CENTRAL FINLAND LITHIUM EXPLORATION PROJECTSThe Kaustinen tract area of Central Ostrobothnia is host to several Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (“LCT”) spodumene pegmatite deposits notably Sibanye-Stillwaters Keliber Oy’s cluster of deposits which host approximately 18 million tons grading >1% Li2O (Source: Keliber Lithium Project, Finland Technical Report Summary Prepared for Sibanye-Stillwater Limited by SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. dated 2023-Dec-13 with an effective date of 2022-Dec-31. Note this is the source for all subsequent resource or reserve estimates on the remainder of this web page.)
Keliber has begun construction of aMines-Mill-Chemical Plant complex with an estimated >€600 million investment by Keliber’s parent company Sibanye-Stillwater in partnership with the Finnish Minerals Group, a Finnish state-owned entity. When completed this will be a complete hard-rock lithium supply chain (Sibanye-Stillwater website), the first of its kind in Europe. Keliber intends to mine from several deposits and truck the ore to a central milling plant to create a concentrate of spodumene, the main lithium bearing mineral. The concentrate will then be shipped approximately 25 km to their chemical plant in Kokkola for further processing and the creation of a lithum hydroxide product for shipping to end users.
The Company’s Lithium Project covers 15,770 hectares (ha) located adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater/Keliber’s Lithium pegmatite deposit cluster and less than 2 km from Keliber’s spodumene concentrator mill and 25 south-east of Keliber’s Lithium Hydroxide Chemical Plant in Kokkola on the Gulf of Bothnia coast. Being located proximal to this rapidly developing supply-chain complex provides a significant logistical advantage should the Company make significant discoveries.
BACKGROUNDThe Keliber story began with the discovery of a spodumene bearing pegmatite boulder in 1959. Through subsequent boulder prospecting and Base of Till (BoT) sampling followed by diamond drilling, primarily by the Geological Survey of Finland and Keliber, multiple spodumene pegmatite discoveries were made in the Kaustinen region. All but one of the deposits within the Keliber cluster are blind discoveries and lie under a several metres of glacial till.
GEOLOGYThe Company’s projects are located within the Kaustinen Lithium Pegmatite Province that covers an area of approximately 500 km2 in west-central Finland within the Palaeoproterozoic (1.95 – 1.88 Ga) age Pohjanmaa Schist Belt that forms a 350 km long by 70 km wide arcuate belt of metasedimentary rocks (schists and gneisses) intruded by late S-Type granitoids. The northern parts of the Pohjanmaa Belt have been intruded by several Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) type pegmatites of the albite-spodumene class.
Historical exploration supported by extensive drilling by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and Keliber has resulted in the delineation of five discrete LCT pegmatite deposits, (i.e. Syväjärvi, Rapasaari, Länttä, Emmes and Outovesi). Each deposit is characterised by a series of pegmatites, veins and dykes, with intrusion geometry often being controlled by regional structural controls as well as competency contrast of host rock lithologies. The Keliber deposits typically have a small footprint and generally comprise multiple parallel spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes ranging from 1 to 30 m wide and < 500 m long.
Keliber has published a P&P mineral reserve of 8.2Mt at 0.95% Li2O and a M&I mineral resource of 3.8Mt at 1.08% Li2O hosted in several individual lithium-bearing spodumene pegmatite deposits. The nearest deposits to the Company’s licenses are the Emmes and Levikangas deposits located within 1.5 km. .
Several Li-spodumene pegmatite prospects/deposits occur within 1 km of Nabba including the Keliber Oy Emmes Deposit consisting of NNW-SSE trending spodumene pegmatites comprising 0.9 Mt grading 1.29% Li2O.
MineralizationSince exploration began in July 2023 several clusters and trends of spodumene bearing pegmatite boulders have been discovered on the Company’s licenses. The most significant prospects are further discussed below.
The new Jylhä and Tastula ELs are contiguous with the western boundary of Keliber’s ELs. Spodumene-bearing pegmatite boulders have been identified in multiple clusters and/or trends over a total distance of 12.5 km.
