Nordic Resources strikes gold with Hirsikangas resource boost — the quiet achiever in Finland’s gold belt

In a move that may turn a few heads among ASX gold watchers, Nordic Resources (ASX: NNL) has delivered a 34% boost to its gold resource base, crossing the one-million-ounce mark thanks to a fresh mineral resource estimate at its Hirsikangas gold project in Finland.

Previously playing second fiddle to the company’s flagship Kopsa project, Hirsikangas has emerged from the shadows with a JORC 2012-compliant resource of 7.29 million tonnes grading 1.13 grams per tonne (g/t) for 264,000 ounces of gold. That includes a tidy 101,000oz in the Indicated category and 163,000oz in Inferred, all starting near surface and showing continuity at depth.

Nordic’s total gold equivalent inventory now stands at 1.23 million ounces across its Finnish gold assets — Kopsa, Kiimala Trend, and now Hirsikangas — with a solid 66% of that sitting in the Measured and Indicated buckets. The “gold-only” tally is also a neat round 1.04Moz, marking a significant milestone for the emerging Nordic-focused explorer.

Executive Director Robert Wrixon admitted Hirsikangas was “somewhat of an unknown” in the original acquisition package, but said the new numbers confirm it’s far more substantial than initially appreciated. “Like Kopsa and Angesneva, the gold resource essentially starts from surface and has obvious exploration upside,” he said. “Hirsikangas and Angesneva, with their proximity to Kopsa, add significant value to the regional development options currently under consideration.”

It’s hard to argue. The updated resource comes off the back of solid historical drilling — 92 holes for over 11,000 metres — with some surprisingly broad intersections, including 71.3m at 1.12g/t from just 7.3m depth, 44.2m at 1.45g/t from 12.7m, and a deeper 80.2m at 1.71g/t from 110.6m. There’s also a high-grade kicker in the form of 7.3m at 4.78g/t from 48m outside the current resource envelope, highlighting further upside in parallel structures and along the broader 10km Himanka Volcanic Belt.

That belt, located in the Middle Ostrobothnia Gold Belt (MOGB), is a geological cousin to Sweden’s well-endowed Gold Line, but has seen comparatively little exploration. That may be about to change. Nordic now controls three advanced gold projects within 75km of each other, all with near-surface mineralisation and proximity to existing infrastructure — including two dormant processing plants that could provide fast-tracked production scenarios.

At Kopsa alone, the company is sitting on 814,800oz gold equivalent, underpinned by both gold and copper. Add to that the Kiimala Trend’s Angesneva deposit (147,000oz gold) and the Hirsikangas addition, and Nordic is quietly assembling a serious multi-deposit gold camp with potential for centralised processing.

More drilling is planned, with rigs heading back to Kopsa within the fortnight. Exploration at Hirsikangas is far from done, either — only 2.5km of a 10km trend has been properly tested, and parallel structures remain sparsely drilled.

While the ASX gold sector remains fixated on Tier-1 jurisdictions and 2Moz-plus development stories, Nordic’s Finland foray is shaping up as a quiet achiever. Resource growth, infrastructure access, and a credible geological narrative are starting to coalesce.

If the company can maintain this kind of momentum — and back it up with drill-bit results — Hirsikangas may well shed its supporting-act status for a starring role.