Geological characterisation of the Kiskamavaara Cu-Co deposit, Norrbotten

This project is investigating the origin of structurally controlled hydrothermal Cu-Co ± Au mineralization at the Kiskamavaara deposit, northern Norrbotten.

Project background

The Kiskamavaara Cu-Co ± Au deposit is located in northern Norrbotten, about 38 km east of the worldclass Kiirunavaara iron oxide-apatite deposit. Kiskamavaara is Sweden’s largest reported Co-enriched mineral deposit with a mineral resource estimate of 7.7 Mt grading 0.25% Cu and 0.04% Co (JORC inferred level, Talga Group, 2019). Mineralization at Kiskama is open along strike and at depth also. The deposit was discovered by the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) in the 1960s but remained understudied for decades. Now, with the increasing importance of both Co (an EU critical raw material) and Cu (an EU strategic raw material) for Europe’s green energy transition, the Kiskamavaara deposit has been classified as a mineral resource of national interest by SGU (2024) and requires a modern geological investigation to understand the factors controlling hydrothermal Cu and Co mineralization there.

Project aims

• Identify the key geological processes and controls lead to Cu-Co mineralization at Kiskamavaara.
• Assess the structural geology, mineralogy and geochemistry of Paleoproterozoic host rock units, hydrothermal alteration, and Cu-Co mineralization
• Constrain the timing and duration of host rock and mineralization formation using zircon U-Pb and pyrite Re-Os geochronology
• Characterisation of mineralizing hydrothermal fluids using fluid inclusion microanalysis

Duration and funding

• Project duration: 2026 - 2027
• This research is supported by CAMM-CRM, a Swedish government-supported research initiative on critical raw materials at Luleå University of Technology.
• Additional funding has been provided through the Horizon Europe 2020 Exploration Information Systems - EIS project (grant no. 1010557357)