Plans for the European Union’s first diamond mine, located in eastern Finland, are advancing after a court resolved a land dispute with local farmers.
Irish-based exploration company Karelian Diamond Resources has identified the Lahtojoki diamond deposit as having a significant percentage of pink diamonds.
A recent court decision finalized appeals from two landowners regarding compensation and adjustments to the mine boundary. Finnish authorities have already approved Karelian’s mining concession application for the deposit.
“The Board believes that developing a diamond mine at Lahtojoki will bring significant benefits not only to the company but also to the entire surrounding Kuopio-Kaavi area,” the company stated.
The Lahtojoki mine, when operational, is expected to be the first diamond mine in the European Union.
In 2017, Karelian released a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Lahtojoki deposit, based on a non-JORC resource of 2.25 million carats. The deposit was estimated to have a value of $225 million, with a Net Present Value (NPV) of $39 million, and a projected mine life of nine years.