Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX-V: GPY) (OTCQB: NTGSF) (the “Company“) announced today that the Company has signed an Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with EnviroLeach Technologies Inc. (CSE: ETI) OTCQB: EVLLF) and enCore Energy Corp. (TSX-V: EU) (OTCQB: ENCUF) to establish Group 11 Technologies Inc (“Group 11”), a US-based technology firm focused primarily on non-invasive extraction technology utilizing environmentally-friendly liquids to recover gold and other metals.
Group 11’s new proprietary process has been tested on high grade concentrates and is now ready for market and testing on further applications, providing the mining industry for the first time with a commercially viable, sustainable alternative to standard cyanide processes and conventional mining practices which often face community opposition and require slow-moving and expensive regulatory compliance.
About Group 11 Technologies Inc.
Sustainable metals extraction has become a serious challenge for the mining industry which faces growing concerns over its carbon footprint, energy consumption, operational safety and especially its impact on water use and water quality while responding to an ever-increasing need for metals in our daily lives. Each Group 11 owner makes an important contribution to this business opportunity. EnviroLeach Technologies Inc. (CSE: ETI) (OTCQB: EVLLF) has developed an economically viable proprietary water-based leach technology. Encore Energy Corp. (TSXV: EU) (OTCQB: ENCUF) has pioneered proprietary expertise in in-situ metal recovery that opens a remarkably large opportunity for recovering metals from deposits without the environmental disturbance of both open pit and underground mining. Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSXV:GPY) (OTCQB:NTGSF) has spearheaded and successfully tested the application of EnviroLeach technology to the recovery of gold from sulfide concentrates where cyanide is not feasible or permitted, using its proprietary mobile recovery unit. To learn more about Group 11, please visit www.gr11tech.com.
Janet Lee-Sheriff, Chief Executive Office said: “We are extremely proud of the fact that our processing plant’s batch processing unit (SRU) has successfully completed the world’s first on-site test of the EnviroLeach cyanide-free metals recovery process. We have demonstrated that their process and our mobile plant can economically recover gold from sulfide concentrates, which is a valuable business opportunity,” she noted.
“Group 11 will also offer in-situ mining technology using the EnviroLeach recovery process. Mining needs to become less invasive and more sustainable. Group 11 is our response, using a unique combination of proven, proprietary knowledge to lessen the industry’s footprint without any sacrifice of efficiency. With Group 11, we will spin out our technological developments into a private company with experts in non-invasive mining and environmentally-friendly solutions. This combination ensures that an outstanding opportunity is advanced while we continue to focus our resources on the restart of the Brewery Creek Mine. We intend to be disruptors in our industry,” said Lee-Sheriff.
Duane Nelson, President, and CEO of EnviroLeach commented: “I am very excited that we will continue to advance the application of our formulas for the in-situ recovery of gold and other metals. This application has the potential to change the way the world mines. It has the potential to unlock the value of deposits in environmentally sensitive areas and it could also provide a viable solution for thousands of smaller deposits worldwide that don’t justify the CAPEX of current conventional mining methods.”
Background on Non-Invasive Extraction Technology
Non-invasive extraction of minerals was developed by the team now at enCore, one of the Group 11 partners. They pioneered In-situ Recovery (“ISR”) which has been successfully utilized to recover metals including uranium and copper using liquid solutions other than cyanide. Group 11 is committed to the development and application of ISR extraction for gold and other metals using EnviroLeach’s patented environmentally-friendly liquids along with enCore’s expertise in ISR extraction. This combination of expertise will advance a business model that has potential to disrupt the conventional mining industry.
In-Situ Recovery (meaning ‘in place’) is a non-invasive extraction method that has transformed the uranium industry. In ISR, solvent-like fluids are circulated underground and returned to surface for further processing and recovery of the minerals. ISR means no open pits or underground tunnels, no tailings or large waste dumps and no discharge of noxious chemical at surface. It therefore has the potential to be a low-impact, low capital cost mining method. At the end of mine life, when many projects are burdened by remediation and rehabilitation requirements, ISR means substantially reduced mine-closure costs compared to conventional practices. In addition, energy requirements, water needs and the greenhouse gas footprint of mining projects can be significantly reduced using ISR technology.
