Strategic portfolio of polymetallic assets offers additional upside
Bluejay has three high-grade, polymetallic projects in eastern Finland, which are operated by the Company’s 100% owned subsidiary, FinnAust Mining Finland Oy (‘FinnAust’). Currently the main areas of interest in the South Savo and North Karelia regions of Finland are the former mining belts of Enonkoski, Hammaslahti and Outokumpu, where the Company is targeting high quality base metal deposits. FinnAust has been operating in the region since 2010 and has conducted various exploration campaigns, with activities including drilling, airborne and ground geophysical surveys, geological mapping and prospecting.
Ensuring that local stakeholders are regularly updated on FinnAust’s operations and finding mutual consensus with them on how the Company can carry out its exploration activities has always been one of FinnAust’s core values. The Company is committed, in line with its sustainability goals, to never carrying out any exploration activities in protected areas, national parks, or Natura 2000 locations.
The Hammaslahti Copper-Zinc Project is prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralisation and contains the historic Hammaslahti mine whose ROM was ±10Mt at an average grade of 1.16% copper, 1.55% zinc, 0.59 g/t gold and 5.2 g/t silver from 1973-86. Drilling has identified previously unknown extensions to the Hammaslahti mine mineralisation with multiple intersections of high-grade massive sulphides. Examples of this extensional mineralisation are 3.4m @ 11.5% copper and 3 ppm silver. Two main target areas have been identified for further exploration.
Bluejay Mining is exploring at Enonkoski for high-tenor orthomagmatic nickel-copper-cobalt (Ni-Cu-Co) sulphide deposits hosted in Svecofennian (c. 1.88 Ga) mafic-ultramafic intrusions. Bluejay Mining’s 100% owned subsidiary, FinnAust Mining Finland Oy, has been exploring on the Enonkoski Belt since 2012, but the belt has been known for its ore potential since the 1970s when Ni-Cu-Co mineralised intrusions were first discovered in the area: the Hälvälä deposit in 1971 and the Laukunkangas deposit in 1980.
Mining started first at Laukunkangas in 1985, and three years later at Hälvälä. Prior to commencement of mining, the Ore Reserves totalled 9.4 million tonnes grading 0.67% nickel, 0.18% copper and 0.029% cobalt, and Measured and Indicated Resources totalled 3.1 million tonnes grading 0.34% nickel, 0.11% copper and 0.019% cobalt. During ten years in operation the two mines produced 7.35 million tonnes of ore grading 0.83% nickel and 0.23% copper.
Since acquiring the project, FinnAust has carried out several fieldwork campaigns including, airborne helicopter and drone geophysical surveys, ground and down-hole geophysical surveys, top-of-bedrock (ToB) drilling, diamond drilling and geological mapping and outcrop sampling of the area. This has resulted in the discovery of several zones of “droplet-ore” similar to that which surrounds the high-grade massive sulphide ore at the former Laukunkangas mine.
Recent Exploration Activities:
FinnAust’s recent work at Enonkoski has been carried out under a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement with Rio Tinto. The JV Agreement ended in July 2023 and Bluejay retains 100% ownership of the Project (through FinnAust Mining Finland Oy) along with all data, samples and drill cores collected during the JV. Total exploration expenditure by Rio Tinto on the Enonkoski belt during the JV totalled US$ 4.65 million. This included:
Continued Exploration Plans:
Most of the activities to date have focused on near-mine targets in the vicinity of the former Laukunkangas mine, but early-stage exploration work has also been conducted at several regional targets on the belt, generating multiple high priority, drill ready targets as well as new targets for ToB drilling.
High priority target – Makkola
High priority target – Kiislampi
High priority target – Laukunlampi
Outokumpu Copper Project covers the majority of the north-south trending Outokumpu Copper Belt, which has produced several high-grade copper mines, including the world famous Outokumpu Copper mine which produced 57mt @ 3.1% Cu + polymetallic credits between 1908-1988. Six drill ready targets have been identified to date, which the Company views as having good potential for hosting high grade copper along strike from and immediately adjacent to the mine.