Vanadium - Syöte & Portivaara
The Syöte project is located in Northern Finland close to major highways. The Koillismaa Layered Igneous Complex hosting the vanadium-bearing magnetite gabbro horizon is one of the numerous mafic layered intrusions emplaced in the Fennoscandian Shield some 2.4-2.5 Ga ago. The layered intrusion has been tectonically split into several smaller blocks. The igneous stratigraphy is divided into a 50-250 metre thick marginal series and up to 3,000 metres thick layered series. The lower and middle portions of the layered series are composed mainly of norites and gabbronorites, and the upper portion comprises leucogabbros, anorthosites and magnetite gabbros layers, which can reach up to 200 metres in thickness.
Geology map of the Koillismaa Layered Igneous Complex
The layered series is divided into the upper portion (light brown) including the magnetite gabbro horizon (dark brown) and into middle and lower portions (green). Kylylahti Copper Oy’s claim reservations are shown in yellow (Porttivaara 1-4 and Syöte 1-4). Map grid 10km x 10km. Geology by the GTK.
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s Rautaruukki Oy explored the Koillismaa Layered Igneous Complex for vanadium. The Mustavaara Mine which is related to a 200 metre thick magnetite gabbro horizon of the Porttivaara layered intrusion block, was opened in 1975 but by 1985 was closed due to a low vanadium price. At the time the Mustavaara Mine was a world-class vanadium producer with an annual production of approximately 1 million tonnes of ore (13.4 million tonnes in 11 years) grading 0.2 wt% vanadium and the GTK report a mineral resource of over 38 million tonnes. Ilmeno-magnetite concentrate produced contained approximately 1.5% V2O5. The ore horizon comprises three zones: the lower zone (5 metres thick, 0.68% V2O5), the central zone (15-50 metres thick, 0.39% V2O5) and the upper zone (10-40 metres thick, 0.46% V2O5).
Lateral variations in grade and thickness of the magnetite gabbro horizon are still poorly known. In the Syöte block, tectonic repetition has led to a much thicker than normal magnetite gabbro unit, and significant potential for large vanadium resources exists. Three drill holes were drilled by Rautaruukki Oy in 1971. Holes were drilled to the south at 45-50° and encountered up to 130 metres of magnetite-bearing gabbros. No assay results have been found, however assay results on concentrates produced from initial testwork were found. (Table 1). The air magnetic image shows the horizon to be at least 12 kilometres long.
Table 1. Concentrate Grades: Syöte Project
| Hole | From (m) |
To (m) |
Interval (m) |
Magnetite (%) |
Fe (%) |
Ti (%) |
TiO2 (%) |
V (%) |
V2O5 (%) |
| Soidinvaara-1 | 2.50 | 89.10 | 85.80 | 71.56 | 59.46 | 5.03 | 8.39 | 0.89 | 1.58 |
| Soidinvaara-2 | 10.00 | 136.20 | 123.30 | 74.28 | 61.07 | 4.75 | 7.93 | 0.99 | 1.76 |
| Soidinvaara-3 | 56.90 | 182.00 | 120.60 | 66.05 | 56.65 | 5.49 | 9.16 | 0.86 | 1.54 |
Low-altitude magnetic map on the eastern part of the Syöte block showing the location of drill holes Soidinvaara 1-3.. Concentrate Grades: Syöte Project). Kylylahti Copper Oy’s claim reservations are shown in yellow. Map grid 2km x 2km. Geophysics by the GTK.