Boliden’s Kevitsa open pit mine is situated in the Arctic north of Finland, close to the town of Sodankylä. The mine started operations in 2012 and has been operated by Boliden since 2016. The processing plant on site produces nickel and copper concentrates which are shipped to Boliden’s smelters in Harjavalta (Finland) and Rönnskär (Sweden) with by-products of gold, platinum and palladium also produced. The sulphide mineralisation at Kevitsa is hosted by a Palaeoproterozoic (~2 Ga) ultramafic magmatic, layered-intrusive deposit, which is part of the highly metalliferous Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. SRK undertook a Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve audit in 2019, which included work by an integrated multi-disciplinary team from SRK UK and SRK Finland and resulted in fully audited Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve statements along with a full technical report. This included input from geology, geotechnical and mining engineering, processing and metallurgy, hydrogeology, tailings engineering, environment, social and governance along with a summary economic analysis to test the modifying factors required to define Mineral Reserves. This audit was followed-up with a Mineral Resource estimate update in 2020 following infill and extensional drilling in the mine area. Boliden and SRK’s geologists collaborated closely on geological modelling and grade estimation to produce a robust Mineral Resource block model along with an updated pit optimisation for reporting updated Mineral Resources. The model will also be used in mine planning and future Mineral Reserve updates. All Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves were reported in accordance with the Pan-European Reporting Code (PERC). As of mid-2020, SRK is also actively engaged in assisting Boliden manage slope stability risk in open pit mine design. This includes site investigation work by a geotechnical engineering specialist based in Finland.
