The province of Pohjois – Karjala Lääni has been of interest to the Company for a number of years. Pohjois – Karjala Lääni covers an area of 21,500 km² and there are 19 municipalities in this region. Joensuu is one of the larger centres in this region and is served excellent by road, rail and domestic air links.
The nearby city of Outokumpu is associated with the Keretti and Vuonos mines, which formed the main basis for modern mining and metallurgical industries in Finland. The city remains as an important mining technology centre today, including hosting the GTK’s Mineral Processing Research Group, which can also provide kimberlite bulk sampling facilities.
Prospectivity:
The Company’s highly prospective Joensuu Area covers some 7,900 km². The Company has been active in this area for a number of years. Recent regional work by the GTK, including acquiring over 400 till samples, has demonstrated the widespread presence of KIM’s in this area.
This relatively new diamond exploration area lies some 100 km to the south east of the established Kupio-Kaavi kimberlite province, scene of some of first Finnish kimberlite discoveries in the 1980’s.
Work to Date:
Karelian Diamond Resources has had an active interest in this area for a number of years and, under Conroy Diamonds and Gold, identified numerous geophysical targets from the regional geophysical survey undertaken by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). As an initial follow-up, the Company has previously collected over 50 till samples in this area.
Following the recent GTK till sampling programme (400 samples taken), the Company has since successfully acquired extensive claim reservations associated with positive KIM results, and is undertaking more detailed follow-up till sampling. To date no kimberlite bodies have been reported in the area, however the presence of significant and dispersed KIM’s, in an area remote from other known kimberlites, suggests that this may be an entirely new and as-yet unknown kimberlite province.