FinnAust Mining plc, the AIM and FSE listed exploration company with projects in Greenland, Finland and Austria, has told DirectorsTalk that it has appointed NIRAS Greenland A/S and Orbicon A/S to support the completion of various permitting and regulatory work at the Pituffik Titanium Project in Greenland (‘Pituffik’ or ‘the Project’). Both consultants are Danish companies with proven operating experience in Greenland.
NIRAS is an international, multidisciplinary consultancy company that has been appointed to complete a Social Impact Assessment (‘SIA’) at Pittufik. This SIA will fulfil regulatory and permit requirements as specified by the Greenlandic Mining Resource Authorities (‘MRA’) and in compliance with international standards.
Orbicon is a technical advisory services company, which provides professional and sustainable engineering and environmental consulting services. Orbicon will support FinnAust in its completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (‘EIA’) at Pituffik, which will be prepared in accordance with guidelines published by the MRA. This will be a requirement ahead of the Company’s proposed initial bulk-sampling proof-of-concept operation targeted for 2017.
FinnAust CEO Roderick McIllree said, “We continue to make big strides in advancing Pituffik, a project that continues to demonstrate significant potential. The appointment of NIRAS and Orbicon marks a substantial step towards licencing and regulatory compliance. Crucially, these two groups are recognised leaders in their respective fields in Denmark and are also experts at operating in Greenland having been involved with several of the larger infrastructure and mining projects in-country, including advising the US Air Force on environmental management at the nearby Thule airbase. Their knowledge and experience of the Pittufik area will help streamline the permitting process, supporting our fast-paced development approach. With a proven in-house exploration and management team and a strengthened consultancy team we look forward to finalising our 2016 work programme, further detail of which will be provided in due course.”
