– In some areas, we have found several thousand grams of cobalt per tonne. It is not a large amount, but it is quite a promising result, says Arctic Minerals deputy chairman Krister Söderholm to news. The mineral is one of the three most important metals used, among other things, by car manufacturers to make lithium batteries. The other two are lithium and nickel. The discovery was discovered after a new review of the company’s previous diamond drilling results from the period 2007–2012. – We have made a synthesis of previous measurements, boreholes and analyzes that we have not published before, he explains. It is only now that they state how large amounts of cobalt they have found. LOOKING FOR COOPERATION: Deputy manager of Arctic Minerals AB Krister Söderholm wants to work with a Norwegian mining operator to dig out the sought-after minerals. Photo: Seppo Lammi / Seppo Lammi In addition to cobalt, the geologists also found the semi-metal tellurium. It is used, among other things, to produce solar panels. In the new review, the discovery of ore was adjusted upwards to 3.3 million tonnes of ore, which in 2012 was assumed to be 2.3 million tonnes. Of the ore, they found 1.27 grams of gold per tonne and 0.97 percent copper. Are you using the electric car mineral as a pretext, since electric cars are in the media a lot, but what you are really looking for is to dig out the gold? – No, whenever you find a mine-worthy deposit, you are guilty of trying to extract all metals that have any value. Our aim is to start a mining operation where we get paid for copper, gold, cobalt and tellurium, answers Söderholm. Gold makes up an average of 0.004 grams per tonne of the earth’s crust, and is therefore a very rare element. Concentrations of over 1–2 grams per tonne are considered economically interesting, according to SNL. Critical metal shortage In the next 15 years, Europe may face a critical metal shortage. This appears in a report from the Belgian university KU Leuven, prepared on behalf of Eurometaux, a European trade association for metal producers, writes elbil24. CRITICAL SHORTAGE: There is a high demand for cobalt in the electric car industry, according to a report. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news Now the Swedish-owned limited company Arctic Minerals AB is ready to help. They are looking for minerals mainly in northern and central Finland, but also have mineral rights in Norway, including in Biedjovággi. Now Söderholm hopes that Norway will also be interested in producing these metals. Finland and Sweden have already established new factories that produce these metals, according to him. NEW BATTERY FACTORIES: The secretary general of Norsk Bergindustri Anita Helene Hall states that Norway will start producing batteries that will eventually need raw material. Photo: Norsk Bergindustri Secretary General of Norsk Bergindustri Anita Helene Hall states that in Norway there are several battery factories under construction which eventually need raw materials, but is not aware of any production in Norway of the cobalt metal. – Cobalt is a by-product of copper production and we have some cobalt, but at the moment no cobalt production in Norway, so this is certainly a very interesting discovery. Cobalt is a critical mineral in the EU and the US for that matter and will always be interesting, says Hall. BUILDING Norway: Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland is betting on the green shift. Photo: Marte Iren Noreng Trøen / news The government has allocated half a billion kroner for the green energy transition. – Stone by stone we are building the energy nation Norway, said Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland in a press release in June. Most of the money, however, goes to research and innovation and not to metal producers. The general secretary of Norsk Bergindustri thinks this is not good enough. – Research and innovation are of course very important, but mineral extraction is an absolute prerequisite for solving the climate crisis, says Anita Helene Hall. Searching for minerals that conduct electricity Three weeks ago, Arctic Minerals searched for minerals in a more extended area in Biedjovággi, about 5 miles northeast of Kautokeino. They did not carry out diamond drilling, but geophysical measurements to investigate where the ore continues below the soil. A team of two to three people walked a distance from each other with cables and measuring equipment. They used the slingram method to examine the northern part of Biedjovággi for minerals. – Measuring equipment gives results if there are metals in the bedrock that conduct electricity, explains Söderholm. Slingram is an electromagnetic measurement method with a mobile transmitter and receiver. The physical basis is that currents are induced in a conductor when it is exposed to an external electromagnetic field. They will continue with measurements in August as well. Must have support in Norway Krister Söderholm is clear that they cannot start mining in Biedjovággi without support from the authorities and the municipality. They need the thumbs up from the local municipal council and cooperation with a Norwegian mining operator. – If the Norwegian state wants a mine to produce metals for electric cars, we would be happy to stand up, he says. But they still stand with their hands in their pockets after much adversity. In 2013, Arctic Minerals AB, which was formally called Arctic Gold AB, tried to establish a mine in Biedjovággi, but the project was voted down by the majority of the municipal council. AGAINST MINE: Deputy mayor of Kautokeino Isak Ole Hætta is negative to reopening the mine. Photo: Erlend Hykkerud / news Deputy mayor of Kautokeino municipality Isak Ole Hætta has recently stated that it is out of the question to reopen mining in Biedjovággi. – We have said clearly, we who now run the municipality and sit on the municipal council during this period, that there will be no talk of mining in Kautokeino at all, said the deputy mayor this spring. Controversial closed mine There has, however, been gold and copper mining in Biedjovággi in two different periods. Krister Söderholm worked as a geologist for the Outokumpu mining company that operated the mine in the second period, from 1985 to 1991. PAYABLE: The Finnish-owned Outokumpu mining company had a successful period in the 80s with the Biedjovággi mine. Photo: Private – I was only supposed to work in the summer of 1985, but it was a long summer when I worked for four years, he says. He remembers well that mining was very profitable. – We were the largest employer in Kautokeino and the municipality received large tax revenues from us. When the mine was closed, both the municipality and the reindeer herding industry wanted us to continue, but we couldn’t do that, because there was so little ore left, he says. The disused mine in Biedjovággi is located in a reindeer grazing area. Over time, the reindeer herding industry has also changed its view on mining, and today the majority in the industry is against such projects. Söderholm, on the other hand, believes that they can “co-exist”. In the past, he has made agreements with the reindeer husbandry industries in both Sweden and Finland. – We are ready to stop transport, blasting and the like when reindeer come to graze or migrate through the mining area. In the spring during calving, all activities that pose a risk to the reindeer must be stopped, he says. The cooperation with reindeer husbandry worked very well in the 80s. Not only could Outokumpu employ people from the reindeer herding industry, but they maintained the road, says Söderholm. Hoping for better mining times Norsk Bergindustri believes the mining industry receives too little support, but looks forward to the future. – We feel that there is too little support and there are many factors that this is about. It is, of course, purely financial support with state risk relief to trigger these projects, but it is also about the fact that today we have a lot of long time runs, and there is a high political risk. There are constant rematches and rather uncertain outcomes in a good number of the larger projects, says secretary-general Anita Helene Hall. On the other hand, a new mineral strategy is being worked on and the revision of the Minerals Act is giving hope. – We have high expectations that these will deal with some of these issues and provide increased value creation and growth in the mining industry, says Hall.
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Arctic Minerals AB found the “electric car mineral” cobalt in Biedjovággi – news Sápmi
