The South African firm Gold Fields has announced that it could begin operations at a palladium and platinum project in Northern Finland within three years.

Work could begin as early as two years from now, but the decision to go ahead will be made with reference to the mine's viability in terms of the market for palladium.

The Arctic Platinum Partnership (APP), which is to be taken over entirely by Gold Fields, could yield up to 400,000 ounces of platinum, palladium and gold each year for at least a decade, according to Gold Fields chief of international operations John Munro.

'The target is…for the feasibility study to be completed in nine to 12 months', he told Reuters. Following the completion of a study, it could take up to two years for the mine to begin extractions.

'The APP consists of a very large field of deposits', Mr Munro continued. 'It's the most significant pgm deposit outside the known ones in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Russia.'

Yet, whatever the potential of the resource, he said Gold Fields would make its decision on when, and on what scale, to start mining the deposit on the basis of palladium markets compared to those for platinum.