/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S. OR THROUGH
U.S. NEWSWIRES/
CALGARY, AB, July 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Highwood Oil Company Ltd.
(TSXV: HOCL) ("Highwood" or the "Company") is pleased to announce
that it is changing its name to Highwood Asset Management Ltd. (the
"Name Change").
Name Change
To better reflect the Company's diversified asset base and
potential future opportunities, the Company found it suitable to
rename itself Highwood Asset Management Ltd. The Name Change was
unanimously approved by the Company's shareholders at the
June 17, 2021 Annual General
Meeting.
The Name Change is amongst the first steps in the Company
transitioning into an asset management entity overseeing various
operations including clean energy transition subsectors with a
focus on ESG. These subsectors may include industrial metals
and minerals (Lithium, Iron, Rare Earth Elements, Vanadium, Silica,
Alumina etc), clean energy technologies, upstream and midstream oil
& gas production & processing, and potentially other
business ventures.
Given its clean balance sheet which provides considerable
financial and operational flexibility, the Company expects that it
will be able to complete several accretive acquisitions to catalyze
material organic growth in 2021. The Company is currently
engaged in several encouraging dialogues regarding various
acquisitions and partnership opportunities. Global optimism
around mitigating COVID-19 and restoring previous economic and
industrial activities has created positive market and investment
sentiment both within and outside oil & gas
space.
The Company's stock ticker on the TSX Venture Exchange will be
changed to HAM. Shareholders do not need to take any action
in connection with the Name Change as the transfer agent will
reflect the change on a push out basis. The Company
anticipates the Name Change being effective July 20, 2021.
Update to Credit Facility
The Company's credit facility is being renewed by its lender to
$2 million, reducing to $1 million at December
31, 2021. The updated facility is expected to be
effective July 30, 2021 with the
Company's next credit review being set for November 30, 2021.
NI 43-101 Technical Report
Highwood commissioned APEX Geoscience Ltd. ("APEX") to prepare a
National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report dated
July 14, 2021 as a geological
introduction to its lithium brine properties (the "Project") held
across Alberta and northeast
British Columbia (the "Technical
Report"). The Technical Report for the Project is available
on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Company's website.
Summary of the Project and the Technical Report:
The Project is comprised of 155 Alberta and British Columbia mineral permits/titles
encompassing 942,575 hectares or 2,329,154 acres (the
"Permits"). Individual groupings of the permits form 28
non-contiguous properties that are spread throughout the
Alberta and northeast British Columbia portions of the Western
Canadian Sedimentary Basin (the "Sub-properties").
The Sub-properties represent an early-stage exploration project
in which Highwood is investigating stratigraphically deep (i.e >
2,000m below surface) Devonian to
Precambrian-aged brine reservoirs, or aquifers, for their
lithium-brine ("Li-brine") potential. The purpose of the
Technical Report is to:
- Provide a geological introduction to Highwood's Permits;
- Summarize historical oil and gas infrastructure that can enable
Highwood to access the brine as a waste product from existing
petro-operations;
- Summarize historical Li-brine studies applicable to the
Permits;
- Document 2021 brine sampling exploration work conducted by
Highwood; and
- Make work recommendations for future Li-brine studies.
The Permits areas were acquired for their deep, confined aquifer
Li-brine potential. The Li-brine is accessible at the earth's
surface via active petro-operations. Devonian and older brine
aquifers have been historically documented to contain anomalous
concentrations of lithium and Highwood conducted a 2021 brine
sampling program to validate the historical information.
Current treatment of the brine from oil & gas wells is
essentially that of a wastewater where the water is re-injected
back down into the subsurface formation after being separated from
the hydrocarbons. Hence the wastewater brine cycle presents a
unique opportunity to develop a potential co-product. Certain
non-commercial water processing procedures have shown the ability
to extract lithium from the Li-brine, however at this stage there
is no guarantee that lithium can be extracted economically with
current technology.
During March-May 2021, Highwood
has collected a total of 54 brine samples at 5 of its 28
Sub-properties in southern and west-central Alberta. The sampling program tested Devonian
and older aquifers, and the sample stream included sample
duplicates and QA-QC sample blanks/standards. The brine samples
were collected and analyzed by independent and accredited
laboratories with petrochemical experience.
To date, and of 5 tested sub-properties, the Drumheller
Sub-property has yielded the highest lithium content values of
37.0-52.6 mg/L Li within the Nisku
and Leduc formations brine
aquifer. Other formations sampled by Highwood at Sub-properties in
west-central Alberta yielded lower
lithium values including the Gilwood Formation (13.5-28.2 mg/L Li)
and Beaverhill Lake Group (19.7-24.8 mg/L Li). In addition to
Highwood's 2021 brine assay program, the Company collected two
20-litre brine samples from the Drumheller Sub-Property for initial
mineral processing test work to explore the recoverability of
lithium from the brine, the results of which, are not yet
available.
Upon completion of the Technical Report, Highwood intends to
shift its focus to:
- Engage APEX to assess a Mineral Resource at their Drumheller, Alberta Sub-property;
- Continue to work with Li-brine extraction technology and
process developers in relation to recovery technologies applicable
to the Company's potential lithium-brine properties;
- Continue sampling for lithium concentrations within Highwood's
permitted areas; and
- Develop a reservoir/aquifer model using existing publicly
available oil & gas information as part of a mineral resource
assessment for the Drumheller Sub-property.
Highwood has also engaged APEX to complete a NI 43-101
introductory Technical Report introducing the Company's interest in
assessing Cretaceous ironstone metal potential associated with its
Permits in northwestern Alberta
including potential Iron, Vanadium, Alumina, Scandium and Rare
Earth Elements. Highwood anticipates completing this report
later in Q3 2021.
As Highwood continues to evaluate and garner increased
information on its lithium Sub-properties, Highwood will continue
to evaluate investor support for a potential public pure play, low
carbon intensity lithium company spinout.
Qualified Person:
D. Roy Eccles, M.SC, P. Geol., of
APEX Geoscience Ltd. is an independent Qualified Person pursuant to
National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and verified the
scientific and technical information disclosed in this news
release.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" or
"FLI" within the meaning of the Canadian securities laws.
Forward-looking information is generally identifiable by use of the
words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "anticipates," "intends,"
"budgets", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "projects"
and similar expressions, and the negative of such expressions.
Forward-looking information in this news release include statements
about the Company's next steps which include resource assessment,
continued exploration and development work, including in respect of
the potential extraction technology, continued sampling and
developing a reservoir model, the completion and timing for the
Cretaceous ironstone NI 43-101 Technical Report, and the evaluation
and potential spinout of a pure play lithium company, as well as
the specific assumptions used to develop such FLI and the specific
risk factors.
In connection with the forward-looking information contained
in this news release, Highwood has made numerous assumptions,
regarding, among other things: the geological, metallurgical,
engineering, financial and economic advice that Highwood has
received is reliable and is based upon practices and methodologies
which are consistent with industry standards. While Highwood
considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and
contingencies.
Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which
could cause Highwood's actual results, performance, or achievements
to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among
others: the Li-brine resource assessment may not be completed as
planned or at all, the exploration and continued sampling may
exceed the budget; continued sampling and the reservoir model may
not achieve the results expected; investor support for a pure play
lithium public spinout; the need to obtain additional financing;
uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing;
the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs and
uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty
as to timely availability of permits and other governmental
approvals.
A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties
facing Highwood is disclosed in Highwood's continuous disclosure
filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at
www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is
qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and
Highwood disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such
forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of
any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained
herein to reflect future results, events, or developments, except
as required by law.
SOURCE Highwood Oil Company Ltd.