerals’ total number of shares will increase from 15,719,503 to 16,522,237 and the share capital will increase from SEK 15,719,503 (EUR 1,465,004) to SEK 16,522,237 (EUR 1,539,817).
About the Hautalampi mine development project
Hautalampi is located at the same site as the well-known Outokumpu copper mine where approximately 28.5 million tons of rock with a copper content of 3.8% were mined from 1912–1989. The nickel-cobalt-copper orebody in Hautalampi is located parallel and above the exploited copper deposit. Existing surface and underground infrastructure, including a high voltage power line, concrete foundations, and roads, provide significant location advantages to the project. Approximately EUR 10 million – 15 million has been invested in Hautalampi by previous owners, including 26,000 meters of core drilling, a decline and additional underground mine development works (2,100 meters), mineral resource and reserve estimates, multiple mineral processing studies and a feasibility study.
Hietajärvi and Varislahti add additional potential to Hautalampi battery mineral project
The Hautalampi mine project is located in the historical mining area of Outokumpu, eastern Finland. Through the acquisition, Eurobattery Minerals has also obtained two additional reservation notifications for highly prospective grounds in Hietajärvi and Varislahti. Both prospective areas are located in close proximity to the mining centre in Hautalampi, and both have been found to contain similar rock formations as in Hautalampi, containing nickel, copper and cobalt.
The conversion from SEK to EUR was done on 30 June 2022: SEK 1 = EUR 0.09320, EUR 1 = SEK 10.73.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
Linda Lenz
Phone: +49 (0) 172 834 18 92
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB: Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255, e-mail: info@augment.se
Stockholm, 31 May 2022 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: BAT and Börse Stuttgart: EBM; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the company”), today announced the purchase of a 40% stake in FinnCobalt Oy, which owns the ground and all mining rights of the Finnish Hautalampi nickel-cobalt-copper project. This is the first time Eurobattery Minerals has exercised its option to acquire 100% of the shares in FinnCobalt Oy in a staged process. The acquisition plays a significant role in the development of the company and in achieving its goal to establish a battery mineral mine followed by production and sales of critical battery minerals starting in 2023. As announced about two years ago, Eurobattery Minerals plans to acquire 100% of the shares in FinnCobalt by 2024 at the latest.
“I am proud and pleased to share the news about our first step in achieving our goal of acquiring 100% of the battery mineral mine project in Hautalampi. Today we are one big step closer to our goal of providing responsibly mined battery minerals from Europe to the European automotive and clean energy markets,” said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals AB.
Financial details of acquisition
The board of directors of Eurobattery Minerals has informed the founders of FinnCobalt Oy that they will exercise the first option to the contract that became effective on 27 May 2020, so that in the next 60 days before 27 July 2022 Eurobattery Minerals would make said option effective by paying in corresponding cash: EUR 250,000 as stipulated in the contract and a subscription of EUR 1,000,000 in EBM shares to the three founders. These two actions will be taken parallelly and simultaneously.
Hautalampi will be built on already existing mining infrastructure
Hautalampi is situated at the same site as the well-known Outokumpu copper mine where approximately 28.5m tons of rock with a copper content of 3.8% copper were mined from 1912–1989. The nickel-cobalt-copper orebody in Hautalampi is located parallel and above the exploited copper deposit. Existing surface and underground infrastructure, including a high voltage power line, concrete foundations, and roads, provide significant location advantages to the project. Approximately EUR10m–15m has been invested in Hautalampi by previous owners, including 26,000 m of core drilling, a decline and additional underground mine development works (2,100 m), mineral resource and reserve estimates, multiple mineral processing studies and a feasibility study. The previous investments will enable FinnCobalt Oy and Eurobattery Minerals to push the project forward quickly.
Acquisition opens up additional potential
The Hautalampi mine project is located in the historical mining area of Outokumpu, eastern Finland (see figure 1, appendix). Through the acquisition, Eurobattery Minerals has also obtained two additional reservation notifications for highly prospective grounds in Hietajärvi and Varislahti (see figure 2, appendix). Both prospective areas are located in close proximity to the mining centre in Hautalampi, and both have been found to contain similar rock formations as in Hautalampi, containing nickel, copper and cobalt.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
Linda Lenz
Phone: +49 (0) 172 834 18 92
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB: Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255, e-mail: info@augment.se.
