CZN-TSX
CZICF-OTCQB
VANCOUVER, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Canadian Zinc
Corporation (TSX: CZN; OTCQB: CZICF) is pleased to announce
that the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board has
recommended approval of the proposed All Season Road for the
Company's Prairie Creek Mine, in the Northwest Territories.
The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board ("Review
Board") issued its Report of Environmental Assessment and
Reasons for Decision for Canadian Zinc's Prairie Creek All
Season Road Project for the Prairie Creek Mine (the "EA Report") on
September 12, 2017 and submitted the
Report to the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Federal Minister of
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.
The Review Board recommends the approval of the Prairie Creek
All Season Road be made subject to implementation of the measures
described in the Report, which it considers are necessary to
prevent significant adverse impacts on the environment and local
people.
"We are pleased that the Review Board has concluded that the
All Season Road may proceed to the regulatory phase for
approvals," said Alan Taylor,
Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Zinc. "The Review Board
has recommended a series of measures and made suggestions, intended
to reduce or avoid identified impacts and mitigate any significant
adverse impact on the environment. Canadian Zinc is
confident that the measures prescribed by the Review Board, many of
which build on Canadian Zinc's commitments made during the
EA, can be satisfactorily addressed."
"The enthusiastic support for the Project voiced by the
leaders and members of Nahanni Butte Dene Band, the nearest
potentially affected community, based on expected socio-economic
benefits, was recognized by the Review Board in considering its
decision."
"We acknowledge the work of the Review Board staff and
various government departments and agencies throughout the lengthy
EA process, including Parks Canada as part of the road runs through
Nahanni National Park Reserve, and we appreciate their cooperation
in addressing and resolving many issues," concluded Mr.
Taylor.
"This is an important milestone for the Prairie Creek project
and Canadian Zinc Corporation," stated John F. Kearney, Chairman and Chief Executive of
Canadian Zinc Corporation. "Having successfully
completed the environmental assessment and secured the
recommendation of the Review Board that development of the All
Season Road be approved, we will now proceed to quickly finalize
the Definitive Feasibility Study and pursue financing for the
construction and development of the Prairie Creek Mine," added
Mr. Kearney.
The full text of the Report of Environmental Assessment and
Reasons for Decision, together with all proceedings, transcripts,
technical reports and detailed information on the environmental
assessment of the Prairie Creek Mine All Season Road
EA1415-01[2014] are available on the website registry of the Review
Board at http://reviewboard.ca/registry/project.php?project_id=680,
under the file of Canadian Zinc Corporation.
Environmental Assessment Background
Over the past eight years Canadian Zinc has successfully
completed numerous environmental assessments related to exploration
and development of the Prairie Creek Mine. Canadian Zinc has
obtained all the significant regulatory permits and social licences
required to complete construction and development and undertake
mining and milling at Prairie Creek, including construction and use
of a winter access road to the mine site.
In April 2014, the Company applied
to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board and to Parks Canada
for Land Use Permits to permit the upgrade of the currently
permitted winter access road to all season use. The application was
referred to environmental assessment by the MVRB, which is
responsible under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management
Act for carrying out the environmental assessment and review
process in the Northwest
Territories.
Throughout the four-year review, representatives of various
parties, including government departments and agencies, local
aboriginal organizations and communities and members of the public,
actively participated in the environmental assessment process.
During the public hearings, the responsible development of the
Prairie Creek Mine received broad support from the Nahanni Butte
Dene Band and from the communities of the Deh Cho First Nations,
recognizing that employment and business opportunities and
expected socio-economic benefits are important to the Deh Cho,
while at the same time, ensuring that cultural heritage is
protected.
Canadian Zinc is currently in the process of negotiating a
Supplemental IBA Agreement with Nahanni Butte Dene Band which will
include co-management and community monitoring of the All Season
Road.
In the Company's Closing Statement filed with the Review Board
on June 5, 2017, Canadian Zinc made
numerous commitments addressing environmental protection, road
design, maintenance and safety. Canadian Zinc made commitments
and/or undertakings to address specific issues about terrain,
soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife habitat, permafrost and karst
topography unique to the area along the route of the All Season
Road, as well as undertakings to incorporate traditional knowledge
and preserve and respect cultural heritage.
In its Report, the Review Board has prescribed measures, many of
which build on Canadian Zinc's commitments made during the EA,
intended to mitigate the significant adverse impacts on the
environment, improve monitoring and managing the potential impacts
and which will also address any public concern related to these
impacts.
The Review Board has recommended the creation of an Independent
Technical Review Panel, to ensure that the road is designed to a
standard that is highly protective of people and the
environment. Some of the Review Board measures also include
requirements that Canadian Zinc negotiate with traditional
knowledge holders from Nahanni Butte Dene Band and other First
Nations about ways to avoid impacts on heritage resources and to
conduct systematic wildlife monitoring and adaptive management
using traditional knowledge.