The Jylhä North prospect comprises a > 700m long East-Northeast trend comprised of of 34 spodumene-bearing pegmatite boulders of which 22 contain visible spodumene. Individual boulders range in size from 10s of cms to over 3 m in diameter. The boulders assayed 0.01% to 2.80% Li2O, averaging 0.86% Li2O. The boulder trend is parallel to interpreted geological and coincident geophysical signatures and is also one of the preferred orientations of the LCT deposits in the Kaustinen region (For example the Outovesi Deposit).
This occurrence is situated approximately 1 km south-southeast of Keliber’s Emmes Lithium Pegmatite deposit which comprises 1.08 million tonnes grading 1.22% Li2O.
Jylhä discovery boulder (left); course spodumene crystals in same boulder assayed 2.33% Li2O (right)
The Mōrkylā Prospect, which lies approximately 1.5 km west of Keliber’s Levikangas Lithium Pegmatite deposit (0.47 million tonnes grading 1.00% Li2O), is a 275 long Northwst-Southeast trend of 15 large boulders and blocks of spodumene-bearing pegmatite. Individual boulders are over 4 m in diameter and contain course visible spodumene (see Figure 2) The boulders assayed from 0.004% to 2.46% Li2O, averaging 0.54% Li2O.
Mōrkylā discovery boulder (left); course spodumene crystals in same boulder assayed 2.46% Li2O (right)
Tastula Prospects
Three separate clusters of spodumene -bearing LCT pegmatite boulders were identified during initial reconnaissance prospecting. These occur over an approximate 2 km by 4 km area with individual boulders being over 1.5 m in diameter. Thirty-two pegmatite boulders were sampled across the EL assaying 0.0004% to 1.59% Li2O with five samples assaying >0.30% Li2O.
Kyrola Prospect
The highlight of 2023 was the discovery of the Kyrola prospect on the Nabba EL, where an 850 m long by 110 m wide spodumene-bearing pegmatite boulder field was discovered, comprised of 49 rock chip grab samples assaying from 0.003% to 3.84% Li2O Li2O, with 15 of the 49 samples returning assays in excess of 0.50% Li2O.
Prospecting at Nabba in 2024 has identified new spodumene bearing LCT pegmatite mineralization in multiple areas. One of which was located 2.3 km west of Kyrola within an LCT pegmatite boulder cluster, with three boulders containing course visible spodumene. Two boulders assayed 1.60% and 0.14% Li2O respectively
Another was 6 km northwest of Kyrola, where follow-up prospecting of a boulder that assayed 0.36% Li2O in 2023, which outlined LCT boulders with trace spodumene observed locally over a distance of >1.2 km. Only weakly anomalous Li assays are reported.
The boulders are mineralogically comprised of albite-spodumene-quartz-muscovite pegmatite with rare accessory minerals such as tourmaline, garnet and apatite. They are typically massive to weakly zoned. They appear to be mineralogically similar to the known Keliber deposits in the region..
Based on the known glacial history of the area and glacial dispersion of pegmatite boulders at the Keliber deposits (Ahtola et al, 2015), it is interpreted that the source of the boulders may only be 300-500 m to the northwest of the boulder field.. Further studies will be required to confirm and define targets for drilling.
DISCUSSIONThe Company’s projects are in the Kaustinen-Seinajoki region, which is highly prospective for LCT pegmatite deposits, as evidenced by the success of the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and subsequently Keliber Oy in discovering significant Li-bearing spodumene pegmatite prospects and deposits in the region. The Company’s success in identifying widespread spodumene-rich LCT pegmatitic boulders is very encouraging, as the area is topographically flat and extensively covered by a thin veneer of glacial overburden.
It is important to note that all the significant deposit and prospect discoveries (with one exception) in the belt were found by tracing boulders back to source and identifying the source ultimately through drilling. The GTK/Keliber Oy discoveries demonstrate that boulders are often located within 300 – 500 m of their source suggests excellent potential for discovery on the Company’s licenses.
European Energy Metals cautions investors grab samples are selective samples by their nature and are not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the property. The Company further cautions the presence of lithium mineralization on Keliber Oy’s properties is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on the Company’s mineral reservations.
Information Sources:
Keliber Lithium Project, Finland Technical Report Summary Prepared for Sibayne Stillwater Limited by SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. dated 2023-Dec-13 with an effective date of 2023-Dec-31.