The Australian exploration company Latitude 66 Cobalt is looking for cobalt, copper and gold in the region.
Latitude 66 Cobalt Oy, which is searching for technology minerals, has filed applications for ore exploration permits for 97.27 square kilometers in Kuusamo, Posio and Salla. The company has submitted two applications for the Kuusamo area with a total area of \u200b\u200b9.55 square kilometers, six applications for the Posio area with a total area of \u200b\u200b42.64 square kilometers and two applications for the Salla area with a total area of \u200b\u200b45.08 square kilometers
As of 2019, the company has explored a total of 491.68 square kilometers of reservation areas in those areas.
In Kuusamo, Ollinsuo’s surroundings will be studied, in Posio and Salla, it will be expanded to new areas
Kuusamo’s new permit application areas are bordered in the south and north by the Ollinsuo area, where the company has discovered new cobalt-containing deposits in 2021 and 2022. There are 59 landowners in the new ore prospecting license areas that are now being applied for. After the expiration of the reservation period, the company now has mineral exploration reservation areas in Kuusamo in areas covering 44.72 square kilometers.
At Posio, research has so far mainly focused on the Haarakumpu cobalt-copper deposit located in the northeastern part of the municipality and its surroundings. The new ore prospecting permit applications are located closer to Posio’s municipal center, on its south, east and north sides. There are 176 landowners in the new ore prospecting license areas that are now being applied for.
In Salla, on the other hand, the two new ore prospecting permit areas to be applied for are located north of Salla’s municipal center and west of Kotala village. There are 189 landowners in the latest mining license areas.
After the reservation period ends now, the company no longer has valid reservation areas in Salla or Posio.
Landowners can present their views
Permit applications are processed by Tukes, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency, which is the licensing authority for mineral exploration. The process also includes a hearing, in connection with which the area’s residents, landowners, municipalities, parish councils, companies and other entities can present their views on the application areas.
Latitude 66 Cobalt does not want to give an estimate of when the applications submitted to Tukes could become law.
Samples will also be collected from the permit application areas in the coming months. Samples are not collected from cultivated areas or yard circles.
– This week, we will send a letter to the landowners of the permit application areas, which contains information about the progress of the application process and the phases of ore exploration. The company’s geological teams will collect rock and boulder samples from the permit application areas during the research period from May to October, Lähde sums up.
Applications for ore prospecting permits for Western Lapland and Sodankylä in the coming weeks
The applications for mineral exploration permits that the company is preparing now are related to the expiration of the reservation areas confirmed in 2021. At that time, the company also made reservations in large areas in Kainuu, Western Lapland and Sodankylä, and prospecting permit applications for those areas will be published in the coming weeks.
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