The mineral resources and reserves of the company form the basis for Viscaria’s future operations. By carefully planning how the operations will be conducted and with a deep understanding of the characteristics of the minerals, we can make well-founded investment decisions.
Through extensive exploration work, Viscaria’s team is constantly increasing its knowledge of our deposits. Exploration work focuses on both identifying new deposits and deepening our understanding of already known mineralisations.
Since the acquisition of Viscaria in 2019, we have continuously prospected in the area, leading to even better opportunities for future mining operations. In 2023, our drilling activities intensified to improve the precision in assessing mineral grades and the appearance and nature of mineralisations.
Currently, our main focus is on prospecting in the Viscaria area, but also within the project in Arvidsjaur. We look forward to continuing the work to initiate mining operations that will contribute to a sustainable and successful copper supply.
Mineral Resources
Mineral Resources represent a concentration or occurrence of minerals in or on the Earth’s crust that have reasonable prospects for economic extraction. To assess a mineral resource, geological properties such as geometry, density, quantity, grade, and other geological characteristics are evaluated.
Mineral Resources are classified according to the degree of knowledge about the mineralisation into three categories: inferred, indicated, and measured, with “measured” representing the highest degree of confidence.
Mineral Reserves
Mineral Reserves are the portion of known and/or indicated mineral resources that are deemed economically viable to extract. When assessing Mineral Reserves, we consider factors such as the proportion of waste rock and potential losses during mining or extraction. These assessments are conducted through studies that include so-called modifying factors, which demonstrate whether extraction is justifiable at the time of reporting.
Mineral Reserves can be classified into two categories based on the level of certainty: “probable reserves” and “proven reserves,” with “proven” being the highest category.
At Viscaria, we continuously work to meticulously examine and evaluate our Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. This is crucial for our operations to ensure a sustainable and profitable mining business.
Mineral resources (November 2022)
In November 2022, Viscaria presented a resource upgrade of the company’s mineral assets. At that time, a transition to the PERC Standard had been initiated. This transition is a process over time. The current report has been prepared in accordance with the PERC Standard as far as possible, but does not claim to be fully compliant with the regulations. Therefore, Viscaria advises caution when assessing the report. According to the November 2022 update, the copper-bearing ore resources in the Viscaria area amount to 93 million tonnes, with an average copper grade of 0.88 percent.
”For us, it is important to measure and assess the richness of our deposits in a systematic and transparent manner. Quality should permeate all the work we do, which is why it is natural for us to use the latest PERC standard, which sets high requirements for reporting our assets.”
Karin Lindgren, Viscaria’s Geology Manager
Reporting according to the PERC standard
Viscaria follows the recommendations of the industry organisation Svemin when reporting exploration results, mineral resources, and mineral reserves. Svemin prescribes the use of internationally recognised standards and particularly recommends the PERC Standard, which is based on The Template developed by CRIRSCO.
Currently, work is underway to upgrade the reporting of Viscaria’s mineral resources and mineral reserves to PERC Standard 2021, the latest issued standard.
Concessions and Permits
Granted Mining Concessions
| NAME | AREA_HA | VALID FROM | VALID TO | MINERAL | MUNICIPAL | OWNER (100%) |
| Svartliden K nr 1 | 36.0 | December 27, 2000 | December 27, 2025 | lead, gold, copper, silver, zinc | Arvidsjaur | Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria |
| Viscaria K nr 3 | 115.7 | January 16, 2012 | January 16, 2037 | gold, iron, copper, silver, zinc | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria K nr 4 | 30.0 | January 16, 2012 | January 16, 2037 | gold, iron, copper, silver, zinc | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Tvistbogruvan K nr 1 | 11.4 | April 17, 2012 | April 17, 2037 | lead, gold, copper, manganese, silver, tungsten, zinc | Smedjebacken | Viscaria Tvistbo AB |
| Eva K nr 1 | 34.2 | November 13, 2017 | November 13, 2042 | lead, gold, copper, silver, zinc | Arvidsjaur | Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria |
| Viscaria K nr 7 | 63.8 | March 26, 2018 | March 26, 2043 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| All granted processing concessions and granted exploration permits are 100 percent owned by Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria AB or by the wholly owned subsidiaries Viscaria Kiruna AB, Viscaria Arvidsjaur AB and Viscaria Tvistbo AB. | ||||||
Granted Exploration Permits
| NAME | AREA_HA | VALID FROM | VALID TO | MINERAL | MUNICIPAL | OWNER (100%) |
| Nihka East | 144.1 | June 16, 2015 | June 16, 2023 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria nr 101 | 1472.3 | October 16, 2002 | July 7, 2023 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria nr 107 | 1842.8 | August 10, 2009 | August 10, 2023 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Kirkkovaarti nr 1 | 386.4 | November 8, 2018 | November 8, 2023 | copper, lead, zinc, iron, gold, silver | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Rengarde nr 1 | 3517.3 | November 8, 2018 | November 8, 2023 | copper, lead, zinc, iron, gold, silver | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria nr 112 | 1944.8 | December 5, 2011 | December 5, 2023 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Sandberget nr 500 | 7641 | February 11, 2019 | February 11, 2024 | gold, copper, silver, zinc | Arvidsjaur | Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria |
| Sandberget nr 400 | 535.6 | February 11, 2019 | February 11, 2024 | gold, copper, silver, zinc | Arvidsjaur | Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria |
| Sandberget nr 300 | 18.7 | October 3, 2012 | October 3, 2024 | gold, copper, silver, zinc | Arvidsjaur | Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria |
| Sandberget nr 200 | 19.2 | October 3, 2012 | October 3, 2024 | gold, copper, silver, zinc | Arvidsjaur | Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria |
| Goddevarri nr 101 | 148.4 | December 4, 2019 | December 4, 2024 | copper, lead, zinc, iron, gold, silver | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria East | 211.9 | June 9, 2017 | June 9, 2025 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria nr 1 | 818.7 | June 24, 2008 | June 24, 2025 | copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria nr 117 | 4986.5 | January 13, 2023 | January 13, 2026 | gold, iron, cobalt, copper, molybden, nickel, silver | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Viscaria nr 118 | 9 | March 29, 2023 | March 29, 2026 | gold, copper | Kiruna | Viscaria Kiruna AB |
| Total (ha) | 23696.7 | |||||
| All granted processing concessions and granted exploration permits are 100 percent owned by Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria AB or by the wholly owned subsidiaries Viscaria Kiruna AB, Viscaria Arvidsjaur AB and Viscaria Tvistbo AB. | ||||||
Competent person
Information provided in accordance with the PERC regulations must be reviewed by a so-called competent person. This person should be an expert in the subject matter being reported and a member of an independent expert organization, such as FAMMP (Fennoscandian Association for Metals and Minerals Professionals). At Viscaria, the competent person is Thomas Lindholm. He holds a Master’s degree in Geotechnics/Geophysics and is certified as a competent person according to FAMMP. Thomas Lindholm is also a Fellow of the AusIMM (Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy), which means he can report in accordance with both the PERC and JORC standards. Svemin’s review board continuously monitors that companies adhere to the organization’s rules and that reporting is conducted correctly according to the standards.