VANCOUVER, March 20, 2017 /CNW/ - Trilogy Metals Inc.
(TSX, NYSE-MKT: TMQ) ("Trilogy Metals" or "the Company") is pleased
to announce that it intends to undertake a pre-feasibility study
("PFS") on the high-grade Arctic deposit located in northwest
Alaska. The PFS will be
supported by information collected during the 2015 and 2016 field
seasons as well as additional information to be collected during
the 2017 summer field program. A budget totaling $7.1 million for fiscal 2017 has received board
approval, and will focus mainly on the Arctic Project PFS with an
anticipated completion date of Q1 2018. The Arctic Project is
a very high-grade polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide
("VMS") deposit, hosting copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver
mineralization with an average grade of 6% copper equivalent which
has the potential to be mined in an open-pit.
The PFS will incorporate all of the information collected over
the past two years of in-fill drilling and related studies,
including: an updated resource model; geotechnical pit-slope
stability studies; hydrology; waste rock characterization and
metallurgy (all of which are now completed, or will be
shortly). The remaining field work to be completed during
this field season will cover studies related to determining the
placement of all site facilities, including: the ore processing
facility (crushing and milling); the waste rock and tailings
disposal area(s); water storage ponds and supporting road
infrastructure. In addition, on-going environmental data
collection will continue - sufficient to be used to support a PFS
level of study. Site work will include geotechnical drilling,
hydrology installations, and test pits for site facility locations
and mine design, and geophysical ground surveys to evaluate ground
conditions. A significantly expanded environmental baseline
program will further the ongoing baseline data collection
including: aquatic studies, avian and large mammal surveys, water
balance programs will be expanded, and collection of data from the
existing meteorological station will continue. Surface water
quality testing will continue from the programs initiated in
earlier years and groundwater quality monitoring will begin.
Previous wetlands delineation information will be analyzed during
the year for submission of a jurisdictional determination to the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The PFS on the Arctic deposit is
expected to be completed in Q1 2018, with a view to re-categorizing
the resources at Arctic to reserves.
Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, President
and CEO of Trilogy Metals commented, "We are pleased to have
received board approval for the 2017 plan and budget to complete a
PFS on Arctic. The PFS will demonstrate the true value of the
high-grade Arctic deposit which we expect will be the first in a
series of potential mines in the Ambler mining district. With
the recent announcement that the BLM has initiated the permitting
process on the AMDIAP, as well as an upswing in demand for copper
and zinc, the Company is well positioned to add value for
shareholders by advancing development of the world-class Ambler
mining district."
On March 6, 2017, the Company
announced that the permitting process is advancing on the Ambler
Mining District Industrial Access Project ("AMDIAP"). The Notice of
Intent ("NOI") initiating the permitting process under the National
Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") for the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") on the AMDIAP was published
on February 28, 2017 by the Bureau of
Land Management ("BLM") in the U.S. Federal Register. The BLM is
the lead Federal agency for the EIS. This notice initiates the
public scoping process for the EIS with comments due by
May 30, 2017 and outlines a schedule
to complete the EIS by December, 2019.
The Company intends to sign a new MOU with the Alaska Industrial
Development and Export Authority ("AIDEA") that will set the
foundation to work together during the next permitting phase of the
AMDIAP. Please see the Company's recent press release titled
"Permitting Advances on Ambler Access Road", dated March 6, 2017, as well as visit the AIDEA website
- http://www.ambleraccess.org// for more information on the
AMDIAP.
Qualified Person
Erin Workman, P.Geo, Director of
Technical Services and an employee of Trilogy Metals, is a
Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Ms.
Workman has reviewed the scientific and technical information in
this news release and approves the disclosure contained herein.
About Trilogy Metals
Trilogy Metals Inc., formerly NovaCopper Inc., is a metals
exploration company focused on exploring and developing the Ambler
mining district located in northwestern Alaska. It is one of the richest and
most-prospective known copper-dominant districts located in one of
the safest geopolitical jurisdictions in the world. It hosts
world-class polymetallic VMS deposits that contain copper, zinc,
lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which
have been found to host high grade copper mineralization.
Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler
mining district - the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate
replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within the Company's
land package that spans approximately 143,000 hectares. The Company
has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., a Regional
Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the
exploration and potential development of the Ambler mining district
in cooperation with local communities. Our vision is to develop the
Ambler mining district into a premier North American copper
producer.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release includes certain "forward-looking
information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian and United States
securities legislation including the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein, including,
without limitation, statements relating to the potential timing and
preparation of a PFS on the Arctic deposit, the future operating or
financial performance of the Company, planned
expenditures and the anticipated activity at the UKMP
Projects, and anticipated activity with respect to the AMDIAP, are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects",
"anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential",
"possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events,
conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or
be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include
statements regarding perceived merit of properties; exploration
plans and budgets; mineral reserves and resource estimates; work
programs; capital expenditures; timelines; strategic plans; market
prices for precious and base metals; or other statements that are
not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements involve various
risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the Company's expectations include the
uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to
explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the
debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the
interpretation of drilling results and geological tests and the
estimation of reserves and resources; the need for cooperation of
government agencies and native groups in the development and
operation of properties as well as the construction of the access
road; the need to obtain permits and governmental approvals; risks
of construction and mining projects such as accidents, equipment
breakdowns, bad weather, non-compliance with environmental and
permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological
structures, metal grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost
increases, which could include significant increases in estimated
capital and operating costs; fluctuations in metal prices and
currency exchange rates; and other risks and uncertainties
disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended November 30, 2016 filed with
Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other Company
reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory
authorities from time to time. The Company's forward-looking
statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the
date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to
update the forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions,
projections, or other factors, should they change, except as
required by law.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors
The Arctic Preliminary Economic Assessment and the Bornite
Technical Report have been prepared in accordance with the
requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of
U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and
reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared
in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards
on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule
developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which
establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of
scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects.
Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from
the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), and resource and reserve information contained
therein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by
U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, the term "resource" does not equate to the term
"reserves". Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be
classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made
that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced
or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The
SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of
information concerning "measured mineral resources", "indicated
mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources" or other
descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits
that do not constitute "reserves" by U.S. standards in documents
filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any
part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be
converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that
"inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as
to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and
legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an
"inferred mineral resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher
category. Under Canadian rules, estimated "inferred mineral
resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility
studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume
that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" exists or is
economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces"
in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations;
however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report
mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards
as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.
The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves" are
also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the
Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves"
under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral
deposits set forth in this press release or the Bornite Technical
Report may not be comparable with information made public by
companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.
SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc.