Proven District Early Adopters
Arvo Lithium Ltd. is a private company owning 100% of its subsidiary, Arvo Metals Oy in Finland. The company has multiple exploration licences in the Kaustinen Lithium Province.
Arvo is uniquely positioned to take advantage of Europe’s most advanced lithium province and evolving ecosystem.
Our Focus
Adjacent to Europe's first lithium mine & lithium hydroxide refinery
Arvo has secured extensive assets in the key lithium district.
Strategically positioned close to known deposits and covering large parts of the lithium potential areas.
The first spodumene pegmatite dikes and numerous boulders discovered within Arvo’s tenements.
Arvo Metals Reservations
Kaustinen (granted): 1,303 km2
Ilmajoki (granted): 282 km2
Exploration Licenses
Granted: 24.7 km2
Applied: 59.2 km2
Location History
Kaustinen Lithium Province
Arvo is adjacent to Sibanye Stillwater, which will be Europe’s first integrated mine and refinery due to commence production in 2025
1960s
Historic exploration and multiple discoveries from the 1960s.
Dozens of spodumene pegmatite dikes and over 1500 boulders occur widely distributed in the province indicating huge potential for additional discoveries. Historic lithium exploration has been low budget and little work has been done outside the discovered deposits.
1990s
Keliber Oy commenced exploration in the 1990s which led to five mine projects containing 17 million tonnes of scalable lithium mineral resources.
2022
Sibanye Stillwater acquired 85% of Keliber in 2022.
Access works started during the year.
Access works started during the year.
2023
Mine and Processing plant construction permitted. The lithium hydroxide plant construction started in 2023 and is located just 60km from the mines at the Kokkola Industrial Park which offers world-class infrastructure and logistics.
October 2023, Sibanye Stillwater approved commencement of second phase construction of the concentrator and development of the Syväjärvi open pit mine.
Upgraded Keliber project capital estimated at €656 million.
Production expected start in 2025 with 15 ktpa lithium hydroxide.
October 2023, Sibanye Stillwater approved commencement of second phase construction of the concentrator and development of the Syväjärvi open pit mine.
Upgraded Keliber project capital estimated at €656 million.
Production expected start in 2025 with 15 ktpa lithium hydroxide.
Targeting low impact & technological advanced explorations methods
The primary objective of the Company is to safely and responsibly advance its lithium exploration strategy in the most cost-effective way.
- Harnessing local knowledge and expertise in Kaustinen and Finland
- Consolidating years of the Geological Survey of Finland’s (GTK) geological data, expertise & exploration work
- Building on the solid foundations laid down locally by Keliber Oy and now Sibanye-Stillwater
A low-impact, minimum intrusion, embedding best-practice environmental, social and safety assessments into our exploration activities
Exploration
Based on historical data and the Company’s own field work and geological assessments, the company then carved out distinct areas to focus on the exploration permits.
Geological Setting
- Arvo is targeting pegmatites containing spodumene
- Pegmatites occur as swarms with individual dikes 200 – 400 meters long, 5-30 meters thick
- Deepest intersections at 200 m depth
- Main minerals are albite, quartz, spodumene, K-feldspar and muscovite
- Accessory minerals include beryl, columbite-tantalite and cassiterite
- Spodumene occurs fairly homogeneously distributed in a comb-like pattern
- Age of the spodumene pegmatites is 1790 Ma
Exploration Methods
- Li pegmatites are covered by glacial till 2-10 meters thick
- Regional till geochemical and detailed airborne geophysical data available by GTK
- Boulders and till geochemistry have been successfully used to define drilling targets and to find pegmatite deposits
- Readily available specialised equipment and local expertise
Our Impact
Positive Impact and Contribution
Economic
We are excited to play a role in the future of energy transition supporting the objectives of the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act designed to ensure the availability of raw materials for technology needed to cut carbon emissions.
Our goal is to support the national strategies in discovering and providing sustainably produced lithium for the battery value chain.
We aim to create welfare and employment for the region and local people
Environment
Arvo is committed to protecting the natural environment and using resources in a sustainable manner. We abide by our duty of care towards the environment through best-practice environmental and social assessments, embedding these into our exploration activities.
Our Sustainability & ESG responsible maintains compliance with our legislative requirements and accreditation systems like our environmental management system and environmental permits.
We are committed to follow the Finnish Standard for Sustainable Exploration by the Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining.
On a practical day-to-day basis, this sees our team undertaking activities like baseline studies, environmental monitoring and planning for rehabilitation.
People
Committed to our people, local communities and all stakeholders. We are proud to be operating in tandem with all our partners . From the very beginning and even before any work was performed on the ground, the company started to build relationships in the communities to ensure transparency at all times.
We work in close co-operation with the land owners and plan our activities to course minimum impact to their everyday living and businesses.
We use local contractors whenever possible.
Our People
Luis da Silva, Chairman (Arvo Lithium Ltd.)
B.Eng Mining Engineering, ACSM, MBA
Senior level mining executive with significant cross border M&A experience. Proven track record in value creation for shareholders by forging relationships and managing complex entities with large, international joint venture partners. Experienced at all levels of the value chain from exploration through development and production.
