- 01Kopsa MRE reaches 1.52Moz AuEq.
- 0286% Measured & Indicated; 97% within pit shell.
- 0312,000m drilling targets further growth.
Nordic Resources (ASX: NNL) has released an interim update to the mineral resource estimate at its flagship Kopsa gold-copper-silver deposit in the Central Finland gold district.
The new total sits at 44 million tonnes grading 0.83 grams per tonne gold, 0.16% copper, and 2.5g/t silver (1.07g/t gold equivalent) for 1.18 million ounces contained gold, 71,000 tonnes contained copper, and 3.5Moz contained silver (1.52Moz AuEq) within an optimised pit shell using a cutoff grade of 0.4g/t AuEq.
This incorporates 9,631m of diamond drilling (comprising 32 new holes and six extensions) completed by Nordic in the 12 months to end July, which delivered resource growth at a rate of 73oz AuEq per metre drilled.
It also includes the most recent estimates for metallurgical recoveries and commodity price forecasts, along with a maiden contribution of recoverable silver.
The interim update boosts Nordic’s overall resource inventory at the neighbouring Kopsa, Kiimala Trend, and Hirsikangas gold projects to 55.2Mt at 1.09g/t AuEq for 1.93Moz AuEq.
Optimised Pit Shell
Nordic reported 86% of the Kopsa MRE in the Measured and Indicated resource categories and 97% of the in situresource was captured in the optimised pit shell, with the results of infill and extensional drilling due before year end.
Most of the known higher-grade stockwork-style mineralisation sits within the Measured category and concentrated in the Central Zone, which may provide the basis for a potential starter pit and could support the potential for early-stage production in a future development scenario.
Despite the significant increase in contained ounces, Kopsa remains far from fully tested and Nordic is currently conducting a 12,000m step-out and infill drilling campaign focused on expanding the deposit in areas where the mineralisation remains open in most directions and at depth.
The company will also drill the Angesneva and Vesipera targets within Kiimala Trend, and explore additional resource growth opportunities at Hirsikangas.
Managing director Robert Wrixon said Kopsa was rapidly evolving into a high-quality resource of significant scale, and that there is “significant potential for that growth trajectory to continue”.
Diverse Regional Geology
The Kopsa deposit lies in the regional Middle Ostrobothnia gold belt, known to host a diverse range of mineral deposit styles including intrusion-related gold systems, orogenic gold deposits, and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, reflecting a complex geological evolution and demonstrating the fertility of the region for mineral endowment.
Kopsa’s mineralisation is spatially associated with multiple generations of quartz-sulphide veining and brecciation developed within a series of steeply dipping to sub-vertical mineralised zones.
Gold, copper, and silver are closely associated with sulphide mineral assemblages dominated by chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite-arsenopyrite, with mineralisation occurring within vein-hosted stockwork systems and as disseminations within altered host rocks.
Geological studies indicate Kopsa exhibits characteristics consistent with an intrusion-related gold-copper system, with successive phases of veining, sulphide deposition, and alteration contributing to the development of the current resource.
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