Guldgruvan

The Guldgruvan Project is located in Sweden’s Los mining district, a significant historic producer of cobalt and nickel. The Los District was a key source of cobalt locally used for pigments in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Project covers the historic Los Cobalt Mine, one of the better known historic cobalt producers in the region, and is also the site where nickel was first discovered and recognized as an element in 17511. The Project contains multiple historic mining areas with underground workings, test pits and shallow drill holes. Cobalt, copper, and nickel were mined on the property from the 1600’s through the 1750’s.  In addition to these metals, gold, silver, zinc, and lead are also present in zones of mineralization. Guldgruvan, like other EMX projects in the region, has seen only limited modern exploration.

In the Los mining district, cobalt-rich, polymetallic sulfide mineralization occurs as veins and replacement-style mineralization hosted within Proterozoic mafic and felsic metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks, including carbonate facies.  Where carbonate rocks have been mineralized, zones of skarn are commonly developed. The cobalt-bearing occurrences define a series of north-northwest trending zones of mineralization that run parallel to geological contacts, fold axes, and faults. The mineralization is known to extend for at least six kilometers along strike within the license area, and is not constrained at depth.  

In addition to cobalt-rich sulfide mineralization, gold mineralization is known to occur on the Guldgruvan property and appears to be spatially associated with shear zones that also display fuchsite mineralization (a brilliant green chromium-bearing mica), reminiscent of similar styles of alteration and mineralization seen in many shear zone-hosted lode gold deposits around the world. 

The Project is accessible year-round, with infrastructure including paved roads, water and power, as well as skilled labour in nearby municipalities.  

Note: The nearby mines and deposits in the region provide context for EMX’s Project, which occurs in a similar geologic setting, but this is not necessarily indicative that the project hosts similar tonnages or grades of mineralization.

Cronstedt, Axel F. (1754). “Fortsättning af rön och försök, Gjorde Med en Malm-art från Los Kobolt Grufvor”. Kongl. Svenska Veenskapas Academians Handlingar. 15: 38–45.

 

Maps

Geology of the Guldgruvan area. Mafic volcanic, diabasic intrusive, and local carbonate-hosted Cu-Ni-Co-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au mineralization as veins and replacements as well as local massive sulfide horizons Click to Enlarge

Photos

Micro-scale folding of a Cu-Co mineralized lens in metasediment from dump material on EMX property Click to Enlarge
Ni-Co-Cu mineralized sample from dump material on EMX property Click to Enlarge