Aurion, KoBold team up to explore critical minerals in Finland

Aurion Resources (TSXV: AU) is teaming up with KoBold Metals, the mineral exploration company backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, to unlock the critical minerals potential of its Risti project in Finland.KoBold’s technology centres around the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate the discovery process of clean energy minerals such as copper, lithium and nickel. To date, the company has raised $1 billion from several funding rounds. A majority of the funds is being used to develop the Mingomba copper project in Zambia.Under a definitive agreement signed on Wednesday, Aurion will grant KoBold the right to earn a 75% interest in a portion of the Risti project area covering 35 sq. km by spending $12 million on exploration, including $1 million within the first 18 months.Upon satisfaction of KoBold’s earn-in rights, the parties will form a joint venture on this area, located in the eastern part of the property. Should Aurion’s JV ownership be diluted to below 10%, it would then be converted to a 2% net smelter returns royalty.Aurion will retain its ownership on other parts of the project where the predominant mineral in discovery is gold or silver, and can continue its exploration activities there as long as it holds ownership interest.“The agreement with a split commodity structure enables Aurion to retain full exploration and ownership rights over significant gold and silver discoveries while leveraging KoBold’s expertise in exploration for metals and minerals important for the green energy transition,” stated Matti Talikka, Aurion’s CEO.The Risti property covers 160 sq. km of the Central Lapland greenstone belt, the most prolific gold-producing province in Europe. Its geological setting has drawn comparisons to the Abitibi region of Northern Ontario, which is known for its orogenic gold mineralization as well as other deposit types featuring critical minerals.Aurion noted that the base metal prospectivity of the region is well evidenced by the Kevitsa nickel-copper-PGE mine (Boliden) and the Sakatti nickel-copper-PGE discovery (Anglo American) located 12 km from the Risti property.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com