Updated Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves for Kevitsa as well as grade guidance for 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

Boliden has announced updated estimates for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves at its Kevitsa mine, showing significant increases in both categories. The Mineral Reserve tonnage increased by 15 Mtonnes (19%) to 97,500 Ktonnes, with average grades of 0.22% for nickel and 0.31% for copper. The mine life has been extended to 10 years at a production pace of 10 Mtonnes per year.

For 2025, production grade guidance is set at 0.17% for nickel and 0.23% for copper, temporarily below the life-of-mine average due to mining in certain low-grade areas. The company has also postponed the decision on a potential Stage 5 project by several years. Additionally, 20 Mtonnes previously downgraded from Mineral Reserves in 2023 have been converted back, following changes in the Tailing Storage Facility construction method.

Positive

• Mineral Reserves increased by 15 Mtonnes (19%) to 97,500 Ktonnes
• Mine life extended to 10 years
• Higher average nickel grade in Mineral Reserve (0.22% vs 0.20% previous year)
• Mineral Resources increased by 15 Mtonnes (9%)

Negative

• 2025 production grades (Ni 0.17%, Cu 0.23%) below life-of-mine average
• Stage 5 project decision delayed by several years

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Boliden has updated the estimations for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves at Kevitsa, as a result of more detailed studies of the mineralization. The updated estimates show an increase in tonnage in both Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves compared to the previous year. The average grade for the Mineral Reserve is estimated to increase to 0.22 percent for nickel (NiS*) and remains as previously 0.31 percent for copper. Nickel and copper guidance grades for 2025 are estimated at 0.17 percent and 0.23 percent respectively. Also, the timing for a decision on a potential Stage 5 project has been postponed by a couple of years.

"We are happy to announce that we have been able to improve the overall mine plan for Kevitsa. As a result, we not only increase the Mineral Reserves and secure a prolongation of the mine life, we have also been able to optimize the production in a way that pushes the decision point for a possible Stage 5 project up to a couple of years forward. It is, however, important to stress that European policymakers should act more decislivly in order to safeguard the internal nickel value chain from unfair and unsustainable competition," says Stefan Romedahl, President Boliden Mines.

Kevitsa

During 2024 a comprehensive re-estimation of the Mineral Resources has been conducted which has resulted in a new mine plan and updated Mineral Reserves. In total 25 Mtonnes have been added to the Mineral Reserve. During 2024, a total of 9.85 Mtonnes were milled, making the net increase in Mineral Reserves 15 Mtonnes (19%). The increase has resulted in an extended mine life to a total of 10 years, given a pace of production in line with the environmental permit of 10 Mtonnes per year.

In 2023, 20 Mtonnes were downgraded from Mineral Reserves. The same amount has now been converted back, related to the permit application to change the construction method for the Tailing Storage Facility (TSF). This methodological change creates the possibility to increase the TSF to the capacity needed for the current mine plan. The Mineral Resources have increased by 15 Mtonnes (9%) despite the above conversion back to Mineral Reserves. The increase is attributed to the re-estimation conducted in 2024, as well as the incorporation of new assumptions regarding costs, prices and terms.

The total volume as well as average grade for each classification is shown in table 1 below. For 2025, the average production grade will be 0.17 percent for nickel and 0.23 percent for copper, both under the average grade guidance for life of mine plan. The reason for temporarily lower grades is a new and improved mine plan which requires mining in certain low-grade areas of the pit in order to be able to reach better positions in the future.

Table 1. Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves for Boliden Kevitsa Mine as of 31-12-2024 and 31-12-2023 for comparison. 

(Tonnes and grades are rounded which may result in apparent summation differences).
2024
	Ktonnes	Au	Cu	NiS*	CoS**	Pt	Pd
Classification		(g/t)	( %)	( %)	( %)	(g/t)	(g/t)
Mineral Reserves
Proved	37,400	0.10	0.30	0.20	0.009	0.22	0.14
Probable	60,100	0.09	0.32	0.23	0.010	0.17	0.11
Total	97,500	0.09	0.31	0.22	0.010	0.19	0.12
Mineral Resources
Measured	69,100	0.08	0.29	0.20	0.010	0.15	0.10
Indicated	111,300	0.07	0.34	0.23	0.010	0.12	0.07
Total M&I	180,400	0.07	0.32	0.22	0.010	0.13	0.08
Inferred	1,300	0.05	0.24	0.14	0.010	0.08	0.05
2023
	Ktonnes	Au	Cu	NiS*	CoS**	Pt	Pd
Classification		(g/t)	( %)	( %)	( %)	(g/t)	(g/t)
Mineral Reserves
Proved	47,900	0.10	0.31	0.20	0.009	0.20	0.13
Probable	34,200	0.08	0.32	0.21	0.010	0.17	0.11
Total	82,100	0.09	0.31	0.20	0.009	0.18	0.12
Mineral Resources
Measured	60,700	0.09	0.34	0.23	0.011	0.17	0.11
Indicated	105,700	0.07	0.36	0.24	0.012	0.12	0.07
Total M&I	166,400	0.08	0.35	0.23	0.011	0.14	0.09
Inferred	300	0.04	0.22	0.13	0.011	0.06	0.03
(*Sulphidic Ni, **Sulphidic Co)

Additional information about Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve classification is available at the Boliden web site (Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves - Boliden) and an updated summary report about Kevitsa Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves 2024 will be published there shortly. This press release about Kevitsa Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves has been reviewed and approved by Sofia Höglund, Competent Person and Head of Mineral Resources and Project Evaluation, Boliden, who is a member of The Fennoscandian Association for Metals and Minerals Professionals (FAMMP), an approved organization for competent persons according to PERC.

For further information, please contact:
Klas Nilsson
Director Group Communications
+46 70-453 65 88
klas.nilsson@boliden.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/boliden/r/updated-mineral-resources-and-mineral-reserves-for-kevitsa-as-well-as-grade-guidance-for-2025,c4089609

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Press release

 

 

 

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SOURCE Boliden

FAQ

What are the new Mineral Reserve estimates for Boliden's Kevitsa mine in 2024?

The total Mineral Reserves at Kevitsa mine increased to 97,500 Ktonnes, with average grades of 0.22% for nickel and 0.31% for copper, representing a net increase of 15 Mtonnes (19%) from the previous year.

What are Boliden's production grade guidance for Kevitsa mine in 2025?

For 2025, Boliden expects production grades of 0.17% for nickel and 0.23% for copper, which are temporarily below the life-of-mine average due to mining in low-grade areas.

How long is Kevitsa mine's new expected life span?

The mine life has been extended to 10 years, based on a production pace of 10 Mtonnes per year in line with environmental permits.

What happened to the 20 Mtonnes previously downgraded from Kevitsa's Mineral Reserves?

The 20 Mtonnes downgraded in 2023 have been converted back to Mineral Reserves, following changes in the Tailing Storage Facility construction method that created additional capacity.