VM:CC - Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Submits Notice of Work to Extract 2000 Tonnes of Barium Sulfate from Frances Creek Project
(TheNewswire)
Calgary, Alberta – TheNewswire - September 22, 2022 - Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. ( TSXV:VM )( OTC :VYYRF) (the"Company" or "Voyageur") has submitted a notice ofwork with the BC Ministry of Mines ( BCMM ), for theremoval of 2,000 tonnes of barite in 2023. Upon approval from theBCMM, this sample will be used for testing on a new activepharmaceutical ingredient ( API ) pilot plant, that is tentativelyscheduled to begin construction in 2023. Voyageur will excavatesmall, 2-metre-wide surface trenches, to remove 1,000 tonnes of baritefrom the A zone and 1,000 tonnes from the B zone. This tonnage isexpected to allow for a complete testing and modifications to the newbarium API pilot plant that the Company plans to construct. Uponcompletion of this work program, a notice of work for a Small Quarry will besubmitted to the BC Ministry of Mines, with plans for full productionin 2024.
The 2,000 tonnes are expected to be a high-grade samplewith low waste. Voyageur's goal is to extract 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes ofhigh purity barium sulfate from this sample, to be used in bariumcontrast manufacturing. To put the number in perspective, 1,000 tonnesof pharmaceutical grade barium sulfate, can create:
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Approximately 111,111,000 bottles of SmoothX smoothiecontrast media, or
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Approximately 3,000,000 bottles of HDX powderedcontrast media
This is a major step forward to bring the Frances Creekbarium sulfate project into production. SGS Canada completed aPreliminary Economic Assessment (the " SGS PEA ") andassigned a NPV of $344 millionwith an IRR of 137% , to the Frances Creekproject. By moving this project to production, Voyageur will be ableto begin to capitalise on its barium resource.
Voyageur's management is designing a new barium APIpilot plant, with the goal to reduce the capital required, compared tothe SGS PEA, that stated capital required of $36 Million over threeyears. Voyageur’s plan is to build a lower cost production facility,fast track production, process the 2,000 tonnes of barium sulfate andcomplete full feasibility based on live real time sales of product.This is expected to allow the Frances Creek project to be valued witha NI 43-101 defined reserve.
Brent Willis, CEO states, “this is a major milestone, to bring theFrances Creek project into production, which is a major step forwardto fully integrating the barium contrast industry in North America.Our production costs are expected to be significantly lower than allcompetitors in this industry, allowing Voyageur to be highlycompetitive. We live in a world of supply chain risk and Voyageur ispoised to take full advantage of the current crisis and begin tosupply our products to the health care industry, with secure supplyand logistics to ensure customer satisfaction.”
Voyageur has issued 300,000 stock options with anexercise price of $0.10/share, to Albert Deslauriers, Voyageur’sinterim CFO.
About Voyageur
Voyageur is a Canadian public company listed on theTSXV under the trading symbol VM. Voyageur is focused on thedevelopment of barium and iodine Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients(“API”) and high-performance cost-effective imaging contrastagents for the medical radiology marketplace. Voyageur’s goal is toinitially generate positive cash flow from operations using thirdparty GMP pharmaceutical manufacturers in Canada. Ultimately, Voyageurhas plans to build all the required infrastructure to become 100%self-sufficient with all manufacturing. Voyageur owns a 100% interestin three barium sulphate
(barite) projects including the Frances Creek property,suitable in grade for the pharmaceutical barite marketplace, withinterests in a high-grade iodine, lithium & bromine brine projectlocated in Utah, USA. Voyageur is moving forwardwith its business plan of becoming the only fully integrated companyin the radiology medical field, by controlling all primary input costsunder the motto of: "Fromthe Earth to the Bottle".
For Further MediaInformation or to set up an interview, please contact:
BrentWillis
President &CEO
www.voyageurpharmaceuticals.ca
AlDeslauriers
CFO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange norits Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in thepolicies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for theadequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding“Forward-Looking” Information
This news releasemay contain certain forward-looking information and statements,including without limitation: approvals from the BC Government for theremoval of the barite, the small quarry and the API pilot plant; thetiming for the extraction, small quarry and API pilot plant; theamount of US Pharmacopeia pharmaceutical barium sulfate that can becreated from the 2,000 tonnes of barite; and availability offinancing. All statements included herein, other than statements ofhistorical fact, are forward-looking information and such informationinvolves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurancethat such information will prove to be accurate, and actual resultsand future events could differ materially from those anticipated insuch information. A description of assumptions used to develop suchforward-looking information and a description of risk factors that maycause actual results to differ materially from forward-lookinginformation can be found in the Company's disclosure documents on theSEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Voyageur does not undertake to updateany forward-looking information except in accordance with applicablesecurities laws.
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