Latitude 66 strengthens KSB project with new scoping study, EU-funded UNDERCOVER program

Latitude 66 (ASX: LAT) has appointed Como Engineers to undertake a scoping study on its Kuusamo Schist Belt (KSB) gold and cobalt project in northern Finland.

The study will help define a project based on the existing JORC mineral resource of 7.3 million tonnes at 2.7 grams per tonne gold for 650,000 ounces and 0.08% cobalt for 5,840t.

Como’s scope of work will also assess potential scale-up expansion, dependent on exploration success, with completion of the study anticipated in Q1 2025.

Exploration work

Latitude 66 has also stepped up exploration activities at KSB, where recent drilling has returned significant new cobalt results.

Managing director Grant Coyle said the scoping study award is an important step forward that will provide valuable insights not only for the KSB project development pathway but also for potential scale-up optionality to incorporate any additional exploration success that expands the company’s global mineral resource base.

“The new additional target areas generated demonstrate the untapped, longer-term exploration upside potential of the KSB project and drilling will recommence following the detailed structural review of the KSB mineral resource,” Mr Coyle said.

“We look forward to reporting on further exploration results and the scoping study findings in the new year.”

Como relationship

Latitude 66 has previously worked with Como Engineers on preliminary design and engineering for the KSB project.

That work also incorporated significant metallurgical testing and mine optimisation, which will be utilised and refreshed as part of the scoping study.

The new study will focus on optimising the existing resources across the K1, K2 and K3 prospects for their current optimal size and will enable further expansion potential to support exploration success that translates to an increase in the global mineral resource base.

The study findings will also assist Latitude 66 in advancing permitting and defining pathway options for further analysis as the company progresses development studies.

Multiple target areas

The KSB project contains multiple target areas that have been subject to recent drilling activities by the company.

Further results from the K8, K10 and K12 prospects are still pending, with final results anticipated in December.

In addition to the drilling results, field activities and data reviews have continued throughout the broader KSB project, with boulder sampling completed at the K6E and K6W prospects.

The company has submitted tenement applications covering two highly prospective and large-scale targets identified following a review of regional geophysics.

Desktop review

In addition to the on-ground exploration activities, a desktop target generation review was completed following the reprocessing of multiple historic geophysical datasets, particularly magnetics and electromagnetics (EM).

Drilling is planned to recommence at the KSB project once final results from a detailed structural review of the K1 mineral resource have been returned.

At the same time, analysis of the hydrothermal alteration, geochemical and structural controls on mineralisation has been conducted to guide proposed drilling at K1.

Previous fixed-loop EM surveys identified conductive anomalies down-dip and along strike.

UNDERCOVER project

The KSB is also one of three regions included in the upcoming Unified Novel Deep Exploration for Critical Ore Discovery (UNDERCOVER) project.

UNDERCOVER is a EUR 5 million research project funded from the European Union’s Horizon Europe program that brings together 16 partners from Finland, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Portugal, Namibia and Canada.

Co-ordinated by the Geological Survey of Finland, the project will use case studies in Finland (the KSB), Portugal (Iberian Pyrite Belt) and Namibia (Kalahari Copper Belt) to develop and integrate the technologies comprising the new exploration strategy.