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 work area, including exploration trenching, access trail development, processing area construction, and a mine rock storage facility. The program is designed to support the company's goal of becoming a vertically integrated supplier of pharmaceutical-grade barium contrast agents.
The Year 1 program includes the extraction of 2,000 tonnes of high-grade barite ore, with 1,000 tonnes from the A Zone and 1,000 tonnes from the B Zone. This extraction falls within the annual limit of 1,000 tonnes per cell under the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The barite will be processed on site using dry densimetric technology to produce an initial concentrate, which will be shipped to a future facility for upgrading to meet USP specifications for pharmaceutical-grade barium contrast agents. The MYAB framework also allows for further exploration sampling in subsequent years, up to 1,000 tonnes per cell per year.
The application also includes a geotechnical drilling program to provide rock mechanics and slope stability data required to finalize quarry pit wall designs and waste rock storage configurations. This data is the primary remaining requirement to complete a NI 43-101 Final Feasibility Study, building on the company's 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment and a Pre-Feasibility Study currently in progress. The PEA outlined a low-cost open-pit development scenario with an initial 10-year project horizon, total capital of $36 million over three years, and an 11-month payback period after start of production.
"This Notice of Work submission is a significant de-risking milestone," said Brent Willis, CEO of Voyageur Pharmaceuticals. "The Year 1 test extraction will generate the material required to advance process development and validation at our pilot plant. The accompanying geotechnical program will enable us to progress the project to Final Feasibility Study level." The Frances Creek project hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 132,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical-grade barium sulfate, with recent testing confirming an average grade of 98.8% BaSO4, exceeding the 97.5% threshold for pharmaceutical grade.
All proposed activities will comply with the Mines Act, the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and applicable Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The program is designed to be low-impact, with progressive reclamation planned upon completion. The company believes that controlling all primary input costs, from raw material sourcing to final production, will ensure quality and cost efficiency in the radiology contrast media market.
