Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX-V: VM) announced the submission of a Multi-Year Area-Based Notice of Work application to the British Columbia Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals for its Frances Creek barite project. The application seeks authorization for a five-year advanced exploration program on a 76.8-hectare area within mineral claims 571267, 1054177, and 1031568.
The proposed program includes exploration trenching, access trail development, construction of a processing area, and development of a mine rock storage facility, primarily on previously disturbed forestry land. A comprehensive package of technical studies accompanies the application, including terrain stability assessment, acid rock drainage and metal leachate assessment, soil surveys, archaeological assessment, and management plans for dust, weeds, and emergency response.
Year 1 involves a planned extraction of 2,000 tonnes of high-grade barite ore with a specific gravity of 4.5, hosted in dolomite (specific gravity 2.9). This comprises 1,000 tonnes from the A Zone and 1,000 tonnes from the B Zone, located in two different cells of the mineral claims. The extraction complies with the annual limit of 1,000 tonnes ore per cell under the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. Barite will be processed on site using dry densimetric technology to produce an initial concentrate, which will be shipped to the Company’s future facility for a US Pharmacopeia barium upgrading plant. The material will support design, testing, and validation of the Company’s proprietary concentration and acid leach process to meet USP specifications for pharmaceutical-grade barium contrast agents.
The MYAB framework also permits further exploration sampling in subsequent years, up to 1,000 tonnes ore per cell per year, subject to regulatory conditions.
The application includes a geotechnical drilling program to provide rock mechanics and slope stability data required to finalize quarry pit wall designs and waste rock storage facility configurations. This information is the primary remaining data needed to complete a National Instrument 43-101 Final Feasibility Study, building on the Company’s 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment and the Pre-Feasibility Study currently in progress.
Brent Willis, CEO of Voyageur Pharmaceuticals, stated: “This Notice of Work submission is a significant de-risking milestone. The Year 1 test extraction will generate the material required to advance process development and validation at our pilot plant in support of a future full-scale pharmaceutical API facility. The accompanying geotechnical program will enable us to progress the project to Final Feasibility Study level.”
All proposed activities will comply with the Mines Act, the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and applicable provisions of the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The program is designed to be low-impact, with progressive reclamation planned upon completion.
The NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment dated February 22, 2022, outlined a low-cost open-pit development scenario focused on high-value pharmaceutical applications. Recent market observations indicate that costs for imported pharmaceutical-grade barite have increased significantly compared to PEA assumptions, which may positively influence updated project economics.
The project hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 132,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical-grade barium sulfate, forming a cornerstone of the Company’s strategy to establish a fully vertically integrated barium contrast media supply chain. Recent testing confirms the FC barite purity exceeds Pharmaceutical Grade (97.5%), with an average grade 98.8% BaSO4 (see news release dated March 3, 2026).
The PEA summary (base case) includes an initial 10-year project horizon, total capital required over 3 years of $36 million, equipment delivery and installation (including mine permitting) of 24 months, payback period after start of production of 11 months, and average operating gross margins of approximately 75%. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to enable categorization as mineral reserves.
This disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Bradley Willis, P.Eng, a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
