Further to its press release of March 9, 2020,
Almaden
Minerals Ltd. (“Almaden” or “the Company”; AMM: TSX; AAU: NYSE
American) is pleased to announce that the irrigation dam
developed by the Company in partnership with the Federal Government
water authority (“CONAGUA”) and a local irrigation group from the
community of Zacatepec, is now in operation.
Since the completion of construction in March,
the reservoir has filled with water, additional equipment including
pipelines and filters have been added, and the first crops are now
being grown. On December 8th, the water users of Zacatepec hosted
an event marking the success of this project to which they invited
representatives of CONAGUA and the Company.
This reservoir is one of the social investment
projects identified by the Company and its consultants which could
bring immediate benefits to the local area even prior to Ixtaca
development.
Almaden has been supporting local initiatives
for many years and is pleased to do so particularly when it can be
as impactful as enhancing access to fresh water and expanding local
irrigation capacity. As the Ixtaca project advances we look forward
to additional projects we can support in partnership with local
communities and authorities which enhance and diversify economic
development opportunities in the region of the Ixtaca project.
A video describing this project and including
interviews with the local users is available at the following URL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mhnTl0dOoM&t=20s.
Photos of the reservoir are attached below, and
additional information regarding Almaden’s interaction with this
and other local communities is available on its website and in its
2019 report on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Background to the
Ixtaca Project and Water
Management
Almaden’s active engagement with communities
local to the Ixtaca project continues. The Company has now hosted
57 community dialogue and technical sessions locally with subject
matter experts where appropriate, and offered opportunities to
local people tour active mines with 500 people participating to
date. The Company has had over 20,000 recorded interactions and has
visited 35 communities with a mobile information module while
holding nine large information meeting attended by over 4,100
people since 2012.
Almaden’s long-standing consultation with
communities local to the Ixtaca project was formalized in 2017
under the highly structured social engagement mechanism known in
Mexico by its acronym, “EVIS” (Trámite Evaluación de Impacto
Social). This effort has given the Company a deep appreciation for
the immediate needs and concerns of local people and generated
valuable input to Ixtaca project design. Understanding areas of
concern that can be mitigated in mine development, and also
identifying opportunities which can be leveraged in mine planning,
has enhanced the project’s potential to permanently boost the
quality of life and economic opportunities in local areas.
For example, this engagement was one of the key
reasons for the Company to adopt dry-stack filtered tailings, as
laid out in the 2019 Feasibility Study. It has also helped to
crystallize planning around the construction of a large water
reservoir (different from the one announced today in Zacatepec)
which will be built during construction and will serve the mine and
local communities during mine operations. This reservoir will be
built as a permanent structure and made available to local
governments at no charge upon mine closure to permanently enhance
local agriculture and community water access. Currently,
communities in Ixtaca lack the infrastructure to fully benefit from
surface water and the majority of this resource is lost or
underused without the type of reservoir planned as part of the mine
development.
The data necessary for planning the water
reservoir has been collected since 2014 by Almaden, with
independent engineering oversight. Together with our consultants we
have maintained a detailed water monitoring program to measure the
pre-mining water quality conditions and to establish a baseline
against which potential future impacts to surface water and
groundwater from mining activity can be evaluated.
The program includes 8 groundwater monitoring
wells and 12 surface water monitoring stations. Rainfall in the
Ixtaca vicinity falls primarily during a relatively short rainy
season. With no local water storage facilities, as noted the flash
flows of water are currently lost to the local communities.
In the 2019 Feasibility Study, a larger water
reservoir to be built at the time of mine development is engineered
to store 1.8 million cubic meters of water, and during operations
is anticipated to supply in excess of 2,000 cubic meters of water
per day to local areas, with a minimum of 500 cubic meters per
day.
John A. Thomas, P. Eng., VP Project Development
of Almaden, and a Qualified Person as defined by National
Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), has reviewed and approved the
scientific and technical contents of this news release. For further
information on the Ixtaca Project, see the Technical Report
entitled “Ixtaca Gold-Silver Project, Puebla State, Mexico, NI
43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study”, with an
effective date of January 24, 2019, which is available on
SEDAR.
About AlmadenAlmaden Minerals
Ltd. owns 100% of the Ixtaca project in Puebla State, Mexico,
subject to a 2.0% NSR royalty held by Almadex Minerals Ltd. The
Ixtaca Gold-Silver Deposit was discovered by Almaden in 2010.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Morgan
Poliquin” Morgan
J. Poliquin, Ph.D., P.Eng.President, CEO and DirectorAlmaden
Minerals Ltd.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain of the statements and information in
this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and “forward-looking information” within the
meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. 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: the outcome of the Amparo proceedings; the outcome of
the challenge by the Company to the applicable Mexican Authorities’
currently position that the Original Concessions are active and
owned by Almaden and the New Concessions are left without effect;
the outcome of the Company’s formal request for SEMARNAT to suspend
the MIA; and the prospects for raising production financing and
preparing for construction in connection with the Ixtaca
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, including
assumptions in respect of both Almaden’s and the applicable Mexican
Authorities’ legal positions, that, while considered reasonable by
the Company, are inherently subject to significant legal,
regulatory, business, operational and economic uncertainties and
contingencies, and such uncertainty generally increases with
longer-term forecasts and outlook. These assumptions include:
stability and predictability in Mexico’s mineral tenure, mining,
environmental and agrarian laws and regulations, as well as their
application and judicial decisions thereon; continued respect for
the rule of law in Mexico; prices for gold, silver and base metals
remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as
estimated; availability of funds; capital, decommissioning and
reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates;
prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services
(including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; all
necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals being received
in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and
ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for
operations; community support in the Ixtaca Project; 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 involve 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. Such risks and other
factors include, among others, risks related to: political risk in
Mexico; crime and violence in Mexico; corruption; environmental
risks, including environmental matters under Mexican laws and
regulations; impact of environmental impact assessment requirements
on the Company’s planned exploration and development activities on
the Ixtaca Project; certainty of mineral title and the outcome of
litigation; community relations; governmental regulations and the
ability to obtain necessary licences and permits; risks related to
mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements,
transfers or claims and other defects in title; changes in mining,
environmental or agrarian laws and regulations and changes in the
application of standards pursuant to existing laws and regulations
which may increase costs of doing business and restrict operations;
as well as those factors discussed the section entitled "Risk
Factors" in Almaden's Annual Information Form and Almaden's latest
Form 20-F on file with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission in Washington, D.C. Although the Company has attempted
to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may
cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from
those described in forward-looking statements or information, there
may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to
be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that our forward-looking statements or information will prove to be
accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by
law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly
any revisions to forward-looking statements or information
contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances
after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
Contact Information:
Almaden Minerals Ltd.Tel. 604.689.7644Email:
info@almadenminerals.comhttp://www.almadenminerals.com/
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4f28fc97-48ab-4440-892d-c8cf4273f3c2
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/12a77181-4f25-4640-9747-3cc8eb8edc26
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f0f2424-c0c5-4ed5-9f6d-f344e3960d66
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