Metals One unveils ambitious strategy for Black Schist Ni-Zn-Cu-Co Project expansion
() , a battery metals explorer with projects in Northern Europe, issued an update on its flagship Black Schist Ni-Zn-Cu-Co project in Finland. Following recently announced significant intersections of mineralisation at Black Schist, Metals One said it will expand its footprint in the Kainuu Schist Belt with new assets within the prospective region.
The recently announced results include hole RAU0002, which intercepted 14.7m of mineralised black schists from 50m (0.18% Ni, 0.11% Cu, 0.01% Co, 0.57% Zn), and hole RAU0003 which intercepted 11m of mineralised black schists from 199.5m (0.22% Ni, 0.10% Cu, 0.01% Co, 0.55% Zn).
Metals One aims to show a clear path to the economic extraction of its assets. This includes a longer-term goal of defining a 200 Mt resource in the Paltamo area, the scale of which could underpin a significant supply of critical minerals to the European market, at what the company expects to be a low cost of production.
To this end, Metals One plans to increase volumes and geological and grade confidence in its R1 and P5 targets in the Rautavaara and Paltamo areas respectively, through a programme of infill and step-out drilling, as well as further assaying of existing cores. Additionally, wants to secure additional targets across the Kainuu Schist Belt using a new prospectivity model for mineralised black schists, which aims to speed up and de-risk the identification and development of critical minerals in that mineralised system.
The Kainuu Schist Belt is home to Europe's largest nickel mine at Talvivaara. Metals One currently holds several exploration licences and reservations across the belt, including Talvivaara-style mineralisation targets with an existing JORC Inferred Resource (at the R1 target) of 28.1 Mt at a grade of 0.19% Ni (53,800t), 0.10% Cu (27,900t), 0.01% Co (3,400t) and 0.38% Zn (180,000t), and a JORC Exploration Target (at the P5 target) of 16-24 Mt.
Today's announcement was prompted by Metals One's recent assessment of the Kainuu Schist Belt conducted in Q4 2023, whereby the company used its new model to successfully identify several highly prospective targets in proximity to its existing R1 and P5 resources. then moved to secure the targets with submissions of 3 exploration applications and 3 reservation applications, totalling almost 15,000 hectares.
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Metals One is rapidly developing and expanding its portfolio within the highly prospective Kainuu Schist Belt in Finland. The belt is economically significant as it is the host geological sequence to black schists extracted by the nearby Talvivaara mine, considered to be one of Europe's largest nickel-zinc-copper-cobalt producers.
Black schist nickel-zinc-copper-cobalt ore is one of the lower-cost sources of critical minerals, both economically and environmentally. Metals One's objective through the Black Schist project is to identify and define economic resources of Talvivaara-style mineralisation that it may then take into production directly, through a joint venture, or sell to an existing mine operator.
In addition to its existing R1 and P5 targets in the in Rautavaara and Paltamo areas of the Kainuu Schist Belt, has actively surveyed and identified multiple new targets in both areas using its innovative prospectively model. The company is venturing into new licences as well, most notably Korpimäki, which hosts the K1 target. Past explorers have dismissed K1, but has determined through new methods that the target represents significant volumes of mineralised black schists.
In terms of existing assets, in December 2023 completed a diamond core drill programme on the R1-Hook target, which intercepted mineralised black schists in all 8 drill holes and showed geological continuity with the company's existing resource at R1, supporting possible future expansion of that resource.
Additionally, 's updated strategy calls for a rapid conversion of its P5 target at Paltamo to a Mineral Resource, followed by an expansion programme with a goal to realise a resource of c. 200 Mt. A resource of such scale should support an economic case for a long-term producing asset.
Overall, Metals One's strategy for its flagship Black Schist project in Finland promises to unlock significant resources of high-quality critical metals. Nickel, copper, and cobalt are main ingredients in most Li-Ion battery chemistries, demand for which continues to climb amid increasing orders for EVs and grid storage solutions.
The European market is seeking to secure such critical metals from within the security of its borders, and at the lowest economic and environmental cost. Recent European legislation enhances these considerations, such as the Critical Raw Materials Act, which pursues indigenous supply, and the Battery Regulation, a directive requiring passports for large batteries, stating their material provenance and carbon footprint.
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