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European Resources’ subsidary Bambra strengthens its board with Erja Retzén as new Chair. With strong networks in mining and extensive experience in finance and company listings, Retzén brings valuable additional expertise to the Korsnäs rare earths project.
European Resources’ Finnish subsidiary Bambra has appointed Erja Retzén as its new Chair of the Board. With a strong background in the Helsinki stock market and Nasdaq, Retzén brings extensive experience in finance, company listings and the mining industry.
Erja Retzén knows both the financial markets and the mining industry, with particular experience in helping companies prepare for listings and navigate the capital markets.
As a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management by training, she also has a personal interest in mining and exploration. She has lived in a community where a mine was closed down and therefore knows first-hand what mining can mean for a local community.
“From that perspective, it would be great to be involved on the other side. I would like to help push forward the opening of a new mine,” Retzén says.
She describes Bambra as a small but prominent company with the potential to go a long way. She is also impressed by the way the company combines speed with responsibility.
I would like to help push forward the opening of a new mine.
A potential model for cooperation
Erja Retzén believes the Korsnäs project could evolve to become an example of how authorities, companies and other stakeholders can work together on major industrial mining projects.
“There is also something here that larger projects could learn from,” she says.
Both Jason Beckton, CEO of ASX-listed European Resources and its wholly owned Finnish subsidiary Bambra, and Göran Östberg, Site and Safety Manager at Bambra, see Retzén as a strong addition to the team.
“It is good to have her onboard. She has all the right connections in the mining industry,” Östberg says.
Building on an old mining site
European Resources and Bambra are exploring rare earth elements at the former mining site in Korsnäs. The project has moved forward significantly in a relatively short period of time.
The company has been able to build on a substantial amount of historical information. Before Bambra began its work, data from 479 drill holes and numerous old samples were already available. Since then, the company has added to that knowledge with around a dozen new drill holes, new measurements and further analyses.
The former mine was originally operated for lead, while today’s exploration is focused on rare earth elements.
“The people who worked here previously had a very good understanding of the metals in the area. At that time, however, it was not economically viable to extract them,” Beckton says.
More exploration ahead
Mining exploration often means discovering that a project is not viable and eventually closing it down, Beckton explains. The Korsnäs project, however, has developed in the opposite direction.
“The more we investigate and learn about the Korsnäs project, the more our interest grows. The project itself also keeps getting bigger,” he says.
More seismic surveys are scheduled to begin in October. The measurements will continue for approximately a month.
The company is also continuously carrying out laboratory testing. More drilling is expected next year, followed by additional testing and a feasibility study.
From exploration to technology
Environmental work is progressing in parallel. Additional air and water samples will be collected to establish a reliable baseline for the area.
Only after the necessary studies and assessments have been completed would the project move towards applying for mining permits.
Beckton says European Resources is gradually developing from a traditional exploration company into more of a technology company. A significant part of the work is about determining how the material found in the ground and in old waste material can best and most economically be processed and used.
“We create the raw material, but we are one part of a vertically integrated project,” Beckton says.
Growing demand for critical metals
The company is also beginning to consider expanding its local team, while Beckton sees a bright future for the project.
Demand for the types of metals found at Korsnäs is growing, particularly in applications such as robotics. Finland’s comparatively low electricity prices are another factor that can contribute to the project’s future competitiveness, while prices for several of the relevant rare earth elements have also developed favourably.
Interest in European Resources’ work is growing as well. Beckton recently presented the project at the Oulu Mining Summit in Oulu.
Bambra is also a key industrial partner in the RemHub Horizon project. One important aspect of this work is Europe’s ambition to reduce its dependence on China for critical metals and to develop more secure supply chains within Europe.
Investors see potential
European Resources is also attracting interest among investors. Australian investor and shareholder Rory Luff is visiting Finland to see the Korsnäs project and meet the team.
“We like the project. It has huge potential,” Luff says.
He is also confident in the team, which he says has the technical expertise required to take the project forward.
European Resources has several other projects in its portfolio, but Korsnäs is currently receiving significant attention.
“For us, this is a relatively simple project. Of course, there is a lot of work to do, but this is a brownfield site. We see examples in Australia all the time where mines that were previously closed because of commodity prices are eventually reopened,” Beckton says.
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