Electric Royalties Provides Development Update ON Royalty Portfolio
ELECTRIC ROYALTIES PROVIDES
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE ON ROYALTY
PORTFOLIO
VANCOUVER, BC
,
April 13, 2022
/CNW/ - Electric Royalties Ltd. (TSXV: ELEC) (OTCQB: ELECF)
("Electric Royalties" or the "Company") is pleased to announce an asset update on its current royalty
portfolio.
Brendan Yurik
, CEO of Electric Royalties
, commented:
"We are pleased to close Q1 2022 with
significant progress at a number of projects in our rapidly growing royalty portfolio. In particular,
we have seen encouraging drill results announced for the Cancet (lithium), Seymour Lake
(lithium), Graphmada (graphite) and Mont Sorcier (vanadium) projects.
Additionally,
we are
eagerly awaiting the results of the upcoming PEA on the Battery Hill manganese project, which has
the potential to generate significant royalty revenues at such time as the project moves from
development into production. Following a successful resource update earlier in the year, testing
confirmed the suitability of
Authier
spodumene for conversion into lithium hydroxide, ahead of their
engineering studies incorporating
Authier
into a joint mine plan with Sayona Mining's recently
acquired Canada Lithium mine. Furthermore, we are keen to see continued progress at the
Graphmada mining complex as they work to complete a resource update as part of planning to
restart production, another potential source of near-term royalty revenues. We are expecting more
significant project updates on our royalty assets in 2022."
Recent highlights since the Company's previous development update on
March 2, 2022
:
Battery Hill Manganese Royalty –
Manganese X Energy Corp. (TSXV: MN) recently
commissioned a second manganese market report focused primarily on the North American
markets, which will provide timely market data to support the preparation of the Preliminary
Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Battery Hill Project in
New Brunswick
. As a result of the
market report, the PEA is expected to be a more accurate reflection of the recent substantial
price increase of manganese
1
and will take into consideration the increase in demand for high-
purity manganese products (see MN news release dated
March 29, 2022
).
Authier Lithium Royalty –
Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA; OTCQB:SYAXF) announced
confirmation of the quality of its
Authier
spodumene product, following
successful testing by leading lithium-ion battery innovator NOVONIX at its Battery Technology
Solutions laboratories in
Nova Scotia, Canada
(see SYA news release dated
April 4, 2022
). The
positive results show that the
Authier
product performs as well as competing commercially
available battery-grade lithium hydroxide.
Cancet Lithium Royalty
– Winsome Resources Limited (ASX: WR1) provided an update on
the 2,000-metre drilling campaign at the Cancet Project in
Quebec
. Large, visible spodumene
crystals have been observed in a thick zone of pegmatites encountered in the drill program, with
the first batch of samples undergoing assay at the SGS laboratory (see
WR1
news release
dated
March 29, 2022
). Results to date from the ongoing drilling campaign support data
gathered in previous drill campaigns and complement
WR1
's knowledge of the extent of the
pegmatite deposit. The campaign is on track to be completed by
mid-April 2022
.
Seymour Lake Lithium Royalty –
Green Technology Metals Limited (ASX:GT1) has
announced the Phase 1 drilling program at Seymour Lake that was designed to evaluate
potential along-strike and down-dip extensions of the North Aubry deposit, has now been
completed with 16 holes drilled for a total of 5,895 metres (see GT1 news release dated
March
17, 2022
). All holes in the Phase 1 program intersected pegmatite along strike and down dip
(see GT1 news release dated
March 8, 2022
). The intercepts returned solely from the upper
pegmatite at North Aubry range in thickness up to 42.7 metres, with the widest intervals located
in the northern extensions of the deposit. Both the northern and down-dip extents of the
pegmatite are wide open to further expansion. Phase 2 drilling at the Central Aubry zone has
now commenced. The Phase 2 program comprises a planned 31 holes for approximately 5,100
metres. Building on recent and highly encouraging geophysical survey and geological mapping
work, Phase 3 exploration drilling has also commenced at the Pye prospect, located
approximately 1 km east of the Aubry complex. An initial 26 holes are planned at Pye for
approximately 2,000 drilling metres.
