TORONTO, Sept. 4, 2018 /CNW/ - RNC Minerals (TSX: RNX)
("RNC"), in its capacity as Manager of the Dumont Joint Venture
(the "Joint Venture") with Arpent Inc., a subsidiary of Waterton
Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP and Waterton Mining Parallel
Fund Offshore Master, LP ("Waterton"), is pleased to announce that
Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. ("Ausenco") has been awarded the
contract for a feasibility study update for the Dumont
Nickel-Cobalt Project. Ausenco has led all of the earlier
pre-feasibility and feasibility studies completed on the project.
Ausenco, in conjunction with Duro Fulguera, also completed
additional engineering work in 2015 to develop an EPC Lump Sum
Turnkey Proposal for approximately 72% of the capital cost
(see RNC news release dated August 4,
2015).
The feasibility study update will maintain the same project
scope, flowsheet, and overall site layout from the feasibility
study completed in July 2013 in order
to leverage the investment in the prior work. The updated
feasibility study will incorporate the results of the market
value-in-use study recently completed by the Joint Venture, updated
macro-economic assumptions and several other optimizations and
updates, including an updated mine plan, optimization of tailings
deposition, and updated capital and operating costs. The results of
the updated feasibility study are expected to be announced in the
first half of 2019.
"We are very pleased to work again with the high calibre team
from Ausenco and supporting engineering firms to complete the
feasibility study update as we work toward our goal of making a
construction decision in 2019." said Mark
Selby, President and CEO of RNC. "These engineering and
consulting firms have a deep level of knowledge and experience from
their previous work, both at Dumont and other large open pit mining
projects in Canada and abroad. I
look forward to the updated feasibility study results confirming
the inherent value in the structurally low-cost Dumont
Nickel-Cobalt Project, which is well-positioned to deliver the
additional nickel and cobalt required by the early 2020s to meet
strong demand growth from the stainless steel and electric vehicle
markets. Dumont remains one of the world's premier battery metals
projects containing the world's largest undeveloped reserves of
nickel and second largest undeveloped reserves of
cobalt1."
1
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Source: S&P
Global Market Intelligence, company reports (also see RNC news
release dated January 15, 2018)
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About Ausenco
Ausenco is a global diversified
engineering, construction and project management company providing
consulting, project delivery and asset management solutions to the
resources, energy and infrastructure sectors. Ausenco's experience
in nickel-cobalt projects ranges from conceptual, pre-feasibility
and feasibility studies for new project developments to project
execution with EPCM and EPC delivery.
About RNC Minerals
RNC is a multi-asset mineral
resource company with a portfolio of nickel, cobalt, and gold
production and exploration properties. RNC has a 28% interest in a
nickel joint venture with Waterton that owns the Dumont
Nickel-Cobalt Project located in the Abitibi region of Quebec which contains the second largest
nickel reserve and eighth largest cobalt reserve (the largest
undeveloped nickel reserve and second largest undeveloped cobalt
reserve in the world). RNC has a 100% interest in the producing
Beta Hunt gold and nickel mine located in Western Australia and a 35% interest in Orford
Mining Corporation, a mineral explorer focused on highly
prospective and underexplored areas of Northern Quebec and the Carolina Gold Belt in
the United States. RNC also has a
27% stake in the Reed Mine in Manitoba. RNC has a strong management team and
Board with over 100 years of mining experience at Inco and
Falconbridge. RNC's common shares
trade on the TSX under the symbol RNX. RNC shares also trade on the
OTCQX market under the symbol RNKLF.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking information"
including without limitation statements relating to the liquidity
and capital resources of RNC, production guidance and the potential
of the Beta Hunt and Reed mines as well as the and the potential of
the Dumont development project and Orford Mining's Qiqavik, West
Raglan, Jones-Keystone Loflin and Landrum-Faulkner exploration
properties.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of RNC to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could
affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the
supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the
money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and
advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and
unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and
social uncertainties; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of
the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection
or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, projected
cash operating costs, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder
approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements,
refer to RNC's filings with Canadian securities regulators,
including the most recent Annual Information Form, available on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Although RNC has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially
from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be
other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from
those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking
statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news
release and RNC disclaims any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or results or otherwise, except as required by
applicable securities laws.
SOURCE RNC Minerals