- Nevado to have an exclusive licence to use Neomet's
patent-pending acid regeneration technology and leaching process
for the TiO2 market
- Nevado/Neomet 70/30 joint venture will combine Nevado's La
Blache titanium-vanadium-iron property with Neomet's processing
technology, making Nevado a more integrated mining company
- The exclusive licence will cover Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as other regions of
North America as may be agreed by
the JV parties
- Richard Faucher, an experienced
senior mining executive, will manage the joint venture
MONTREAL, Jan. 20, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - NEVADO RESOURCES
CORPORATION (TSXV: VDO) (FSE: NSV) ("Nevado" or the
"Corporation") is pleased to announce that it has signed a final
agreement with Neomet Technologies Inc. ("Neomet") to form a joint
venture on the following basis: Nevado - 70%, Neomet - 30%.
The purpose of the joint venture is to develop Nevado's
wholly-owned La Blache property, or other similar properties to be
held by the joint venture. The joint venture will use Neomet's
pilot plant to demonstrate the process at a much larger scale based
on the flowsheet designed at Neomet's mini-plant, and will then
conduct a feasibility study on the property.
The joint venture will have the exclusive right to use Neomet's
patent-pending technology to recover metals from similar ores in
Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as other regions of
North America as may be agreed
from time to time by the joint venture parties.
Michael Curtis, President and CEO
of Nevado, said: "This is a significant agreement for Nevado, as it
will enable us to process our minerals at a larger scale. Neomet's
technology has, so far, proved to be the best process technology
for our minerals. As disclosed in our February 9, 2012 news release, the mini-plant
testing of a 150-kg sample from our La Blache property generated
over 99.9%-pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) and vanadium
(AMV, V2O5, and V2O3)
from a continuous process, as well as pure hematite
(Fe2O3). The planned scale-up step will take
place at Neomet's pilot plant, which is more than one hundred times
the size of the mini-plant, and will test a 20-ton bulk sample at
the rate of one ton per day using the same continuous process. We
will now focus our efforts on completing the necessary financing to
start the pilot plant testing and finish assembling our scientific
team for the project."
Joint venture management
Richard Faucher, Joint Venture
Manager, reporting to both parties
Richard Faucher is a Professional
Engineer trained in metallurgical engineering. Mr. Faucher has
extensive experience in the management of large mining and
metallurgical projects and has held senior management positions at
a number of major mining companies, including President and Chief
Executive Officer of Canadian Royalties Inc., President of Niocan
Inc., Vice President of Brunswick Mining & Smelting for
Noranda Inc.; President and General Manager of Falconbridge
Dominicana, and President and COO of Princeton Mining Corp. during
the construction of the Huckleberry project in British Columbia. Mr. Faucher is a certified
member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and a director
of several companies, including Aurizon Mines Ltd. (sold to Hecla
Mining in 2013), Robex Gold and Silvermet Inc.
Joint venture funding
Pilot plant stage: Nevado will solely raise up to
$500,000 to fund pilot plant testing
of the La Blache minerals, and up to $1
million to carry out a Preliminary Economic Assessment
(PEA), initiate Impact Benefit Agreement discussions with the Innu
Nation, carry out environmental baseline studies and drill to
convert sufficient resources to the Measured and Indicated
category. Subject to regulatory approval, Neomet will have the
right to acquire, in any private placement Nevado may do, up to 10%
of Nevado's equity.
Engineering feasibility decision stage: Nevado will
solely raise up to an additional $10
million to carry out an engineering feasibility study that
meets banking consortium requirements. Subject to regulatory
approval, Neomet will be entitled to acquire, in any private
placement Nevado may do, the number of shares required to maintain
its 10% equity participation in Nevado.
Production decision stage: Nevado and Neomet will be
responsible for financing their proportionate shares (70/30) of
project construction and commissioning.
The joint venture agreement is subject to TSX approval.
About Neomet Technologies
Neomet Technologies is a private company that develops, owns and
markets specialized and proven high-performance proprietary metal
processes and technologies. The company owns a comprehensive
portfolio of process and industrial design patents, and
revolutionary eco-friendly economical commercially sustainable
systems for recovering high-grade value metals from crushed ore to
compound concentrates and refractory difficult to treat ore
deposits.
About Nevado Resources
Nevado Resources is a junior strategic metals company with
properties located in Canada. The
Corporation owns a 100% interest in the La Blache
titanium-vanadium-iron property in Northern Quebec, the Fermont graphite property near Focus
Graphite's Lac Knife property, and the Bozema and Steel River
zinc-copper-silver-gold properties in Ontario's Schreiber-Hemlo camp.
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 news release. The statements made in this news
release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking
statements" and readers are cautioned that any such statements are
not guarantees of future performance, and that actual developments
or results, may vary materially from those in these
"forward-looking" statements.
SOURCE Nevado Resources Corporation