NZC-TSX
NORZF-OTCQB
VANCOUVER, Nov. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - NorZinc
Ltd. (TSX: NZC; OTCQB: NORZF) ("NorZinc" or "the Company")
reports its interim financial results and development activities
for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018 ("Q3 2018"). (All amounts are
in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. M = million).
Q3 2018 Results & Recent Highlights
- Financial
-
- $20M financing closes (July)
- Company repays US$10M loan to
become debt free (July)
- Cash at September 30, 2018
$13.0M
- Permitting
-
- Positive decision to resume All Season Road permitting at
Prairie Creek (July)
- Positive recommendation adopted by responsible ministers on All
Season Road (Oct)
- Project related
-
- Prairie Creek Project summer program (Aug-Oct)
- New resource at Lemarchant Newfoundland (Sept)
- Corporate
-
- Completes corporate reorganisation (Sept)
- Company renamed as NorZinc Ltd. (Sept)
- New listing symbols – NZC (TSX), NORZF (OTCQB) (Sept)
- Loss for Q3 2018 $3.3M
Liquidity
At September 30, 2018, the Company
a positive working capital balance of $11,733,000 which included cash and cash
equivalents of $7,960,000 and
short-term investments of $5,026,000.
The Company is debt free, having repaid the US$10 million Project Bridge Loan, including
accrued interest, in full on July 10,
2018.
Prairie Creek
Positive EA Recommendation Adopted
On September 12, 2017, the
Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board ("Review Board")
recommended approval of the proposed All Season Road for the
Prairie Creek Mine. The Review Board issued its Report of
Environmental Assessment and Reasons for Decision for the
Prairie Creek All Season Road Project for the Prairie Creek Mine
("EA Report") and submitted the EA Report to the Federal Minister
of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. The Review
Board recommended that approval of the All Season Road be granted
subject to implementation of the measures described in the EA
Report, which it considers are necessary to prevent significant
adverse impacts on the environment and local people.
On October 9, 2018, the Minister
of Crown-Indigenous Relations, on behalf of the Responsible
Ministers, issued a decision adopting the Review Board's
recommendation that the All Season Road for the Prairie Creek Mine
be approved subject to the Review Board's conditions.
Prairie Creek Plans Going Forward
The permitting process has now entered the regulatory phase,
conducted by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board ("Water
Board") which will receive input from territorial and federal
agencies, culminating in road permits being issued by the Water
Board and by Parks Canada. These permits will incorporate the
recommended mitigation measures included in the EA Report. The
regulatory phase is expected to be completed the mid-2019.
The All Season Road follows the general alignment of the already
permitted Winter Road, while reflecting the terrain, site
characteristics, and road specifications suitable and preferred for
an all season road. The road from the mine to Km 37.4 is permitted
for all season use but needs upgrading along this section,
including realignments and new watercourse crossings.
NorZinc plans to construct the road over a period of three
years. Prior to construction activities, the Company plans to
conduct field investigations and prepare site plans (including
detailed road design) and award construction contracts. Dependent
on the permitting and financing timeline, construction of the All
Season Road is planned to commence from a winter road in early 2020
and continue into 2022, in parallel with continuous and ongoing
site construction and mine development.
Newfoundland Properties - Mineral Resource Estimate
Update
NorZinc owns an extensive mineral land package in central
Newfoundland that includes three
large volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") projects, each with
defined mineral deposits, and excellent exploration potential.
On September 20, 2018, the Company
reported an updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate for the
100% owned Lemarchant zinc-lead-copper-gold-silver VMS deposit and
results of the recent barite metallurgical study. The
Lemarchant deposit is part of NorZinc's 140 km2 land
package in Newfoundland, located
20 km from Teck's past-producing Duck Pond copper-zinc mine.
Highlights of the update include:
- Indicated Resource of 2.42 million tonnes grading 6.15% zinc,
1.60% lead, 0.68% copper, 1.22 g/t gold, 64.0 g/t silver and 23.5%
barite (at 4.0% Zinc Equivalent cutoff)
- Inferred Resource of 0.56 million tonnes grading 4.68% zinc,
1.08% lead, 0.45% copper, 1.06 g/t gold, 44.7 g/t silver and 13.1%
barite (at 4.0% Zinc Equivalent cutoff)
- Total contained metal in the Indicated Resource has increased
by 123% zinc, 162% lead, 129% copper, 136% gold and 111% silver
from prior 2012 resource estimate.
