Exploration activity has picked up steam in Sweden since Boliden announced the discovery of a gold deposit in the country early last year.
The deposit, which is now reported to contain 8 tonnes of gold, is about 10 km north of the classic Boliden gold-silver-copper deposit in the eastern Skellefte district.
The discovery is near the Akulla mine, from which 1 million tonnes of ore were produced from 1938 to 1957. The Geological Survey of Sweden reports that significant gold grades were encountered in quartz veins in the sericite-chlorite-altered rocks below the massive sulphide ore. A similar appearance of gold occurred in the Boliden gold-silver-copper deposit, from which 120 tons of gold were produced during its lifetime from 1925 to 1967.
The Boliden discovery was followed by one made by Terra Mining, at Barsele, southwest of the Skellefte district. Terra Mining, which operates Europe’s largest gold mine, at Bjorkdal in northern Sweden, says this new discovery hosts proven reserves of 12.7 tonnes of gold. The average grade is 2 grams per tonne.
Just weeks after these two discoveries were announced, a third find was reported in the region. Lappland Guldprospektering declared it had outlined 16 tonnes of gold at its deposit at Svartliden, just south of the Skellefte district.
A few months later, Boliden announced the discovery of the “richest base metal find” ever in its history. The find was made while drilling in the Renstrom mine at a depth of 900-1,500 metres. The mineralization contains zinc, gold and silver, with an average zinc content of 14%.
The information office of Sweden’s Geological Survey is continuing to track exploration activity in the country. It recently reported that French mining giant Cogema had applied for exploitation concessions for its Ersmarksberget deposit, west of the Skellefte district.
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