Stockholm, 24 May 2022 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: BAT and Börse Stuttgart: EBM; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the Company”), today announces that FinnCobalt Oy, current owner of the Hautalampi project, has submitted the Hautalampi project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report to the North Karelia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (“ELY-centre“) for official review. The EIA report will present the current status of the environment of the Hautalampi mine project, the environmental impact of the assessed options as well as their significance. As soon as the environmental compatibility of the Hautalampi project is officially confirmed, one of the conditions for Eurobattery Minerals to start mining at Hautalampi will be fulfilled.
“We are very pleased that we have now completed this important step. The environmental impact assessment is a key part in our business strategy to establish a battery mineral mine and provide responsible mined European minerals. The report is comprehensive and includes all the environmental aspects of the Hautalampi project,” comments Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals AB.
The report comprises two different options for the Tailings Storage Facility and two options for the discharge waters and has been drafted based on the EIA-programme and the competent authority’s official conclusion on the programme. The official conclusion of the Environmental Impact Assessment report is expected on 22 September 2022. FinnCobalt Oy will commence the preparation of the Environmental Permit Application immediately and will submit the application in due course.
The report has been compiled by Envineer Oy together with FinnCobalt Oy own personnel and other consultants and is available (in Finnish) at the following links:
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
Linda Lenz
Phone: +49 (0) 172 834 18 92
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB: Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255, e-mail: info@augment.se.
Stockholm, 31st of March 2022 – Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT” and Börse Stuttgart: “EBM”), a growth company in the mining and exploration industry with the vision to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical battery minerals, today announces first results from the phase 2 drilling campaign completed at the FinnCobalt Hautalampi Ni-Co-Cu project in eastern Finland, a project Eurobattery Minerals have the option to acquire to 100 %.
The results indicate a connection and resource expansion potential between the earlier defined Hautalampi and Mökkivaara resources making intended future mining operations more efficient and economic. Complete results (initially planned for in Q1 2022) are delayed due to Covid-19 problems at the external ALS Laboratory, Ireland. Results and a mineral resource update in accordance with the JORC code, is now expected in Q2.
Key points
- The first received assay results and visual observations from phase 2 drilling campaign in Hautalampi Ni-Co-Cu project give a strong indication that Hautalampi and Mökkivaara resources are connected.
- The company expect to receive final assays results based on the 1,600 samples from 45 drill holes completed in phase 2 drilling campaign including a mineral resource update in the second quarter of 2022.
- Complete results (initially planned for in Q1 2022) are delayed due to Covid-19 at the external ALS laboratory in Ireland. Results and a mineral resource update in accordance with the JORC code, is now expected in Q2.
- Previous drilling campaign in 2020 confirmed a resource increase of approximately 100%.
“From what we know to date, the drilling has confirmed our view of the connection between Hautalampi and Mökkivaara resource area. This means that we most probably have some 2,5 km continuous resource area. This will subsequently make intended future mining activities more efficient and economic. Obviously, we are very eager to get the results and as such concerned about the delay caused by ALS laboraory in Ireland due to circumstances outside of our control”, comments Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
Additional information
FinnCobalt Oy commenced the new drilling campaign (Phase 2) in mid-October 2021 in the Hautalampi mine project development area. The campaign covered the previously non-drilled gap area between the Hautalampi deposit and the north-eastern extension of the project, known as the Mökkivaara deposit, and aimed to verify resources between these already established deposits.
The goals of the Phase 2 drilling campaign were:
- Fill the drilling gap between the existing Hautalampi resource area and the north-eastern extension known as the Mökkivaara resource area (Central-Gap fill).
- Convert inferred resource to indicated resource at the Hautalampi resource area through drilling the most important gaps in the currently existing indicated resource zone (Hautalampi-Resource conversion).
- Extend the Hautalampi resource area further to the northeast (Central-Resource extension).
