Kinross Gold has signed an agreement with Aurion Resources to earn a majority stake in the latter’s Launi East Property in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in northern Finland.

Under the definitive option agreement, Kinross will have the option to earn a 70% undivided interest in the property by incurring exploration expenditures of at least $10m on or before the seventh anniversary of the agreement.

Kinross, subject to receiving all necessary permits for a drilling programme, will incur exploration expenditures of $2m on or before the second anniversary of the agreement, as a firm obligation.

Covering 42.74km², the Launi East property is located next to Aurion’s 100%-owned Risti property.

Aurion said its investment in the joint venture will be transformed into a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the property in case its stake is decreased to 10% or below.

Aurion CEO Matti Talikka said: “The company staked the Launi East Property in 2018 and has since completed a significant amount of surface, geophysical and geochemical work on the property, as well as limited drilling. We welcome the Kinross team to build upon the work completed and unlock value from the property.”

Separately, Aurion and Kinross terminated the option agreement, which was signed in 2021, on the Silaskaira Property located adjacent to the Silasselkä vanadium project and 28km north-west of the Kittilä mine.

Aurion will now regain full ownership of the Silaskaira property and its related data.