Golden Predator Acquires 20% of Group 11 Technologies
Environmentally-Friendly Solutions and In Place Mining to Extract Precious Metals
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX-V: GPY) (OTCQB: NTGSF) (the "Company") announced today that the Company has entered into final Agreements for a 20% ownership positions in Group 11 Technologies Inc., (“Group 11”) a United States-based private company committed to testing and implementing non-invasive in-situ recovery (ISR) of precious metals with the use of environmentally-friendly solutions. Effective August 28th, 2020 Group 11 has finalized all necessary Organizational, Shareholder, and Licensing documentation with its founding partners and will now commence formal operations. Group 11’s initials steps will include acquisition and subsequent testing of gold projects, already identified, that demonstrate specific qualities lending themselves to the Company’s environmentally and economically superior processes. Group 11 is committed to providing commercially viable, sustainable alternatives to conventional mining for the extraction and processing of precious metals.
Group 11 was founded and is owned by enCore Energy Corp. (“enCore”) (TSXV: EU; OTCQB: ENCUF) with 40% of the common stock, EnviroLeach Technologies Inc. (“EnviroLeach”) (CSE : ETI; OTCQB: EVLLF) with 40% of the common stock and Golden Predator Mining Corp. (“Golden Predator”) (TSXV: GPY; OTCQB: NTGSF) with 20% of the common stock. EnCore has contributed $750,000 in initial funding and will provide in-situ extraction expertise, EnviroLeach has entered into a license agreement with Group 11 for the use of its environmentally friendly metal recovery process and will provide chemical and metallurgical expertise, Golden Predator will contribute mobile processing equipment and expertise in utilizing EnviroLeach’s environmentally friendly solution for recovery of gold from sulphide concentrates. Group 11, a private company, will finance all ongoing research and development expenditures for in-situ and secondary recovery applications.
About Group 11 Technologies Inc.
Sustainable metals extraction is a serious challenge for the mining industry which faces mounting concerns over its environmental and 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 brings a vital skill set to address these challenges and create a unique business opportunity. Group 11 is backed by a first-class staff of scientists and engineers; an extraordinary data set; independent technical validations; strategic relationships; over $20 million in research and development; and commercially proven processes and technologies.
Janet Lee-Sheriff, Chief Executive Office said: “We are extremely proud of the contribution our processing plant’s batch processing unit (SRU™) has contributed to Group 11’s team. With 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 sulphide concentrates, which is a valuable business opportunity.”
Background on Non-Invasive Extraction Technology
Non-invasive extraction of minerals has been successfully implemented in the mining sector with many innovators and patent holders in the field on the team at enCore, one of the Group 11 partners. These innovators 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 process 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, diluted water-based solutions are circulated underground, dissolving the targeted metals, and returned to surface for further processing and recovery of the target metals. 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. When many projects are burdened by remediation and rehabilitation requirements, ISR means substantially reduced mine-closure time and costs compared to conventional practices. In addition, energy requirements, water usage and the environmental footprint of mining projects can be significantly reduced using ISR technology.
About the Golden Predator Process
Golden Predator’s test processing plant, the first of its kind in Yukon, Canada, operated from 2016 to 2020 providing increased metallurgical and geological understanding of one of the Company’s projects. A closed-circuit water system with no added chemicals due to the free-milling nature of the gold, Golden Predator partnered with EnviroLeach to utilize its patent pending environmentally-friendly cyanide-free solution in its custom-built mobile extraction unit (“SRU”) to process its sulphide concentrates. The cumulative testing resulted in a total calculated recovery of 93.17% of the gold contained in the concentrate. This work lead to the eventual combination of Golden Predator’s SRU™, enCore Energy Corp.’s ISR expertise and EnviroLeach’s technology in partnerships within Group 11 to consider alternate extraction technologies for precious metals.
Group 11 Technologies Inc. (‘Group 11’) is a private US-based company committed to the development and application of environmentally and socially responsible mineral extraction. Its combination of non-invasive extraction technology and environmentally friendly processes to recover gold and other metals provides an alternate solution to conventional open pit and underground mineral extraction. The goal of advancing sustainable extraction considers growing concerns surrounding water use and discharge, carbon footprint, energy consumption and safety while addressing a growing global need for metals in our daily lives.
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 Bankable Feasibility Study underway to evaluate a restart of heap leach operations at the Brewery Creek Mine, 2020 proves to be a pivotal year for the Company. Golden Predator Mining Corp. has spearheaded and successfully applied the EnviroLeach technology to the recovery of gold from sulphide concentrates where cyanide is not feasible or permitted, using its proprietary mobile recovery unit.
For additional information:
Janet Lee-Sheriff
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 260-5029
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.
