The province of Oulun Lääni has been of interest to the Company for a number of years. Oulun Lääni covers an area of 57,000 km². There are 47 municipalities in this region and the largest city is Oulu.
The majority of this region is sparsely populated with 458,504 inhabitants (2003), but with excellent infrastructure. The area is easily accessible via the E75 and E63 euro-routes and by rail, and regional industry is serviced out of the population centres at Oulo, Kemijvärvi and Kuusamo.
Prospectivity:
The Company’s Central Claims Area covers an area of 25,490 km². The Company has been active in this area for a number of years and has identified the area as highly prospective.
Work to Date:
Karelian Diamond Resources has, under its predecessor, Conroy Diamonds and Gold Plc, identified 122 geophysical targets from the regional geophysical survey undertaken by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).
As a follow-up to this interpretative work, the Company undertook a kimberlitic indicator mineral (KIM) survey, collecting 200 regional till samples, which included positive KIM results. The Company has had an active interest in this area for a number of years.
In the past the Aston/Malmikaivos Oy partnership discovered the kimberlite bodies Iso Karhujarvi 1 & 2 (also sometimes referred to as Loukonvaara 1 & 2, or bodies 15 and 19) in this region. Both are dyke structures which were not investigated in detail, however their existence confirms a history of kimberlite emplacement in the area, and increases the likelihood of further discoveries.