Kingsrose Mining (KRM) - BHP-Backed Team, Scandinavian Nickel Assets & Cash

Kingsrose Mining Ltd. is an ASX-listed mineral exploration and development company with assets in Finland and Norway. The company is focused on the exploration of minerals critical to decarbonisation and new energy technologies in line with the EU green deal. The Penikat PGE-nickel-copper-gold project of the company is a high-grade deposit located in Western Finland, close to the west coast and the port of Kemi and along strike from the operational Kemi Chrome Mine.  The Porsanger project is a nickel-copper-PGE deposit located within the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in Norway.

The company on the 18^th of January announced that it had entered into a transaction implementation agreement with Scandinavian Resource Holdings Pty Ltd. and Global Energy Metals Corp. for a staged investment into the brownfield Råna Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project and the formation of a joint venture to develop and operate the project. The Råna project includes the past-producing underground Bruvann mine. The Bruvann deposit holds a massive sulphide core with a grade of between 1% and 5% nickel. The project further hosts near-surface nickel mineralisation in an underexplored area. The transaction implementation agreement allows Kingsrose Mining Ltd. to earn up to 75% of the project over 8 years through the expenditure of up to AUD$ 15 million.

Kingsrose Mining Ltd. has recently been selected to participate in the BHP Xplor program. BHP Xplor is an accelerator program designed by the company to assist participants with the opportunity to accelerate their growth and the potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP. The participation of Kingsrose Mining Ltd. in the program will see it receive up to USD$ 500,000 in cash payments from BHP and gain access to BHP’s network of experts.

Projects

The asset portfolio of Kingsrose Mining Ltd. consists of the Penikat PGE-nickel-copper-gold project located in Western Finland, the Porsanger project, a nickel-copper-PGE deposit in Norway and the newly acquired Råna Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project.

The Penikat project holds high-grade PGE, nickel and copper mineralisation in three outcropping parallel reefs, with a combined strike length of 25 km within a layered intrusion.  The project, which lies 25 km from the port of Kemi, is located in the vicinity of both major roads, rail and power infrastructures. The project is 100%-owned by Kingsrose Mining Ltd. and holds a land position of approximately 20 km².

The Porsanger project is a 100%-owned, 50 km² land package, which hosts PGE and copper mineralisation similar to that found at the Sakatti Ni-Cu PGE deposit of Anglo American. The project has in the past shown mineralisation of 1.2 g/t palladium equivalent (PdEq) over an intercept of 43.2 m as well as 1.0 g/t PdEq over 53 m.

The Råna Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project of the company includes the past-producing underground Bruvann mine. The Bruvann deposit holds a massive sulphide core between 1% and 5% nickel. The project further hosts near-surface nickel mineralisation in an underexplored area.

BHP Xplor program

Kingsrose Mining Ltd. was selected to participate in the BHP Xplor program. BHP Xplor is an accelerator program designed by the company to assist participants with the opportunity to accelerate their growth and the potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP. The participation of Kingsrose Mining Ltd. in the program will see it receive up to USD$ 500,000 in cash payments from BHP and gain access to BHP’s network of experts. Fabian Baker, the Managing Director of the company explains that the management of Kingsrose Mining Ltd. when it became aware of the program, decided to submit the Porsanger project as its entrant into the program. The movement from submission to acceptance in the program happened swiftly according to him.

“We saw this concept announced and we thought it looked really interesting, so we put forward the concept that was an earlier-stage regional exploration concept in Scandinavia for nickel, and incredibly, they moved very quickly through a series of interview stages from the technical to understanding our business in depth. It resulted in an in-person interview in Houston before Christmas, and yes, early in this new year, we were pleased to be selected out of many hundreds of applicants as just part of 7 being the first cohort of the Xplor program.”

The program consisted of 7 junior mining companies being chosen to spend a week at the BHP offices in Toronto according to Baker where they met with the best talent of BHP and its consultant.

“This is called boot camp and it was the kick-off of the program. This is the first time it’s ever been run. It’s a really pioneering concept for a major. The 7 companies arrived in Toronto. It was a full week where we were essentially introduced to BHP’s A-team in various aspects of the business, and also to key consultants...”

Baker explains that the week was spent discussing and learning various exploration techniques which are the proprietary information of BHP as well as how BHP approaches exploration initiatives.

“We went through everything from understanding business strategy, a mineral systems framework that is a proprietary system that BHP has been developing in terms of how they approach exploration, through to what was termed operational readiness, but it includes everything from your operational planning and sustainability considerations.”

The week spent in Toronto has been able to provide Kingsrose Mining Ltd. with the opportunity to re-evaluate its approach to its projects. Baker explains that the company will focus on a more holistic approach to its initiatives.

