Geomega Resources Inc. (“
Geomega” or the
“
Corporation”) (TSX.V: GMA) (OTC: GOMRF), a
developer of clean technologies for the mining, refining and
recycling of rare earths, is pleased to announce the continuation
of hydrometallurgical test work on its Montviel rare earths
deposit. The work will be done by Innord, the 100% owned subsidiary
of Geomega, with a $400,000 funding contribution from the Ministère
de l’Énergie et des Ressources Naturelles (“MERN”) of Quebec. To
complement the working budget for this project, Geomega closed a
non-brokered private placement (the “Offering”) of 1,408,055 units
(the “Units”), at a price of $0.27 per Unit, for aggregate gross
proceeds in the amount of $380,175 with Quebec based institutional
investors and insiders of the Corporation. This will allow the
Corporation to have a dedicated budget for this project,
independent of the budget allocated for the construction of the
rare earth magnets recycling plant in St-Bruno, which is
progressing towards equipment ordering, and other R&D projects.
“The Montviel project is one of the most
promising rare earth projects in North America. It’s got the size
and the infrastructure required for an economic project however, we
wanted to confirm that the project would have robust full cycle
economics in all commodity price environments. As our technology
has continued to evolve and improve over the last 7 years, we are
now in a position to be able to start applying our technology and
IP developments to the Montviel flow sheet. Our main goal is to
deliver an economically and environmentally robust rare earths
project in the province of Quebec that can sustain the price swings
that we have seen over the last 10+ years in the rare earths
market. We believe that the proposed hydrometallurgical
improvements will make Montviel a rare earths project that could
operate profitably even at the lowest REE prices that we saw as
recently as 2019, and on the contrary, make it an extremely
profitable and valuable project at the current REE prices, which
have seen an increase of 300% in the last 24 months.” commented
Kiril Mugerman, President & CEO of Geomega.
Montviel Hydrometallurgy
ProjectThe project will be conducted under the “Program to
support the exploration of critical and strategic minerals in
Quebec” offered by the MERN. The 12 to 24-months project has a
budget of $865,324 out of which the government grant program will
contribute $400,000 of non-dilutive funding to the Corporation. The
objective of the project is to improve on the technology that was
developed and patented in 2015 (see news releases from April 29,
2015, May 20, 2015 and June 11, 2020) by incorporating the
knowledge and experience gained from developing the rare earth
recycling project and the bauxite residues project since then.
The main technical objectives to be investigated
in this project are:
- Eliminating the flotation
circuit
- Valorization of the iron
by-product
- Recycling of the main leaching
reagents
The successful implementation of these
objectives would simplify the process of extracting rare earths and
niobium and could significantly reduce its operating costs. The
economic benefits of this project include:
- Cost reduction of the chemical
reagents
- Energy savings by avoiding very
fine grinding that is required for flotation, solid heat recovery
and other adjustments
- Improving total REE recovery
through whole ore leaching
- Reduction of mining waste and
tailings management costs
- Increase of potential revenues
through various by-products
Furthermore, the social and environmental
impacts of the project are similarly important and will help obtain
the required permits in the future and support of the local
communities and the Waswanipi CREE First Nation. The environmental
benefits of this project include:
- Reduction of water consumption
- Reduction of liquid effluents
- Reduction of solid mining waste
volumes
- Reduction of overall energy
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for REE production
compared to previous flowsheet
- Further evaluation of the
possibility of paste-backfill
The results of the project will be used to
complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Montviel
deposit.
“The PEA that will follow once this
hydrometallurgical test work is completed successfully, should
confirm our technological advancements and their economical
benefits and set the stage for the next steps in Montviel rare
earth project development.” continued Mugerman. “The potential
enhanced economics from the metallurgical improvements at Montviel
coupled with a much stronger and sustainable demand for neodymium
and praseodymium, which together account for 21% of the Total REO
at the deposit, position Geomega well for a potentially robust
economic proposition at Montviel going forward. Furthermore, being
able to leverage revenues from the rare earth magnets recycling
plant in St-Bruno and our technical expertise will help avoid
unnecessary dilution for our shareholders.”
Private PlacementThe Offering
of Units consists of one common share (each a
“Share”) and one-half of one share purchase
warrant (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”). Each
Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one additional Share
at a price of $0.40 per Share until the date that is 24 months from
their issue. The securities issued under the Offering have a hold
period of four months and one day from their issue. The Offering is
subject to final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
“We are very grateful to the MERN and the Quebec
based institutional investors who are helping us fund this project
today. Quebec once again leads by example, setting clear goals for
critical and strategic minerals and then supporting that through
funding. Your support and belief in the Montviel deposit is noted
and our technical team will work hard to make rare earth mining in
Quebec a reality.” added Mugerman.
Certain members of the board, being Gilles
Gingras and Nicholas Nickoletopoulos, as well as Mathieu Bourdeau,
Chief Financial Officer, have participated in the closing of the
Offering in the aggregate amount of $26,190 (the “Insiders’
Participation”). The Insiders’ Participation is considered
a “related party transaction” under Regulation 61-101 respecting
Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions
(Québec) (“Regulation 61-101”) and the
corresponding Policy 5.9 of the TSXV; however, the Insiders’
Participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority
shareholder approval requirements provided under Regulation 61-101
in accordance with sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of said Regulation
61-101. The exemption is based on the fact that neither the market
value of the Insiders’ Participation nor the consideration paid
therefor exceeds 25% of the Corporation’s market capitalization.
