I think I’d like to try Scandinavian life for a while. It sounds like a pretty progressive scene.
Some interesting facts about Norway and Sweden:
Norway’s Public Roads Administration is proposing the world’s first floating underwater tunnel, a $25 billion project which would allow vehicles to travel under the Norwegian Sea. This would go a long way toward reducing the stress in making the drive from the southern city of Kristiansand to Trondheim in the north – a positively excruciating ordeal involving 21 hours and seven ferry crossings.
Sweden is home to ABBA. Okay, maybe you already knew that one. Cool concert pic though…
Norway has THE world’s fattest sovereign fund boasting some US$1.1 trillion in assets… all derived from offshore oil and gas revenues. That works out to roughly US$210,000 for every Norwegian man, woman and baby-child. (note to self: explore Norway’s online dating scene)
I used the word ‘progressive’ above. Well, Norway has a minimum security island-prison where some of the worst inmates in the country are free (nearly) to do as they please… wander the woodlands, fields, and beaches.
And as a result, Norway boasts the lowest re-offending rate in all of Europe, if not the world.
Scandinavian countries are considered by many to be among the friendliest destinations on the planet. And of course… it all boils down to the people.
Boreal Metals (BMX.V), a Scandinavian ExplorerCo, is no stranger to the pages here at Equity Guru. This is a name that often comes up in discussions with friends when we sift through companies with good discovery potential in under-explored mining friendly climes. In Boreal’s case, a significant discovery could come from any one of its highly prospective projects.
A quick review of what Boreal’s got…
Boreal’s projects – all Scandinavian based – are located in Sweden and Norway.
Norway and Sweden are top-shelf mining jurisdictions, consistently rated near the top of the list by the Fraser Institute’s Policy Perception Index.
The advantages of operating in these two countries are many:
- low corporate tax rates: Norway 27%, Sweden 22%.
- supportive local communities with deeply seated mining cultures.
- stable mineral tenure, low regulatory risk, easy/fast permitting.
- highly supportive government agencies.
- Infrastructure rich – excellent access via road and rail.
- major airports in close proximity to all projects.
- six smelters spread out across the region.
- easy access to deep water ports.
- low cost, abundantly available industrial power (0.03-0.095 €/kWh).
Boreal’s projects in these two countries are all brownfield in nature – they are located in active or formerly active mining areas.
To delve further into this asset and management rich company, the following Equity Guru articles are on the recommended reading list (note the unique deal structure Boreal has entered into with EMX Royalty Corp (EMX.V) – a waaaay cool series of transactions)…
Boreal Metals Corp (BMX.V) – The Truth Machine Taps Scandinavian Mineral Wealth
Boreal (BMX.V): Close Proximity Exploration to Europe’s Largest Historic Cobalt Mine
The company’s IOCG (Iron Oxide Copper Gold) potential…
We’re going to hone in on the company’s Burfjord Copper-Gold Project for the remainder of this piece…
Located along the Kafjord Belt in Norway, this 5,500-hectare Cu-Au-Co property is 40 km SW of the regional airport at Alta. It’s road accessible and adjacent to deep tidal water.
Burfjord belongs to the IOCG (Iron Oxide Copper Gold) type deposit clan. IOCG deposits are characterized by breccias with large alteration zones. As we all know, large zones of alteration are a good thing.
ORE DEPOSITS 101, Part 3: Porphyries, Skarns & IOCG is an excellent video which explains how these deposits are formed.
Northern Fennoscandia is now one of the key IOCG provinces in the world. This potential has only recently been recognized in Norway.
The Burfjord area was mined during the 1800’s. It must’ve been a real grunt – ore had to be carried over the mountain passes by mule.
Mineralization at Burfjord developed along the flanks of a major 4 x 6 kilometer regional fold (anticline) structure which consists of interbedded sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
Thirty historic mines and prospects were discovered along the flanks of this prominent structure. Much of the rock within this anticline is intensely (hydrothermally) altered and contains sulphide mineralization.
For obvious reasons, only the highest grade mineralization – copper veins > 5% – was targeted and extracted by these early mule dependant miners. Cutoff grades were in the 3 to 5% range.
Broad zones of lower grade copper mineralization were left untouched. These areas with bulk tonnage potential have never been tested with the drill bit… until now.
‘Footprints’ of mineralization suggest considerable scale – multiple zones of copper bearing veins extend hundreds of meters along strike.
The project did see some limited drilling back in the day. It was confined to the direct vicinity of a historic mine called ‘Cedarsgruve’. One intercept from that early campaign included 7 meters grading 3.6% copper. That’s very high-grade by today’s standards.
Gold mineralization was recognized by the Norwegian Geological Survey in the 1990’s but has yet to be assessed.
The potential for cobalt mineralization is also unknown, but pink cobalt carbonate minerals are visible in the historic mine workings.
Brufjord’s highest priority targets are in a near surface environment. Near surface targets are a good thing as they are relatively inexpensive to drill. Even a modest drilling campaign can unearth a lot of valuable data.
Exciting prospects, these. The discovery potential at Burfjord has to be considered excellent. Most excellent.
September 12th news:
Boreal Engages Drill Contractor for Burfjord Copper-Gold Project in Norway
A drum roll is about to sound as the company mobilizes a rig to begin a 1,000 meter reconnaissance drilling program. The objective is to test a variety of shallow drill targets.
These targets, spread out across a number of prospective zones, were generated via Induced Polarization geophysical surveys. This data was highlighted by the company back in January of this year.
Additionally, widespread copper and gold mineralization is visible on the surface of each of the target areas.
There’s good science behind the generation of these high priority drill targets.
The truth machine (drill rig) is about to tell us something about that all important 3rd dimension (depth).
Boreal is the very first company to drill here.
Regarding ‘Arctic Drilling AB’, the company’s contractor of choice to drill Burfjord, Karl Antonius, Boreal’s President and CEO, commented:
We are pleased to be working with Arctic Drilling on our Burfjord Copper-Gold Project in Norway. Arctic Drilling has extensive experience drilling in the region and has developed a strong working relationship with the local community and stakeholders.
Summarizing Bufjord’s potential, the news release went on to state…
“Mineralization occurs as high-grade copper-gold bodies that were historically mined at high cut off grades (>3% copper). Boreal has recognized significant volumes of bulk tonnage potential copper-gold mineralization developed in stockwork vein arrays throughout the property position which the Company believes have economic potential.”
“Veins in the area are dominated by carbonate and iron-oxide minerals (magnetite and hematite), but also contain chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite in addition to cobalt-rich pyrite as generally coarse-grained (often 0.5 centimeter to multi-centimeter scale) disseminations in the veins. Discreet zones of cobalt and nickel mineralization are also present on the property.”
Final thoughts…
Boreal is a company run by a solid management team, a team which has assembled an enviable portfolio of highly prospective projects. With drilling about to commence on one of their more advanced projects, the company’s 58.9 million shares should respond extremely well to a new discovery.
We stand to watch.
END
~ ~ Dirk Diggler
Full disclosure: Boreal Metals is an Equity Guru client. We own the stock.