Key Milestone with Planned Bulk Sample
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 15, 2022 /CNW/ - Foran Mining
Corporation (TSXV: FOM) (OTCQX: FMCXF) ("Foran" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce it has received initial permits
from the Environmental Protection Branch of the Ministry of
Environment of Saskatchewan for a
proposed exploration decline as part of its pre-development program
at its 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay Project in Saskatchewan.
Key Highlights:
- The receipt of initial permits represents a significant
milestone for the Company as we continue to advance the McIlvenna
Bay Project towards full construction.
- Underground development associated with the exploration
decline is planned to be ~1,475 metres ("m") in length, and is
expected to reach the orebody in H2/22.
- Upon completion, Foran plans to extract a ~4,400 tonne bulk
sample for metallurgical testing and conduct underground
drilling.
- In addition to the physical construction of the decline, the
pre-development program will include surface preparation work and
the purchase of various equipment and infrastructure items that
would also be used once in production.
- Foran has awarded contracts related to land clearing,
earthworks and civil construction to the Hanson Lake Northern JV, a
partnership between Peter Ballantyne Group of Companies, CPI
Construction and ThreeoSix Industrial.
- The process to secure the Approval to Operate is underway.
Foran will advance Environmental Assessment activities concurrent
with development of the exploration decline.
- Surface preparation associated with the program has already
commenced (see Figures 1-7).
Dan Myerson, CEO & Executive
Chairman, commented "The construction of an exploration
decline represents a significant key pre-construction project for
Foran that will de-risk the timeline and capital costs to first
production at McIlvenna Bay. We are pleased to be working on this
project with the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and create benefits
for the local economy. With the program now underway, we are very
excited for a catalyst-rich year at Foran that includes a pending
feasibility study, an exciting regional exploration campaign, and
updates on the development of our pioneering ESG business approach.
We look forward to sharing the results from all our ongoing
initiatives throughout 2022."
Exploration Decline Technical Overview
McIlvenna Bay's exploration decline is expected to be ~1,475m in
length down to a depth of ~90m below surface. Approximately
850m of ramp development is required
to access the deposit where a single 100m cross-cut will be developed into the hanging
wall to facilitate bulk sample collection. The remaining
development metres are attributable to a planned exploration drift.
The Company expects to mine a 4,400 tonne bulk sample that will be
used to confirm metallurgical test-work and further optimize
processing design. The sample will also provide the opportunity to
complete ore sorting test-work, and verify characterizations of
mill tailings product to accurately define long-term dry-stack
tailings management requirements. Underground mapping and drilling
will also be conducted to improve the Company's knowledge of the
deposit.
Surface work has already commenced, with blasting and clearing
of the boxcut ongoing. Key contracts have been awarded, including
to the Hanson Lake Northern Joint Venture ("HLNJV"), of which the
Peter Ballantyne Group of Companies is a partner. The HLNJV was
awarded the surface work contract including land clearing,
earthworks and civil construction. Cementation Canada Inc. has been
awarded the underground contract for portal construction and
decline development.
Remaining Permit Approval Process
Foran has been working collaboratively with the Ministry of
Environment of Saskatchewan and
received approvals to begin construction of certain items including
the development of the boxcut, jet grouting the sandstone layer of
the planned decline, building the ore and waste pad, and the
containment pond system. Following the receipt of the remaining
approvals required to complete construction, Foran will work on
securing the Approval to Operate. The Company is in the process of
preparing the required documentation, and approvals are expected in
due course.
Saskatchewan
Permitting Process
The Company is advancing the Saskatchewan Environmental
Assessment ("EA") process required for subsequent mine construction
concurrent with the exploration decline construction and operation.
The McIlvenna Bay Project is considered a development and must
obtain Ministerial approval pursuant to The Environmental
Assessment Act (Saskatchewan)
before construction can proceed. Foran has already commenced
work required for EA approval, and as part of the process the
Company must conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment and submit
an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") for review to the
Ministry of Environment.
Upon submission of the EIS, which Foran expects to complete in
Q2/22, a technical review is completed through the Saskatchewan
Environmental Assessment Review Panel, who are tasked with
providing advice on the adequacy, accuracy and completeness of the
EIS. Following the panel's review and response to comments by
Foran, the EIS and final Technical Review Comments are available
for public review and written comment for 30 or 60-calendar days.
Once the public review period and the Government's Duty to Consult
process with local First Nations is complete, the Minister of
Environment would make a decision on approving the EA for the
project. In parallel with the EA approval process, the Company
plans to complete all other required regulatory permits and
licenses, including but not limited to, mine surface lease
agreements, construction permits, fisheries authorizations, and the
Approval to Operate a Pollutant Control Facility.
Qualified Person
Mr. Denis Flood, P.Eng, is the
Qualified Person for all technical information herein and has
reviewed and approved the technical information in this
release.