The Corporation did not file a material change report at least 21
days prior to the closing of the Offering since the Insiders’
Participation was not determined at that moment and the Corporation
wished to close the Offering on an expedited basis for sound
business reasons.
About MontvielGeomega announced
an updated National Instrument 43-101 compliant mineral resource
estimate on its 100% owned Montviel REE and niobium project on June
17, 2015. The entire report is available here and on the
Corporation website. Highlights of the Resource Estimate are
presented below:
Total Mineral Resources
Category |
Million Tonnes |
TREO Grade (%) |
Pr2O3 |
Nd2O3 |
Nb2O5 |
Grade (ppm) |
Contained (K Tonnes) |
Grade (ppm) |
Contained (K Tonnes) |
Grade (ppm) |
Contained (K Tonnes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated |
82.4 |
1.51 |
766 |
63.2 |
2,452 |
202.0 |
1,715 |
141.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inferred |
184.2 |
1.43 |
746 |
137.4 |
2,433 |
448.3 |
1,315 |
242.3 |
-
Mineral resources are estimated and reported in compliance with NI
43-101
-
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have
demonstrated economic viability
-
Other disclosures and assumptions can be seen in the above press
release (June 17, 2015) and in the complete document on the
Corporation website
NI 43-101 DisclosureAlain
Cayer, P. Geo., M.Sc., Vice-President Exploration of Geomega, is
the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 guidelines who supervised and
approved the preparation of the technical information in this news
release.
Change of Auditors The
Corporation also announces it has changed its auditors from
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“Former Auditor“) to MNP LLP
(“Successor Auditor“) effective January 20, 2022.
There were no reservations in the Former
Auditor’s audit reports for any financial period during which the
Former Auditor was the Corporation’s auditor. There are no
“reportable events” (as the term is defined in National Instrument
51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations) between the Corporation
and the Former Auditor.
In accordance with National Instrument 51-102,
the Notice of Change of Auditor, together with the required letters
from the Former Auditor and the Successor Auditor, have been
reviewed by the Corporation’s Audit Committee and filed on SEDAR
accordingly.
About Geomega
(www.geomega.ca)Geomega
develops innovative technologies for extraction and separation of
rare earth elements and other critical metals essential for a
sustainable future. With a focus on renewable energies, vehicle
electrification, automation and reduction in energy usage, rare
earth magnets or neo-magnets (NdFeB) are at the center of all these
technologies. Geomega’s strategy revolves around gradually
de-risking its innovative technology and delivering cashflow and
return value to shareholders while working directly with the main
players in these industries to recycle the magnets that power all
those technologies.
As its technologies are demonstrated on larger
scales, Geomega is committed to work with major partners to help
extract value from mining feeds, tailings and other industrial
residues which contain rare earths and other critical metals.
Irrespective of the metal or the source, Geomega adopts a
consistent approach to reduce the environmental impact and to
contribute to lowering greenhouse gases emissions through recycling
the major reagents in the process.
Geomega’s core project is based around the ISR
Technology (Innord’s Separation of Rare Earths), a proprietary,
low-cost, environmentally friendly way to tap into a C$1.5 billion
global market to recycle magnet production waste and end of life
magnets profitably and safely.
Geomega also owns the Montviel rare earth
carbonatite deposit, the largest 43-101 bastnaesite resource
estimate in North America and holds over 16.8M shares, representing
approximately 14% of the issued and outstanding shares, of Kintavar
Exploration Inc. (KTR.V), a mineral exploration company that is
exploring for copper projects in Quebec, Canada.
About SDBJSDBJ was created
under the James Bay Region Development Act adopted by the Québec
National Assembly in 1971. Its mission is to promote, from a
sustainable development perspective, the economic development,
improvement and exploitation of natural resources other than
hydroelectric resources falling within Hydro-Québec’s mandate in
the Baie James territory. SDBJ can also foster, support and
participate in the implementation of projects having these
objectives.
For further information, please
contact:
Kiril Mugerman |
President and CEO |
Geomega |
450-641-5119 ext.5653 |
kmugerman@geomega.caNancy ThompsonVorticom Public
Relations212-532-2208nancyt@vorticom.comTwitter: @Geomega_REE |
Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
This news release contains statements that may
constitute “forward-looking information” or “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking information and statements may
include, among others, statements regarding future plans, costs,
objectives or performance of the Corporation, or the assumptions
underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such
as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “likely”, “believe”, “expect”,
“anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “estimate” “target” and similar
words and the negative form thereof are used to identify
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not
be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will
not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at
or by which, such future performance will be achieved. No assurance
can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking
information will transpire or occur, including as regards the
commercialization of any of the technology referred to above, or if
any of them do so, what benefits the Corporation will derive.
Forward-looking statements and information are based on information
available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with
respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of
which are beyond the Corporation’s control. These risks,
uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to,
those described under “Risk Factors” in the Corporation’s annual
management’s discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended May
31, 2021, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; they could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from those
projected in any forward-looking statements. The Corporation does
not intend, nor does the Corporation undertake any obligation, to
update or revise any forward-looking information or statements
contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information,
events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by
applicable laws.
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