- Create an indicated mineral resource of the Mökkivaara resource by increasing the drilling density.
Phase 2 drilling campaign was completed in late 2021. In total 45 drill holes were completed for a total of 4,606 meters. More than 1,600 samples will be submitted for geochemical assaying at ALS Geochemistry in Outokumpu and Ireland.
The first received assay results and visual observations give a strong indication that Hautalampi and Mökkivaara resources are connected. Assay results from the first 18 holes are:
The true width of the intercepts is estimated to be mainly 80 – 90 percent and in minimum 75 percent of the intercept length. In HA21-125 and HA21-126 the true width is estimated to be lower than in other holes because of oblique drilling against the strike. All core loss is assigned a 0 value. Notable core loss occurs in HA21-120 between 64.42m – 65.62m, totalling 1.2 m.
NiEq = nickel equivalent percentage. NiEq grade is calculated using USD prices of nickel $17,500/t, copper $7500/t and cobalt $45,000/t. No metallurgical or recovery factors have been assumed at this early stage of the Project. NiEq grade calculation = NiEq = Ni% + (Co%*45000 + Cu%*7500)/17500.
Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC)
Drill core is logged and sampled in a secure core storage facility located in Outokumpu, Finland. The core samples were sent to ALS Laboratories in Outokumpu, Finland, for cutting the core in half by a diamond saw and for sample preparation. From Outokumpu, the samples were sent to ALS Laboratories in Ireland for a four-acid digest multi-element suite including cobalt, nickel, and copper. Based on previous studies the silicate nickel content of the Hautalampi host rock is below 0.03 %. Blank, field duplicates, and standards were included in the sample batches and their values allow the public disclosure of the assay results. No QA/QC issues were noted with the results reported herein.
Qualified person
The technical information in this press release has been reviewed by Dr Hannu Makkonen from Suomen Malmitutkimus Oy. He has over 40 years of experience in mineral exploration in Finland, he is a European Geologist (EurGeol) and a Competent/Qualified Person as defined by the PERC Reporting Standard 2021, JORC Code, 2012 Edition, and by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Dr Makkonen owns no shares in FinnCobalt Oy or Eurobattery Minerals AB.
For more information, please contact:
Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals
Follow us:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eurobattery-minerals-ab/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eurobatterymin
This information is of the kind that the Company is required to disclose in accordance with the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. The information was issued for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above on 31st of March 2022 at 07:30 CET.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on NGM Nordic SME (BAT) and Börse Stuttgart (EBM). As the foundation of the battery value chain, the company’s vision is to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical and fully traceable battery minerals for the electric vehicle industry. The company is focused on exploration and development of several nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply sustainably mined raw materials critical to the rapidly growing battery market.
Visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information.
Augment Partners AB, e-mail: info@augment.se, phone: +46 8-604 22 55, is the company’s Mentor.
Stockholm, 28 December 2021 – Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT” and Börse Stuttgart: “EBM”), a growth company in the mining and exploration industry with the vision to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical battery minerals, today announces the completion of the drilling campaigns in its Hautalampi project in Finland and its Corcel project in Spain. The campaigns have been completed on schedule and on budget. The drill cores have been dispatched to a laboratory operated by ALS to verify the resources. Due to delays at the lab because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the results will be presented in the first quarter of 2022.
“We are pleased to announce the completion of the drilling campaigns in both the Hautalampi and Corcel projects, where we see great potential for mining battery minerals on European soil. We are now eagerly awaiting the results from the lab,” comments Roberto Garcia, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
About the Hautalampi project drilling campaign
FinnCobalt Oy has informed Eurobattery Minerals that the recent core drilling campaign at the Hautalampi Mine development project (“Phase 2”) has been completed on schedule and on budget. Eurobattery Minerals has the option to acquire 100% of FinnCobalt Oy in a staged acquisition.
FinnCobalt Oy commenced a new drilling campaign in mid-October 2021 in the Hautalampi mine project development area. The campaign covered the previously non-drilled gap area between the Hautalampi deposit and the north-eastern extension of the project, known as the Mökkivaara deposits, and aimed to verify resources between these already established deposits.