With these and other measures to reduce or avoid identified
impacts, the Review Board concluded that the Project will be
improved and meaningful actions will mitigate the significant
impacts that would otherwise occur.
Canadian Zinc is confident that the measures prescribed by the
Review Board can be satisfactorily addressed.
All Season Road Permitting Process Going Forward
The EA Report has been forwarded to the Federal Minister of
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, with a
recommendation that the development be approved, subject to the
measures described in the Report and Canadian Zinc looks forward to
Ministerial approval.
The Review Board has concluded that an environmental impact
review of this proposed development is not necessary and that the
proposed All Season Road project should proceed to the regulatory
phase.
The regulatory phase, conducted by the Mackenzie Valley Land and
Water Board with input from territorial and federal agencies, will
be the next permitting stage in which the road permit is issued by
the Water Board and Canadian Zinc looks forward to timely
completion of the permitting process. This permit may include the
recommended measures included in the EA Report.
Development of the All Season Road will enable the
transportation of concentrates, outbound, and supplies, inbound,
spread throughout the year. The road will also have the potential
to reduce energy costs and enable the use of more environmentally
friendly alternative energy sources, as local gas fields in the
Northwest Territories would be a
source of LNG which has the potential to reduce reliance on diesel
fuel, and thereby further reduce environmental impacts.
The All Season Road will also have environmental and safety
benefits as with the trucking spread out over the year, there would
be less traffic volume and avoiding possible congestion in winter,
which will lower the risk of accidents or spills. The road could
also provide the opportunity to promote tourism in the area and
thus create additional, long-term economic benefits for the
region.
The Prairie Creek Mine
The Prairie Creek Mine contains a NI 43-101 Proven and Probable
Reserve of 7.6 million tonnes grading 8.9% Zn; 8.3% Pb and 128 g/t
Ag, which ranks Prairie Creek amongst the highest grade base metal
deposits in the world. These reserves are based upon a Measured and
Indicated resource of 8.7 million tonnes grading 9.5% Zn; 8.9% Pb
and 136 g/t Ag, together with an Inferred resource of 7.0 million
tonnes grading 11.3% Zn, 7.7% Pb, and 166 g/t Ag.
The Prairie Creek Mine already has extensive infrastructure in
place including five kilometres of underground workings on three
levels, a 1,000 ton per day mill, a fleet of heavy duty and light
duty surface vehicles, three surface exploration diamond drill
rigs, camp accommodation, maintenance and water treatment
facilities and a 1,000 metre-long gravel airstrip.
In 2016, the Company completed a Preliminary Feasibility Study
("2016 PFS") (Technical Report filed on SEDAR September 30, 2016) which indicates average
annual production of 60,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 55,000
tonnes of lead concentrate containing a total of 86 million pounds
of zinc, 82 million pounds of lead and 1.7 million ounces of silver
in both zinc and lead concentrates.
The 2016 PFS indicates average annual EBITDA of $64 million per year and cumulative EBITDA of
$1.0 billion over an initial mine
life of 17 years, using metal price forecasts of US$1.00 per pound for both zinc and lead and
US$19.00 per ounce for silver.
Pre-production capital costs, including provision for a new all
season road, were estimated at $244
million, including contingency, with payback of five
years.
Canadian Zinc is currently completing a Definitive Feasibility
Study ("DFS"), which is being carried out by AMC Mining Consultants
(Canada) Ltd. and Ausenco
Engineering Canada Inc. to facilitate the raising of project debt
financing for the Prairie Creek Project. It is expected that the
DFS will be completed in the third quarter of 2017.
About Canadian Zinc
Canadian Zinc is a TSX-listed exploration and development
company trading under the symbol "CZN". The Company's key project
is the 100%-owned Prairie Creek Project, a fully permitted,
advanced-stage zinc-lead-silver property, located in the
Northwest Territories.
The Company also owns an extensive land package in central
Newfoundland that it is exploring
for copper-lead-zinc-silver-gold deposits. The Company's
exploration strategy in central Newfoundland is to continue to build on its
existing polymetallic resource base with the aim of developing
either a stand-alone mine, similar to the past-producing base metal
mines at Buchans and Duck Pond, or
a number of smaller deposits that could be developed simultaneously
and processed in a central milling facility.
Qualified Person: Alan
Taylor, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration, Chief
Operating Officer and Director of the Company, who is a
Non-Independent Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument
43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
("NI 43-101"), has prepared, supervised the preparation of
or reviewed, the parts of this News Release that are of a
scientific or technical nature.
Cautionary Statement – Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking
information, including, among other things, 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 Canadian Zinc Corporation