Itafos Announces Record of Decision Providing Path to Extend Conda Resource Life Through 2037
April 24 2023 - 8:30AM
Itafos Inc. (TSX-V: IFOS) (“Itafos” or the “Company”) announced
today the Record of Decision (“ROD”) for the Husky 1 / North Dry
Ridge (“H1 / NDR”) mine development project. The
Company anticipates breaking ground this summer. The H1 / NDR
project will be internally funded and comprises primarily of
infrastructure and mine development. Mineral resources from H1 /
NDR are expected in 2026,(1) providing an uninterrupted supply as
the Rasmussen Valley Mine reaches the end of its useful life.
“The Itafos team has taken several steps to
unlock stakeholder value including reducing leverage, extending
debt maturities and establishing an industry leading safety
culture,” said David Delaney, Chief Executive Officer. He added
“the Record of Decision is another important step toward achieving
our strategic goal of extending Conda’s mine life with H1 / NDR.
This supports over five hundred jobs in southeast Idaho, where we
mine and manufacture phosphate ore and fertilizers in support of
North American agriculture. Itafos, and the Conda community, would
like to thank the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest
Service and all the other regulatory agencies for their diligent
and collaborative work on this project. The permit will allow
us to work to continue to serve the North American fertilizer
market through 2037 with potential to further extend the resource
life through leases and third-party arrangements. Itafos is excited
about this next chapter and will begin breaking ground this
summer.”
About
Itafos
The Company is a phosphate and specialty
fertilizer company. The Company’s businesses and projects are as
follows:
- Conda – a
vertically integrated phosphate fertilizer business located in
Idaho, US with production capacity as follows:
- approximately
550kt per year of monoammonium phosphate (“MAP”), MAP with
micronutrients (“MAP+”), superphosphoric acid (“SPA”), merchant
grade phosphoric acid (“MGA”) and ammonium polyphosphate (“APP”);
and
- approximately 27kt per year of
hydrofluorosilicic acid (“HFSA”);
- Arraias – a vertically integrated
phosphate fertilizer business located in Tocantins, Brazil with
production capacity as follows:
- approximately 500kt per year of
single superphosphate (“SSP”) and SSP with micronutrients (“SSP+”);
and
- approximately 40kt per year of
excess sulfuric acid (220kt per year gross sulfuric acid production
capacity);
- Farim – a high-grade phosphate mine
project located in Farim, Guinea-Bissau;
- Santana – a vertically integrated
high-grade phosphate mine and fertilizer plant project located in
Pará, Brazil; and
- Araxá – a vertically integrated
rare earth elements and niobium mine and extraction plant project
located in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The Company’s shares trade on the TSX Venture
Exchange (“TSX-V”) under the ticker symbol “IFOS”.
For more information, or to join the Company’s
mailing list to receive notification of future news releases,
please visit the Company’s website at www.itafos.com.
Scientific and Technical
Information
Note (1) – Timeline for Husky 1 / North Dry
Ridge based on management estimates and subject to certain
assumptions, including successful permitting and development
activities. The Husky 1 / North Dry Ridge mine life extension is
based on a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“2019 PEA”) included in
the Conda Technical Report (as defined below). The 2019 PEA on the
H1 and NDR properties is preliminary in nature and includes
inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them
that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and
there is no certainty that the 2019 PEA will be realized. Readers
are referred to the Conda Technical Report for the applicable
qualifications and assumptions in connection with its 2019 PEA.
The scientific and technical information
contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by
Jerry DeWolfe, Professional Geologist (P.Geo.) with the Association
of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. Mr. DeWolfe
is a full-time employee of Golder Associated Ltd. and is
independent of the Company. The Company’s latest technical report
in respect of Conda is entitled, “NI 43-101 Technical Report on
Itafos Conda and Paris Hills Mineral Projects, Idaho, USA,” with an
effective date of July 1, 2019 (the “Conda Technical Report”) and
is available under the Company’s website at www.itafos.com and
under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking
Information
Certain information contained in this news
release constitutes forward-looking information, including
statements with respect to the timing for commencement of
operations at H1 / NDR, the expected resource life of H1 / NDR and
the sources of funding to be used for the development of H1 / NDR.
All information other than information of historical fact is
forward- looking information. The use of any of the words “intend”,
“anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”,
“will”, “project”, “should”, “would”, “believe”, “predict” and
“potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward- looking information. This information involves known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those
anticipated in such forward-looking information.
The FLI contained in this news release is based
on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management set out
herein, which management believes are reasonable as at the date the
statements are made. Those opinions, assumptions and estimates are
inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and
other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or
results to differ materially from those projected in the FLI. These
include the Company’s expectations and assumptions with respect to
the following: commodity prices; operating results; safety risks;
changes to the Company’s mineral reserves and resources; risk that
timing of expected permitting will not be met; changes to mine
development and completion; foreign operations risks; changes to
regulation; environmental risks; the impact of adverse weather and
climate change; general economic changes, including inflation and
foreign exchange rates; the actions of the Company’s competitors
and counterparties; financing, liquidity, credit and capital risks;
the loss of key personnel; impairment risks; cybersecurity risks;
risks relating to transportation and infrastructure; changes to
equipment and suppliers; adverse litigation; changes to permitting
and licensing; loss of land title and access rights; changes to
insurance and uninsured risks; the potential for malicious acts;
market volatility; changes to technology; changes to tax laws; the
risk of operating in foreign jurisdictions; and the risks posed by
a controlling shareholder and other conflicts of interest. Readers
are cautioned that the foregoing list of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions is not exhaustive.
Although the Company has attempted to identify
crucial factors that could cause actual actions, events or results
to differ materially from those described in FLI, there may be
other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. Additional risks and
uncertainties affecting the FLI contained in this news release are
described in greater detail in the Company’s current Annual
Information Form and current Management’s Discussion and Analysis
available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and
on the Company’s website at www.itafos.com. There can be no
assurance that FLI will prove to be accurate, as actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such information. The reader is cautioned not to place undue
reliance on FLI. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements if circumstances or management’s
estimates, assumptions or opinions should change, except as
required by applicable securities law. The FLI included in this
news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement
and is made as of the date of this news release.
NEITHER THE TSX-V NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES
PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX-V)
ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS
RELEASE.
For further
information, please
contact:
Matthew O’NeillItafos Investor Relations investor@itafos.com
713-242-8446
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