In total, 45 holes have been completed totalling 4,606 metres in length. The Phase 2 drilling campaign will continue with core logging and assaying, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2022. This will be followed by the mineral resource update to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.
The main goals of the Phase 2 drilling campaign were:
- Convert inferred resource to indicated resource at the Hautalampi resource area through drilling the most important gaps in the currently existing indicated resource zone (Hautalampi-Resource conversion).
- Extend the Hautalampi resource area further to the north-east (Central-Resource extension).
- Fill the drilling gap between the existing Hautalampi resource area and the north-eastern extension known as the Mökkivaara resource area (Central-Gap fill).
- Create an indicated mineral resource of the Mökkivaara resource by increasing the drilling density.
Based on the visual observations of the drill cores, the campaign is expected to reach all the goals set.
Map of the drilling operations in the Hautalampi project
About the Corcel project drilling campaign
The diamond drilling campaign in Eurobattery Minerals’ Spanish Corcel project initiated in June 2021 has been completed on budget and on schedule.
Key points from the 2021 drilling campaign:
- The drilling campaign initiated in June 2021 at the Corcel Project has been completed.
- A total of seven diamond drill holes were completed at a total drilled length of 1,134 metres.
- Work in this campaign focused on the “West Anomaly,” where drill hole COR003 (19DD001) confirmed at depth the favourable results obtained in the geochemical campaign, with an average of 69m @ 0.30% Ni, 0.038% Cu, 0.01%.
A total of seven diamond drill holes were completed at a total drilled length of 1,134 metres. Work focused on the “West Anomaly,” where the company’s previous exploration work recorded ground anomalies of up to 0.33% Ni coincident with an increase in the magnetic response of the underlying rocks. DDH COR003 (19DD0001) confirmed the source of the anomaly in this area with an average grade of 69m @ 0.30% Ni, 0.038% Cu, 0.01% Co from 78m, including 21m @ 0.345% Ni, 0.045% Cu, 0.011% Co from 78m depth. Work will continue with the logging and sampling of the drill holes and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
The objective of this campaign was to fully recognise this anomaly and obtain a resource estimate in this area. Based on the core observations in the boreholes, the campaign is expected to achieve its objective and a proven resource estimate in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure for Minerals Projects (“NI 43-101”) is expected in the first quarter of 2022.
Image 1. DDH realised in the 2021 campaign.
For more information, please contact:
Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals
Follow us:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eurobattery-minerals-ab/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eurobatterymin
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on NGM Nordic SME (BAT) and Börse Stuttgart (EBM). As the foundation of the battery value chain, the company’s vision is to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical and fully traceable battery minerals for the electric vehicle industry. The company is focused on exploration and development of several nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply sustainably mined raw materials critical to the rapidly growing battery market.
Visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information.
Augment Partners AB, e-mail: info@augment.se, phone: +46 8-604 22 55, is the company’s Mentor.
- The new drilling campaign, starting in mid-October 2021, will target the Hautalampi project resource increase
- The campaign will cover the previously non-drilled gap area between the Hautalampi deposit and the north-eastern extension of the project known as the Mökkivaara deposits aiming to verify resources between these already established deposits.
- Previous drilling campaign in 2020 confirmed a resource increase of approximately 100%
- With a target of approximately 5,000 meters of new drilling, the campaign will be finalized in early 2022
Stockholm, 14th October 2021. Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT” and Börse Stuttgart “EBM”), a growth company in the mining and exploration industry with the vision to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical battery minerals, today announces that FinnCobalt Oy is about to commence drilling at the Hautalampi nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu) project (“Hautalampi”; “the project”) in Outokumpu, eastern Finland. Eurobattery Minerals has the option to acquire 100% of FinnCobalt Oy in a staged acquisition. Eurobattery Minerals is assuming the full cost for this drilling campaign as part of the option agreement between Eurobattery Minerals and FinnCobalt Oy.
