Canadian firm acquires bankrupt Lapland gold mine

The firm has a six-month option agreement that will allow it to withdraw from the project if things don’t go according to plan.

Canadian mining company Rupert Resources Ltd has signed an agreement to acquire the bankrupt Pahtavaara gold mine in Sodankylä, Lapland for a sum of 2.5 million dollars.

The mine’s previous Swedish owners, Lappland Goldminers, declared bankruptcy in 2014 and the mine has been closed down ever since.

Mikko Tiilikka, representative of the Pahtavaara bankruptcy estate, says the mine will resume prospecting in the coming months. If the Canadian firm does not opt out of the project in the first half-year, the mining permit will then transfer from the estate to the new owners.

Founded in 1995, the Pahtavaara mine is located in the Central Lapland gold belt and has been in production for 15 out of the last 20 years. The mine was originally an open pit operation, but then transferred to a ramp underground system. Mill capacity is listed at over 1,000 tons of ore a day.

The gold deposit was discovered by the Geological Survey of Finland in 1985. Estimates estimate that the mine may hold more than 10,000 kilograms of gold.

The deal was first reported in the Lapland newspaper Lapin Kansa.

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This story is posted on Independent Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.