Pekka Nurmi, Technical Director & Chairperson of Arvo Metals Oy
Ph.D., University of Helsinki
Over 35 years of experience in the minerals sector. Formerly held director and chief scientist positions at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and Adjunct Professor in economic geology at the University of Helsinki. Involved in the global promotion and exploration of Finland’s mineral opportunities for over 25 years and defining Finland’s mineral strategy, mining law and development of major science and innovation programs.
Pekka also serves as a Chair of the Board of the Natural Resources Research Foundation of Finland.
Eeva Ruokonen, Board Member (Arvo Metals Oy)
D.Sc.(Tech), Aalto University
Over 35 years of experience in the mining and metallurgical industry. Until 2015, Eeva held various management positions (Talvivaara, ABB, Boliden and Outokumpu). Eeva is a member of Endomines’s Board of Directors and chair of the ESG committee and a member of Nordic Talc’s Advisory Board since 2020. From 2018-24, Eeva was a member of Finnish Minerals Group Oy’s Board of Directors and chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee. To Arvo, Eeva brings extensive expertise in the metals and minerals industry with a strong technical understanding of the entire value chain. The responsibility and ESG of the mining industry are important in Eeva's work.
Max Forsman, Exploration Manager
M.Sc., University of Oulu
Over 25 years of experience in exploration and mining, both underground and open pit in multiple operations in Finland and Norway (Boliden Kylylahti Mine, Pyhäsalmi Mine, Kemi Chrome Mine, Nikkel og Olivin, Mondo Minerals, Sotkamo Silver). In exploration he was responsible for regional exploration in Northern-Karelia area (Boliden FinnEx). Max has also worked as a mining consultant for Destia and Golder Associates. Max has more than 10 years’ experience as head of the geological department.
Petri Peltonen, Technical Advisor
Ph.D., University of Turku / University of Toronto
Over 30 years of experience in geoscientific research, exploration and mining. Most recently engaged as Exploration Manager Europe for First Quantum Minerals Ltd., being responsible for regional and near-mine exploration activities in Finland, Sweden, Turkey, and Spain.
Petri is a Chartered Professional of Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), European Geologist (EurGeol), Qualified Person (QP) and SEG Fellow. He also serves as Professor of Practice of Economic Geology at University of Helsinki.
Markus Latvala, Stakeholder Relations Manager
B.Sc.Eng., Centria University of Applied Sciences
Over 20 years of experience in environmental & safety management and stakeholder relations for various industries, with last 12 years in mining and exploration. Previously Markus has been working as an Environmental Manager for Rupert Finland’s mine and exploration projects in Lapland. He was also HSE Manager of Belvedere Mining’s Hitura mine in W Finland and had a key role as a consultant for regional environment authority in rehabilitating of the Hitura mine. Since 2018 he has been working as a Founder and CEO of Feasib Ltd. Markus lives in Ostrobothnia, close to Arvo Lithium's project area.
Ilkka Kettunen, Geologist
M.Sc., University of Helsinki
Ilkka is specializing in battery minerals exploration. He has first-hand experience from the key exploration methods and mineralizations in different environments around Finland. Ilkka’s role includes engaging with the communities where he grew up.
Aleksi Huttunen, Exploration Geologist
M.Sc., University of Oulu
Aleksi is specializing in exploration of battery minerals. He has first-hand experience from the key exploration methods and practical knowledge from different areas of fieldwork.
Pathway to Production
2031E Production
- Drilling – first major core drilling campaign of 10,000m started in October 2024, capacity reservation for additional 10,000m
- Till geochemical sampling to continue in parallel to drilling
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate Q3/2025
- Preliminary Economic Assessment 2025
- Preliminary Feasibility Study 2026
- Definitive Feasibility Study 2027
- Permitting (mining permit, EIA, municipality planning, environment permit) 2025-2028
- Construction 2029
- Production – 2031
Arvo in The News
media coverage
The new Mining Act revolutionizes the position of municipalities
6 March 2023
A Geologist Living the Dream!
7 June 2023
The New Mining Act and Finland’s Opportunity in Transition Metals
8 March 2023
Lithium is our Gold
9 June 2023
A Short Exploration Lesson with Ilkka
8 June 2023
Students Sweating for Spodumene
7 June 2023
Lithium Exploration in Kronoby
30 May 2023
Arvo Reservations Granted by Tukes
7 February 2023
Our Partners
LRC is a lithium-focused royalty company with a diversified portfolio of royalties on mineral properties around the world that supply and are expected to supply raw materials to support the electrification and decarbonization of the global economy. Due to the increasingly broad deployment of EVs, LRC’s focus to-date has been on the battery supply chain for the transportation industry.
Waratah Capital Advisors is a Toronto-based asset manager that specializes in alternative strategies. The name Waratah is a symbol of strength and resilience — two attributes we look to embody through our funds. This name is inspired by an Australian flower with deep roots that protect the plant from frequent, unpredictable bush fires.
Waratah manages over $4 billion in assets from high-net-worth individuals, family offices, foundations, Canadian bank platforms, and pension funds. Waratah combines intensive research-driven stock selection with a disciplined and robust risk management program. Founders and employees collectively represent 5% of the firm’s assets under management.