“One of the real benefits of this week was the chance to take that step back. We’re so busy focused on driving forward our businesses and our exploration concepts that it’s actually really valuable to step back and think holistically - what is our strategy here…”

The participation of the company in the Xplor program has enabled it to better understand what major mining companies are looking for in exploration assets. The size of a deposit is according to Baker an important characteristic but very few single-commodity deposits globally can provide the economic scale required to draw the attention of major mining companies, multi- commodity systems are often more alluring.

“For a company like BHP and a host of the other majors, for an opportunity to move the needle financially, it really needs to be very, very significant. There are few single ore deposits that would fit that bill globally. And particularly from a nickel point of view - nickel in a perhaps similar way to certain VMS plays and so on, there are only a handful globally that are really enormous, but you do get camps of them and that’s where we need to be pitching our work.”

The growth component of any project is also taken into account when evaluated by major mining companies. The rationale behind the growth component of a deposit and land package is according to Baker to enable multi-generational production and the creation of downstream processing technologies and a more profitable venture for major mining companies.

“…finding 1 is great. Then you develop that IP, that intellectual property on how to find more of those. But it means you also need to own more of that mineral belt so that there is that potential to grow. That gives you multi-decade, multi-generation mine life to the scale that can justify developing downstream processing technologies locally, and so that you can be involved in a larger part of the value chain, and ultimately, develop a more resilient and profitable business.”

Råna Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project

The company on the 18^th of January announced that it had entered into a transaction implementation agreement with Scandinavian Resource Holdings Pty Ltd. and Global Energy Metals Corp. for a staged investment into the brownfield Råna Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project and the formation of a joint venture to develop and operate the project. The Råna project includes the past-producing underground Bruvann mine. The Bruvann deposit holds a massive sulphide core between 1% and 5% nickel. The project further hosts near-surface nickel mineralisation in an underexplored area. The transaction implementation agreement allows Kingsrose Mining Ltd. to earn up to 75% of the project over 8 years through the expenditure of up to AUD$ 15 million.

Baker explains that an attractive part of the project is due to a common occurrence in the region, where projects are set into production before adequate exploration has been conducted. He explains that the near-surface mineralisation of the project was initially mined but as the previous operators advanced the project it showed higher grades of mineralisation towards depth.  

“This is something that we see throughout Scandinavia, very much a mining mindset over an exploration mindset - at least in the past. So, interestingly they got into production from the surface, started with a small open pit and then went underground. I mean it was only once they were underground and following the orebody with underground drilling that they actually intersected a really nice, high-grade zone along the base of this intrusion. So, whereas they were mining 0.4% to 0.5% nickel, in the upper portions, there’s a nice zone of 1% to up to 5% nickel along this basal contact.”

2023 execution plan

Kingsrose Mining Ltd. will in the coming year focus on the advancement of all three of the projects within its asset portfolio. The company will implement the USD$ 500,000 it received from BHP towards the regional exploration of its Porsanger project. The company has also initiated working with various universities that are underway with doctorate studies to better understand the project’s mineralisation.

“We’ve got a pot of money from BHP to do the early work on this regional concept. We’ve assigned a part of our team to be focused on that. We’re also bringing in lots of local expertise. We’ve been looking at working with the Norwegian Geological Survey and some universities that are doing PhDs on understanding those mineral belts, to bring all of that knowledge together and essentially build the highest-quality understanding of where to go and explore in those regional areas.”

Baker explains that the company plans to conduct exploration drilling initiatives at the project in 2023, with the project’s Karenhaugen target identified to be the commencing point of the program. The company plans to commence the drilling initiatives at the target between July and August 2023.

“We did a survey over 2 areas, 1 in particular which is called the Karenhaugen target returned a really strong electromagnetic anomaly and a perfect down dip of the mineralised intrusion that we see at the surface. So, it’s just where we want to see it. It’s very encouraging… We’re just finalising the timing of that drilling but we’re expecting it to happen during this European summer. Our intention is that will be happening in July or August”

Kingsrose Mining Ltd. plans to further expedite the receival of drilling permits at its Penikat project in the coming year. Baker explains that the permits have been delayed due to the environmental departments of Finland. The permits however will enable the company to conduct its exploration initiatives at the project over various areas.

“It gives you the right to drill. It gives you all land access rights and everything you need to drill. We are permitting a huge number, almost 400 drill pads, and also from which we can drill multiple holes at different angles. We believe that’s enough drill holes or enough drill pad locations to drill the entire deposit to an indicated and in places better resource category.”

Kingsrose Mining Ltd. will also conduct exploration drilling at its newly acquired Råna project in the coming year, with the Rånbogen target of the project already permitted for drilling.

“It’s already drill permitted. That’s one of the areas that the previous holders already permitted. Importantly, this project is in a different municipality or region of Norway. Whereas Porsanger is in the north in Finnmark, it’s a slightly different permitting process up there because you have to do a lot more work to include the Saami right-holders, the indigenous right-holders.”

To find out more, go to the Kingsrose Mining website