Search Minerals Commissions Combined Foxtrot/Deep Fox Resource Preliminary Economic Assessment
September 27 2021 - 5:01PM
Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV:
SMY | OTCQB: SHCMF) (“
Search” or
the “
Company”) is pleased to announce that it has
commissioned a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“
PEA
2022”) report on the combined Deep Fox/Fox Trot project
with a target date of completion of Q1 2022.
The completion of an updated NI 43-101 Mineral
Resource estimates for Deep Fox and Foxtrot and completion of PEA
2022 are important next steps as the Company accelerates its
“Sprint to Production”. The PEA 2022 will also provide our
environmental consultants the essential information required to
update and submit the new plan for the Environmental Impact
Statement. We have been completing some baseline studies this year,
which will form part of our submission.
The PEA 2022 will benefit from the following
improvements.
1) Increased Material from Deep Fox
Resource
- PEA 2022 will incorporate the
results of the 7000 m drilling program completed at Deep Fox in
2021.
- The combination of the Deep Fox and
Foxtrot resources will potentially allow for an increase in
production rate to 2,000 tonnes per day compared to the 2016 PEA
(PEA 2016) on Foxtrot alone.
- Assays from Deep Fox have shown
higher grades of the key rare earth elements used in the permanent
magnet market (Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium) as
compared to Foxtrot.
2) Metallurgical Process
Optimization
- The optimization of the Direct
Extraction Process in two pilot plant programs has resulted in
increased recoveries on our key elements (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb).
- The introduction of magnetic
separation into the mineral processing flowsheet will:
(1) produce an iron
ore concentrate by-product, (2) concentrate the rare earths in
15-27% of the ore mass, resulting in a smaller extraction plant
and, (3) open the possibility of making a zirconium/hafnium
by-product.
- Produce a mixed rare earth
carbonate to supply the separation facility.
- New grinding and magnetic
beneficiation added to the flowsheet to optimize capital and
operating costs.
3) Rare Earth Element Price Increases
- Rare earth prices have increased
significantly over the past year, and the upward trending price
escalations are expected to continue.
- Current and future price
projections (Adamas Intelligence) will form the basis for the PEA
economic analysis.
Greg Andrews, President/CEO stated: “We are
focused on delivering PEA 2022. Our exploration and metallurgical
teams have made significant advances since PEA 2016 and we are
excited to capture these benefits in our new economic evaluation.
We are expecting a significant increase in the annual gross
revenue, with the potentially increased production rate, higher
grades and improved recovery rates from our patented Direct
Extraction technology. We continue to optimize our processing
flowsheet with magnetic concentration of rare earth minerals
providing a reduced feed stream to our Direct Extraction process.
As a result of the smaller treatment rate of the concentrate, we
are anticipating capital and operating cost reductions with the new
flowsheet.”
Andrews added: “Search is well positioned to
take advantage of the market focus on critical material supply. The
need for rare earth elements for magnet making is expected to
increase dramatically, mainly driven by the auto industry movement
to electric vehicles using magnetic drives and the increasing pace
of renewable energy generation. Search raised $ 2.52M in flow
through funds for exploration in Labrador in 2021 along with over $
2.2M in hard dollar private placements. Additional funds are also
being received from the exercise of warrants and options, and
support from government grants. The Company is funded to complete
our PEA 2022.”
Search is following the COVID protocols which
are currently in place within the Province of Newfoundland &
Labrador to ensure the safety of our employees and the communities
where we work.
Qualified Persons:
Dr. David Dreisinger, Ph.D., P.Eng, is the
Company’s Vice President, Metallurgy, and Qualified Person (as
defined by National Instrument 43-101) who has supervised the
preparation of and approved the technical information reported
herein. The company will endeavour to meet high standards of
integrity, transparency, and consistency in reporting technical
content, including geological and assay (e.g., REE) data.
About Search Minerals Inc.
Led by a proven management team and board of
directors, Search is focused on finding and developing Critical
Rare Earths Elements (CREE), Zirconium (Zr) and Hafnium (Hf)
resources within the emerging Port Hope Simpson – St. Lewis CREE
District of South East Labrador. The Company controls a belt 63 km
long and 2 km wide and is road accessible, on tidewater, and
located within 3 local communities. Search has completed a
preliminary economic assessment report for
FOXTROT, and a resource estimate for DEEP
FOX. Search is also working on three exploration prospects
along the belt which include: FOX MEADOW, SILVER
FOX and AWESOME FOX.
Search has continued to optimize our patented
Direct Extraction Process technology with the generous support from
the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation,
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and from the Atlantic
Canada Opportunity Agency. We have completed two pilot plant
operations and produced highly purified mixed rare earth carbonate
concentrate and mixed REO concentrate for separation and
refining.
For further information, please
contact:
Greg AndrewsPresident and CEOTel:
604-998-3432E-mail: info@searchminerals.ca
Neither the 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 Statement Regarding
“Forward-Looking” Statements:
Except for the statements of historical fact,
this news release contains "forward-looking information" within the
meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is
based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of
this news release. "Forward-looking information" in this news
release includes information about the Company’s proposed
exploration programs described herein, and other forward-looking
information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those described in such forward-looking information
include, but are not limited to, the inability to obtain the
necessary resources to complete the exploration programs and poor
exploration results.
The forward-looking information in this news
release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or
beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to
the Company. In connection with the forward-looking information
contained in this news release, the Company has made assumptions
about the Company's financial condition and development plans do
not change as a result of unforeseen events, and that the Company
will receive all required regulatory approvals.
Although the Company believes that the
assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are
reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of
future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put
on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The
Company does not assume any obligation to update the
forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual
results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking
statements, unless and until required by applicable securities
laws. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is
contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities
regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.
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