Gold Fields takes out Arctic Platinum (August 08, 2003)

Vancouver — South Africa’s third largest gold producer has exercised its right to acquire Outokumpu’s 49% stake in the Arctic platinum project in northern Finland.

Gold Fields (GFI-N), which already has 51% stake in the project, will pay US$23 million in cash and US$8 million in stock for the remaining stake.

The move thwarts South Atlantic Ventures (SAA-V) move to purchase the minority stake. Late last month the junior tabled the same offer to take over Outokumpo’s interest in the Artic Platinum partnership (APP) but Gold Fields had the first right of refusal over any transaction.

Established by Outokumpu and Gold Fields, the APP consists of three mining licences and 342 claims with a total area of 305 sq. km.

So far, Gold Fields and Outokumpu have carried out large-scale drilling on primary nickel, copper and platinum-group-metal deposits. The Suhanko mining licence, 60 km south of the city of Rovaniemi, is the subject of an ongoing feasibility study and environmental impact assessment. Plans call for open-pit mining of the Konttijarvi and Ahmavaara deposits, as well as mining of the SK Reef for supplementary feed to the Suhanko processing plant.

Estimated resources, based on a cutoff grade above 0.5 gram platinum-palladium-gold per tonne, are as follows:

— Konttijarvi deposit — 54 million tonnes grading 1.44 grams palladium, 0.4 gram platinum and 0.1 gram gold per tonne, plus 0.16% copper and 0.06% nickel.

— Ahmavaara deposit — 99.8 million tonnes averaging 1.1 grams palladium, 0.23 gram platinum, 0.14 gram gold, 0.22% copper and 0.09% nickel.

— Ahmavaara East deposit — 29.8 million tonnes of 0.83 gram palladium, 0.18 gram platinum, 0.11 gram gold, 0.17% copper and 0.06% nickel.

— SK Reef deposit — 35 million tonnes of 3.55 grams palladium, 0.97 gram platinum, 0.15 gram gold, 0.12% copper and 0.1% nickel.

The total combined resource is pegged at 218.6 million tonnes grading 1.54 grams palladium, 0.38 gram platinum, 0.13 gram gold, 0.18% copper and 0.08% nickel.

Platinum-group-metal mineralization occurs near the base of the late-Archean-to-early-Proterozoic-aged layered mafic intrusions, known as Suhanko, Narkaus and Penikat. Strike lengths exceeding 2 km and thicknesses of up to 60 metres have been defined in the various deposits within these intrusions. The mineralization is highly variable and includes disseminated PGM-bearing copper nickel sulphides, massive sulphide lenses near the basal contact at the Suhanko intrusion, PGM reef-style mineralization, and offset-style copper PGM mineralization in basement gneisses and granites.