Kuniko (ASX: KNI) has welcomed the Norwegian government’s announcement of Fast Track Mining Initiative for Critical Minerals.
A critical minerals explorer of some note in Norway, Kuniko said the government’s plan with enhance security and sustainability within the country.
“We welcome the Norwegian government’s fast track initiative for critical minerals projects, which aligns with Kuniko’s commitment to sustainability and responsible exploration and mining practices,” Kuniko CEO, Antony Beckmand, CEO, said.
“This strategic move enhances the security of European supply chains and positions Norway as a key player in the green transition. As a leading critical mineral exploration company in Norway, we are excited about the opportunities this initiative brings and the potential for faster development of our portfolio of copper, nickel, and cobalt projects.”
Initiative highlights
▪ Aim is to ensure access to minerals for Norway, its allies, and partners while reducing reliance on non-European supply chains.
▪ Strategy includes faster extraction, geophysical mapping of mineral deposits, and emphasis on environment and sustainability.
▪ The Norwegian government is considering a Norwegian state mineral fund with a view to attract private capital to ensure the success of the strategy.
▪ Norway’s new critical minerals strategy seeks to strengthen cooperation on raw material access and value chains with the EU and European countries.
▪ The strategy is complimentary to the European Commission’s Critical Raw Materials Act of March 2023, setting voluntary targets for European domestic capabilities for production, refining and recycling of key raw materials needed for the green and digital transitions by 2030.
▪ The Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry, expressed confidence in Norway’s potential to become the world’s most sustainable mineral industry
▪ The EU’s Critical Raw Materials list, extended in 2023, includes Lithium, Nickel, Copper and Cobalt, all represented in Kuniko’s portfolio of battery metals exploration projects.
▪ Kuniko’s projects in Norway leverage the region’s rich mining history and predominantly focus on brownfield sites. These projects align seamlessly with Norway’s critical minerals strategy, providing support for an accelerated discovery to development process.
Kuniko is focused on the development of copper, nickel, and cobalt projects in Scandinavia. It has a strict mandate to maintain net zero carbon footprint throughout exploration, development, and production of its projects. Kuniko’s key assets, located in Norway include:
▪ Skuterud Cobalt Project: has had over one million tonnes of cobalt ore mined historically and was the world’s largest cobalt producer in its time. A maiden drill campaign completed in Jul. ‘22 intersected cobalt mineralization in eight of eight drill holes at the priority “Middagshvile” target.
▪ Ringerike Battery Metals Project: 15km from Skuterud, the Ringerike licenses comprise 360 sq. km of exploration area, prospective for nickel, copper, and cobalt. A Ni-Cu trend of historical mines and workings crosses property and includes the brownfield Ertelien Ni-Cu mine.
▪ Undal-Nyberget Copper Project: is in the prolific Røros Copper region, a copper belt which has historical hosted Tier 1-2 mines. Historical production from Undal had grades of 1.15% Cu, 1.86% Zn, while adjacent, Nyberget has had surface grades up to 2% Cu.
▪ Vågå Copper Project: Project includes anomalies representing immediate targets, including a prospective horizon with a known strike extent of ~9km, A further shallow conductor can also be traced for several kilometres.
▪ Gullklumpan Copper Project: has geological continuity to significant mining districts in the region with outcropping Ni-Cu-Co mineralization.
For further information please visit: https://kuniko.eu/
