Mawson Finland Limited ("Mawson" or the "Company") (TSX-V:MFL) is pleased to announce that Mawson Finland Limited's 100% owned Finnish subsidiary, Mawson Oy, through which the Rajapalot project is managed, has successfully, and with high marks for performance passed the verification process of Finnish Standard for Sustainable Exploration. The verification process was finalized during December 2024.
The mining industry's sustainability is monitored and developed through the international Towards Sustainable Mining standard ("TSM"). The purpose of implementing the standard is to encourage industry to adopt and develop more responsible practices. Responsible Mining and Exploration tools, such as social, environmental and safety responsibility reporting, have been developed in collaboration with the Sustainable Mining Network.
Ms. Noora Ahola, Mawson Finland Chief Executive Officer, states: "We are very happy that the results of the verification process confirm what we have worked hard to achieve. We will of course continue to develop and further improve our working methods in all areas of our operations to ensure that we continue to meet the expectations and demands of the surrounding society in the best possible way in the future too. In terms of project development, taking care of ESG will continue to be significant to us and our investors."
The member companies of the Finnish Mining Association ("FinnMin") are committed to the Finnish Standards for Sustainable Exploration. The Standards were originally prepared in 2016 and updated between 2018 and 2021 and adhere to sustainable operating principles in terms of environmental, social and economic performance. The Standards provide companies instructions for sustainable operations at each stage of exploration and project development. The Standards are also used to assess performance and to verify member companies' commitment to the general regulations. The Finnish Standards for Sustainable Exploration consist of common operating principles and three assessment tools for Social responsibility, Environment and Safety. These tools cover the entire lifecycle of exploration and project development stage-by-stage.
The Finnish Standards for Sustainable Exploration include principles for the companies to follow at all stages of exploration and project development:
Operations shall be carried out in a transparent manner;
The companies shall adhere to best practices in exploration and commit to the continuous improvement of their operations;
The companies shall minimise any negative impacts of their operations on local communities, the environment and biodiversity;
The companies shall respect the surrounding community and its culture and ways of life;
The companies shall engage in active dialogue with their communities of interest and involve these in the development of the principles for sustainable exploration;
The companies shall not jeopardise health or safety of their employees or local communities;
The companies shall complete any after-care measures of their exploration activities in a responsible manner.
Sustainability of exploration is assessed annually by means of self-assessment of the Standards for Sustainable Exploration. The result of the self-assessment provides evaluation of the sustainability of operations and guides towards development of operations in the various subareas of exploration and project development sustainability. For each assessment tool, five levels of performance have been determined (C-B-A-AA-AAA). The sustainability of exploration activities, i.e. the level of performance, is defined by the assessment criteria. All companies are expected to comply with the legal and government regulations and requirements described in the self-assessment at level C. Companies on self-assessment levels B-AAA have developed their operations and sustainability to exceed the legal and government regulations and requirements.
Mawson operations were classified to the highest possible AAA levels in "Community relationships" and "The Environment", and to level A, which is well above the Finnish legislative requirements, in "Safety".
Figure 1: Mawson performance levels according to the verification report
The results of the self-assessment of The Standards for Sustainable Exploration are verified by an independent auditor every three years. The verification process has been created to ensure consistent, accurate and transparent self-assessment reporting by the companies committed to the Standards for Sustainable Exploration. The verification process ensures that the level reported by the company is consistent with the conclusion by the verifier. Verification is based on established auditing practices, such as interviews of relevant persons and checking documents. The verifier, at their discretion, may talk to local communities of interest. The Verification report includes at a statement that confirm the verified results.
Mawson Finland Limited is an exploration stage mining development company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of precious and base metal properties in Finland. The Company is primarily focused on gold and cobalt. The Corporation currently holds a 100% interest in the Rajapalot Gold-Cobalt Project located in Finland. The Rajapalot Project represents approximately 5% of the 100-square kilometre Rompas-Rajapalot Property, which is wholly owned by Mawson and consists of 11 granted exploration permits for 10,204 hectares and 2 exploration permit applications and a reservation notification area for a combined total of 40,496 hectares. In Finland, all operations are carried out through the Company's fully owned subsidiary, Mawson Oy. Mawson maintains an active local presence of Finnish staff with close ties to the communities of Rajapalot.
Additional disclosure including the Company's financial statements, technical reports, news releases and other information can be obtained at mawsonfinland.com or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Media and Investor Relations Inquiries
Please contact: Neil MacRae Executive Chairman at neil@mawsonfinland.com or +1 (778) 999-4653, or Noora Ahola Chief Executive Officer at nahola@mawson.fi or +358 (505) 213-515.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No securities regulatory authority has reviewed or approved of the contents of this news release.
Forward-looking Information
This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information") which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "aims", "may", "could", "would", "will", "must" or "plan". Since forward-looking information is based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, and management of the Company believes them to be reasonable based upon, among other information, the contents of the PEA and the exploration information disclosed in this news release, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, any expected receipt of additional assay results or other exploration results and the impact upon the Company thereof, any expected milestone independent data verification, the continuance of the Company's quality assurance and quality control program, potential mineralization whether peripheral to the existing Rajapalot resource or elsewhere, any anticipated disclosure of assay or other exploration results and the timing thereof, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, including drilling, soil sampling, geophysical and geochemical work, any expected search for additional exploration targets and any results of such searches, potential acquisition by the Company of any property, the growth potential of the Rajapalot resource, all values, estimates and expectations drawn from or based upon the PEA, and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: any change in industry or wider economic conditions which could cause the Company to adjust or cancel entirely its exploration plans, failure to identify mineral resources or any additional exploration targets, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, any failure to receive the results of completed assays or other exploration work, poor exploration results, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary and uncertain nature of the PEA, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