Under the terms of the LOI, enCore and EnviroLeach will be the largest shareholders of Group 11 with an initial stake of 40% each. EnCore will provide $750,000 in funding and EnviroLeach will provide for the exclusive use of its non-invasive extraction technology. Golden Predator will own an initial 20% interest and contribute mobile processing equipment and expertise in utilizing EnviroLeach’s environmentally friendly solution for recovery of gold from sulphide concentrates, as demonstrated by the successful test work at GPY’s 3 Aces Project. Upon completion of a definitive agreement, Group 11 will fund all ongoing research and development expenditures for in-situ and secondary recovery applications. Completion of a definitive agreement is subject to a number of conditions including but not limited to final term negotiations, licensing agreements and regulatory approvals.
Group 11 is backed by: a first-class staff of scientists and engineers; an extraordinary data set including tens of thousands of individual assays; independent technical validations; strategic partners and over $20 million in research and development. EnviroLeach’s technology is emerging as a potential new standard for the provision of eco-friendly hydrometallurgical extraction of precious metals in both the mining and E-Waste sectors. Further information is available on the EnviroLeach web site: https://enviroleach.com
Under the terms of the LOI, enCore and EnviroLeach will be the largest shareholders of Group 11 with an initial stake of 40% each. EnCore will provide $750,000 in funding and EnviroLeach will provide for the use of its solution in this non-invasive extraction technology. Golden Predator will own an initial 20% interest and contribute mobile processing equipment and expertise in utilizing the environmentally friendly solution for recovery of gold, as demonstrated by the successful test work at their 3 Aces Project.
Upon completion of a definitive agreement, Group 11 will fund all research and development expenditures. Completion of a definitive agreement is subject to a number of conditions including but not limited to final term negotiations, licensing agreement and regulatory approval.
About EnviroLeach Technologies Inc.
EnviroLeach Technologies is engaged in the development and commercialization of environmentally-friendly formulas and technologies for the treatment of materials in the mining and recycling sectors. Using its proprietary non-cyanide, water-based, neutral pH treatment process, EnviroLeach extracts precious metals from ores, concentrates, and E-Waste using only FDA approved additives and ambient temperature water.
About the Golden Predator Process
Golden Predator’s test processing plant, the first of its kind in Yukon, Canada, commenced operations in 2016 providing increased metallurgical and geological understanding of one of the Company’s projects. The Plant is a relatively simple gravity circuit utilizing a closed-circuit water system with no added chemicals due to the free-milling nature of 3 Aces’ gold. The 50 tonnes per day closed circuit plant recovers gold from #1 concentrates with doré bars sent to a commercial refinery for final processing. Golden Predator is currently testing EnviroLeach’s patent pending environmentally-friendly cyanide-free solution in its SRU for the extraction of gold from its #2 concentrates. A total of 2,034 tonnes, of the planned 5-tonne test sample of sulfide concentrate were processed in the Company’s SRU during 2019 using the water-based gold recovery solution, yielding 4.113 kg of 0.8994 gold and 0.0802 silver. The cumulative testing resulted in a total calculated recovery of 93.17% of the gold contained in the concentrate. The #2 concentrate averaged 2,022 g/t gold (GPY NR20-06 February 27, 2020).
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jeff Cary, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and an employee of the Company.
Golden Predator Mining Corp.
Golden Predator is advancing the past-producing Brewery Creek Mine towards a timely resumption of mining activities, under its Quartz Mining and Water Licenses, in Canada’s Yukon. With established resources grading over 1.0 g/t Gold and a feasibility level study currently underway by Kappes Cassiday considering the economics of a restart of heap leach operations at the Brewery Creek Mine, 2020 proves to be a pivotal year for the Company.
For additional information:
Janet Lee-Sheriff
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 260-5029
info@goldenpredator.com
www.goldenpredator.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements express or implied regarding completion of the transactions described herein, the upcoming season at 3 Aces project, and projected grades and gold and silver recoveries from the 2018 and proposed 2019 bulk sample program, Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.