About Foran Mining
Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and
development company, committed to supporting a greener future,
empowering communities and creating circular economies which create
value for all our stakeholders, while also safeguarding the
environment.
Our goal is to build the first carbon neutral copper mine in
Canada by design. We are in the
feasibility stage of development for our flagship McIlvenna Bay
project in eastern Saskatchewan.
The project is located entirely within the traditional territory of
the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. The company also owns the
Bigstone project, a resource-development stage deposit located 25km
southwest of its McIlvenna Bay project.
McIlvenna Bay is a copper-zinc-gold-silver rich VHMS deposit
intended to be the centre of a new mining camp in a prolific
district that has already been producing for 100 years. McIlvenna
Bay sits just 65km from Flin Flon,
Manitoba and is part of the world class Flin Flon Greenstone
Belt that extends from Snow Lake,
Manitoba, through Flin Flon
to Foran's ground in eastern Saskatchewan, a distance of over 225km.
McIlvenna Bay is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the
region. The Company filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the
updated resource estimate for the McIlvenna Bay deposit on
February 11, 2022, wherein the
Indicated Resources increased to 39.1 million tonnes, a 70%
increase compared to the previous resource estimate from 2019.
Foran's copper-zinc Bigstone Deposit could potentially serve as
additional feed for the mill at McIlvenna Bay. The Company filed a
NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bigstone Deposit's first
resource estimate on February 11,
2022.
Foran trades on the TSX.V under the symbol "FOM" and on the
OTCQX under the symbol "FMCXF".
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that
term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy of this release. No stock exchange,
securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved the information contained herein.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains "forward-looking information" (also
referred to as "forward looking statements"), which relate to
future events or future performance and reflect management's
current expectations and assumptions. Often, but not always,
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words
such as "plans", "hopes", "expects", "is expected", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or
"believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such
words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be
achieved. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's
current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and
information currently available to the Company. All statements,
other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking
statements or information. Forward-looking statements or
information in this news release relate to, among other things:
complete the feasibility study in a timely manner, and the
anticipated capital and operating costs, sustaining costs, net
present value, internal rate of return, payback period, process
capacity, average annual metal production, average process
recoveries, anticipated mining and processing methods, proposed PFS
production schedule and metal production profile, anticipated
construction period, anticipated mine life, expected recoveries and
grades, anticipated production rates, infrastructure, social and
environmental impact studies, undertaking the advanced exploration
program and decline; extract the required amount of material for
testwork; receipt of permits in a timely manner; future financial
or operating performance of the Company, subsidiaries and its
projects, estimation of mineral resources, exploration results,
opportunities for exploration, development and expansion of the
McIlvenna Bay Project, its potential mineralization, the future
price of metals, the realization of mineral reserve estimates,
costs and timing of future exploration, the timing of the
development of new deposits, requirements for additional capital,
foreign exchange risk, government regulation of mining and
exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation expenses,
title disputes or claims, insurance coverage and regulatory
matters. In addition, these statements involve assumptions made
with regard to the Company's ability to develop the McIlvenna Bay
Project and to achieve the results outlined in the PFS, and the
ability to raise capital to fund construction and development of
the McIlvenna Bay Project.
These forward-looking statements and information reflect the
Company's current views with respect to future events and are
necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while
considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to
significant operational, business, economic and regulatory
uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: our
mineral reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions upon
which they are based, including geotechnical and metallurgical
characteristics of rock confirming to sampled results and
metallurgical performance; tonnage of ore to be mined and
processed; ore grades and recoveries; assumptions and discount
rates being appropriately applied to the technical studies; success
of the Company's projects, including the McIlvenna Bay Project;
prices for zinc, copper, gold and silver remaining as estimated;
currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of
funds for the Company's projects; capital decommissioning and
reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates and
the assumptions upon which they are based; prices for energy
inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including
transportation); no labour-related disruptions; no unplanned delays
or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all
necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received
in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental,
health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not
exhaustive.
The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements
and information include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause actual results and developments to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements or information contained in this news
release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on
or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without
limitation: the projected and actual effects of the COVID-19
coronavirus on the factors relevant to the business of the
Corporation, including the effect on supply chains, labour market,
currency and commodity prices and global and Canadian capital
markets, fluctuations in zinc, copper, gold and silver prices;
fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials,
supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in
currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S.
dollar); operational risks and hazards inherent with the business
of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards,
industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected
geological or structure formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe
weather); inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain
insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; our ability to obtain
all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a
timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government
practices in Canada, including
environmental, export and import laws and regulations; legal
restrictions relating to mining; risks relating to expropriation;
increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and
qualified personnel; the availability of additional capital; title
matters and the additional risks identified in our filings with
Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). Although
the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other
factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated,
described or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue
reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof
and, except as required by applicable securities regulations, the
Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to
update the forward-looking information.
SOURCE Foran Mining Corporation