“We are pleased to start a new drilling campaign at our nickel-copper and cobalt Hautalampi-project. Last year’s drilling campaign verified a 100% increase in the mineral resources of the area. We are now excited to see, if the Hautalampi and the Mökkivaara deposits are connected to each other as anticipated. This connection would make the production from Mökkivaara deposit economically more feasible as development works could be done in ore body,” said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
A diamond drill rig and crew are scheduled to arrive at the site on Wednesday 13th October with drilling to commence immediately. The experienced Finnish drilling contractor, Northdrill has previously worked on the project in 2017-2018 and 2020.
The main goals of this drilling campaign are:
- Converting inferred resource to indicated resource at the Hautalampi resource area through drilling the most important gaps in the currently existing indicated resource zone (Hautalampi-Resource conversion).
- Extending the Hautalampi resource area further to the NE (Central-Resource extension).
- Filling the drilling gap between the existing Hautalampi resource area and the north-eastern extension known as the Mökkivaara resource area (Central-Gap fill).
- Creating an indicated mineral resource of the Mökkivaara resource through increasing the drilling density.
Figure 1. Location map of Hautalampi Project, eastern Finland
Figure 2. Plan view of Hautalampi and Mökkivaara resources highlighting proposed drill hole collar locations (red dots).
About the Hautalampi project
The Hautalampi Project is located at the same site as the famous Keretti (Outokumpu) copper mine (Figure 1). Approximately 28.5Mt @ 3.8% Cu was mined at Keretti from 1912 – 1989. The Hautalampi Ni-Co-Cu orebody is located parallel and above the exploited copper deposit. Existing surface and underground infrastructure, including a high voltage power line, concrete foundations and roads, provide significant location advantages to the project. Approximately €10-15M has been invested in Hautalampi by previous owners, including 26,000m of core drilling, a decline and additional underground mine development works (2,100m), mineral resource and reserve estimates, multiple mineral processing studies and a feasibility study. The previous investment enables FinnCobalt Oy and BAT to fast-track the project to an updated feasibility study status.
For more information, please contact:
Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals
Follow us:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eurobattery-minerals-ab/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eurobatterymin
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on NGM Nordic SME (BAT) and Börse Stuttgart (EBM). As the foundation of the battery value chain, the company’s vision is to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical and fully traceable battery minerals for the electric vehicle industry. The company is focused on exploration and development of several nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply sustainably mined raw materials critical to the rapidly growing battery market.
Visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information.
Augment Partners AB, e-mail: info@augment.se, phone: +46 8-604 22 55, is the company’s Mentor.
Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT”; “the company”), a growth company in the mining and exploration industry with the vision to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical battery minerals, has been informed that FinnCobalt Oy has received a complete JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource report entitled “Hautalampi Ni-, Cu-, Co-Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate, Outokumpu, Finland” for the Hautalampi Mine development project. The Mineral Resource Report provides an update for the Hautalampi deposit and adjoining Mökkivaara deposit resources. Eurobattery Minerals has the option to acquire 100% of FinnCobalt Oy in a staged acquisition.
The report has been prepared by AFRY Finland Oy and can be found from:
https://eurobatteryminerals.com/en/projects/hautalampi/
The resource estimate is based on the database containing ca. 82 000 meters, 457 holes of core drilling including 3 768 meters, 29 holes which were drilled during 2020.
The new resource estimate covers the whole Hautalampi project area including the results from the year 2020 drilling program at the project, in eastern Finland. The drilling confirmed significant resource expansion from 800m to 1 400m along strike to the northeast of the historical Hautalampi mineral resource to the Mökkivaara area.
“With the report in hand we are now planning for an additional core drilling campaign in the next months to close the gap between Hautalampi and Mökkivaara resource area. We believe that with this additional drilling the tonnage will increase also in the future. The next step will be to use this robust resource base for the technical and economical evaluations of the project viability”, said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
The map of the mine lease area including Hautalampi and Mökkivaara deposit resource areas is presented below.