- Barite metallurgical study produced a 97.75% barite concentrate
in bench scale tests.
- Additional drilling since the last resource estimate has
improved the understanding and modelling of the deposit which now
can be applied to further exploration.
Details of the new Mineral Resource Estimate at a cut-off grade
of 4% Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq") can be found in the Technical Report
filed on October 24, 2018 on
SEDAR.
Financial Results for Third Quarter of 2018
For the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported a net
loss and comprehensive loss of $3,450,000 and $7,916,000 respectively compared to a net loss
and comprehensive loss of $2,456,000
and $8,256,000 for the same periods
ended September 30, 2017.
Outlook
NorZinc's focus for 2018 is to continue the development of the
Prairie Creek Project and advance the Prairie Creek Mine towards
production.
At September 30, 2018, the Company
had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling
$13.0 million and a working capital
balance of $11.7 million. The
long-term price outlook for zinc and lead remains positive.
Supported by the robust economics indicated by the 2017 Prairie
Creek feasibility study, NorZinc will continue to pursue all
alternatives for raising the senior financing necessary to complete
the development and construction and put the Prairie Creek Mine
into production.
At the Prairie Creek Mine Site, various care-and-maintenance
programs have been completed over the summer. A helicopter
supported road program to provide additional baseline studies and
data collection for the All Season Road has also been completed.
Further de-risking programs, initiated at the end of the second
quarter, continue and include detailed engineering and design of
the mine facilities, assessment of, and proposals for,
rehabilitation of certain site facilities in anticipation of
construction, including site cranes, accommodation, the mill roof
and some electrical facilities. The company will be considering
refurbishment of some of those items in the 2019 site season prior
to main construction activities planned for 2020.
On the permitting and environmental side, the Company received a
positive recommendation of the EA Report by the Responsible
Ministers in October 2018 and has now
moved from the EA process to the permitting phase for the issue of
the land use permits for the All Season Road by the Mackenzie
Valley Land and Water Board and Parks Canada. The regulatory phase
is expected to be completed mid-2019.
The Company continues its engagement with Indigenous groups on
the implementation of various mitigation measures recommended by
the Review Board in the EA Report of the All Season Road to seek
agreement on the incorporation of Dene traditional knowledge and
the inclusion of the Indigenous groups in environmental
monitoring.
About NorZinc
NorZinc is a TSX-listed development company trading under the
symbol "NZC". The Company's key project is the 100%-owned Prairie
Creek Project, an advanced-stage zinc-lead-silver property, located
in the Northwest Territories. The
Company also owns an extensive land package in Newfoundland that it is exploring for
zinc-lead-copper-gold-silver deposits.
This news release should be read in conjunction with the
Company's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial
statements for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018 and the related management's
discussion and analysis which are available on the Company's
website at www.norzinc.com, under the "Financials" section, or
under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Cautionary Statement – Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking
information, including, among other things, the expected completion
of acquisitions and the advancement of mineral properties. This
forward looking information includes, or may be based upon,
estimates, forecasts, and statements as to management's
expectations with respect to, among other things, the completion of
transactions, the issue of permits, the size and quality of mineral
resources, future trends for the company, progress in development
of mineral properties, future production and sales volumes, capital
costs, mine production costs, demand and market outlook for metals,
future metal prices and treatment and refining charges, the outcome
of legal proceedings, the timing of exploration, development and
mining activities, acquisition of shares in other companies and the
financial results of the company. There can be no assurances that
such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do
not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral
resources are considered too speculative geologically to have
economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to
be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that
mineral resources will be converted into mineral reserves.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC")
permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to
disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can
economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms
in this press release, such as "measured," "indicated," and
"inferred" "resources," which the SEC guidelines prohibit U.S.
registered companies from including in their filings with the
SEC.
SOURCE NorZinc Ltd.