The resource estimate and estimation principles have been tabulated below:
| Hautalampi | Tonnes | Ni | Cu | Co | S | Ni Eq | Cu Eq |
| (t) | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Measured | 2,582,000 | 0.38 | 0.28 | 0.08 | 2.18 | 0.72 | 1.67 |
| Indicated | 2,701,000 | 0.31 | 0.20 | 0.08 | 3.22 | 0.61 | 1.42 |
| total | 5,283,000 | 0.35 | 0.24 | 0.08 | 2.71 | 0.66 | 1.54 |
| Contained Metals | tonnes | 18289 | 12783 | 4337 | |||
| Hautalampi | Ni | Cu | Co | S | Ni Eq | Cu Eq | |
| Tonnes | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Inferred | 195,000 | 0.26 | 0.14 | 0.05 | 2.14 | 0.45 | 1.04 |
| Contained Metals | tonnes | 505 | 267 | 98 | |||
| Hautalampi Mineral resource as of 21st June 2021. @ 0.3 Ni Equivalent Cut-off | |||||||
| Mökkivaara | Ni | Cu | Co | S | Ni Eq | Cu Eq | |
| Tonnes | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Inferred | 2,186,000 | 0.25 | 0.16 | 0.06 | 2.60 | 0.46 | 1.07 |
| Contained Metals | tonnes | 5410 | 3509 | 1218 | |||
| Mökkivaara Mineral resource as of 21st June 2021. @ 0.3 Ni Equivalent Cut-off |
Mineral resource notes and assumptions:
(1) The mineral resource estimate has an effective date of June 21, 2021. (2) Mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic viability. (3) The estimate has been prepared and reported in accordance with the recommendations of the 2012 Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2012). (4) Exchange rate used: USD/EUR 1.18. (5) Base case cut-off grade for the estimate of the mineral resources is 0.3 % NiEq. (6) NiEq = nickel equivalent percentage. NiEq grade calculated using (USD prices of) nickel US $17,500 /t, copper US$ 7,500 /t and cobalt US$ 45,000 /t. No metallurgical or recovery factors have been assumed at this early stage of the Project. NiEq grade calculation = Ni% + (Co%*45000+Cu%*7500)/17500. (7) It is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated or measured mineral resources with continued exploration. (8) FinnCobalt is not aware of any legal, political, environmental, or other risks that could materially affect the potential development of the mineral resources. The Ordinary Kriging method (“OK”) algorithm for grade interpolation was used for the Hautalampi Mineral Resource using an experimental variogram models created for the elements Ni, Cu, Co, S, Fe, and Zn. Mökkivaara Mineral Resource estimation was carried out using the Inverse Distance Squared method (“ID2”) algorithm using a search ellipsoid oriented to the average strike, plunge and dip of the mineralised zone.
Samples within the wireframes were composited to 1.5 m intervals. The estimate is based on a block size of 5 m (X)by 5 m (Y) by 5m (Z), with sub-blocks of 2.5m by 2.5m by 2.5m. The block model is rotated -45 degrees around Z -axis to match the general strike of the mineralization. A bulk density value of 2.82t/m³ was assigned to all materials (ore and waste).
Competent Person’s Statement
The Information in this release that relates to Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Mr. Ville-Matti Seppä, a Competent Person who has an EurGeol qualification. Mr. Seppä is a full-time employee of AFRY Finland Oy. Mr. Seppä has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves”. Mr. Seppä has reviewed, verified, and approved the contents of this news release as they relate to the mineral resource estimate. Mr. Seppä owns no shares in FinnCobalt Oy or Eurobattery Minerals AB.
For further information, please contact:
Roberto García Martínez, CEO
E-mail: roberto@eurobatteryminerals.com
Website: https://eurobatteryminerals.com/en/
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on NGM Nordic SME (BAT) and Börse Stuttgart (EBM). As the foundation of the battery value chain the company’s vision is to help Europe become self-sufficient in ethical and fully traceable battery minerals for the electric vehicle industry. The company is focused on exploration and development of several nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply sustainably mined raw materials critical to the rapidly growing battery market.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information.
Augment Partners AB, e-mail: info@augment.se, phone: +46 8-604 22 55, is the company’s Mentor.