Bissett Creek Graphite Royalty –
Northern Graphite Corporation (TSXV: NGC) announced on
March 9, 2022
, that Minviro Ltd. ("Minviro") has completed an update of its ISO-compliant Life
Cycle Assessment on the production of graphite concentrate and lithium-ion battery anode
material from the Bissett Creek deposit in central
Ontario
, including the benefits of an electric
mining fleet. Life Cycle Analysis is a cradle-to-gate study that assesses project impacts from
the point of resource extraction to the production of graphite concentrate. Minviro has estimated
that by using electricity from the
Ontario
grid to power both the mining fleet (rather than diesel)
and the processing plant (instead of using natural gas), the Global Warming Potential of the
Bissett Creek project could be reduced by approximately 80 per cent, from 2.2 kilograms of
carbon-dioxide-equivalent
2
per kg of graphite produced to 0.45 kilograms of carbon-dioxide-
equivalent ("CO
2
eq"). NGC commissioned Minviro's report to help guide the company in
developing a carbon neutral project. Additionally, Minviro benchmarked the potential carbon
footprint of Bissett Creek against the production of Chinese natural and synthetic graphite and
the upgrading into battery anode material. Specifically, Bissett Creek is estimated to have a
carbon footprint of 6.3 kg of CO
2
eq per kg of product compared to the carbon footprint of
Chinese CSPG
3
produced from natural graphite estimated at 16.8 kg of CO
2
eq and 17 kg of
CO
2
eq if produced from synthetic graphite. The full report is available at
http://www.northerngraphite.com/project/bissett-creek-project/technical-info/
.
NGC
(see
NGC
news release dated
March 30, 2022
) summarized important developments in
the critical minerals industry in the Province of
Ontario
.
NGC
believes that
Bissett
Creek is the
most advanced critical minerals development project in
Ontario
and would greatly benefit from
these developments given its high margin, large flake characteristics and its proximity to
potential lithium-ion battery manufacturers.
In mid-March, the
Ontario
government announced the launch of a Critical Minerals Strategy,
setting a five-year roadmap to establish the province as a reliable global supplier of
responsibly sourced critical minerals. This strategy seeks to leverage
Ontario's
wealth of
raw materials, close proximity to manufacturing plants and markets, and green
hydroelectric power to facilitate the production of products with high ESG standards and
low carbon footprints.
On
March 23, 2002
, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced they will establish
Canada's
first ever large-scale production lithium-ion battery plant in
Windsor, Ontario
. The
new
Windsor
plant will require approximately 60,000 tonnes of natural graphite per year to
reach its projected production capacity of 45 gigawatt hours per year.
This news followed the announcement on
March 16, 2022
, that Honda will upgrade its
Alliston, Ontario
plant, with the 2023 Honda CR-V hybrid among the first models to be built.
Honda plans to sell only zero emission vehicles in
North America
by 2040 and it will
upgrade its other plants over the next 20 years.
LG Energy Solution announced on
March 23, 2022
, two new projects in
Michigan
, just
across the US border from
Ontario
. It is expanding its lithium-ion battery cell plant in
Holland, Michigan
and has a third joint venture with GM to build another cell plant in the
City
of Lansing
and
Delta County, Michigan
.
Bissett Creek is the nearest graphite deposit to these megafactories, which provide NGC
with a unique opportunity to deliver a secure, local, responsibly-sourced supply of graphite.
Graphmada Graphite Royalty
– Greenwing Resources (ASX:GW1) provided an update on its
drilling program at the Graphmada Graphite Mining Complex in
Madagascar
(see GW1 news
release dated
March 8, 2022
). Forty-three (43) diamond drill holes for a total of 1,715 metres
have been completed to date, representing a significant portion of the current diamond drilling
program. Drilling has recorded significant intercepts of graphite mineralization. The drilling
program continues with the goal of providing a Mineral Resource upgrade for Graphmada and
supporting studies to undertake large-scale mining and processing operations.
Mont Sorcier Vanadium Royalty
– Voyager Metals (TSXV: VONE) reported assay results for
the final six holes from its 2021 infill drill program of 42 holes totaling 15,178 metres at its Mont
Sorcier iron and vanadium project in
Chibougamau, Quebec
(see VONE news release dated
March 29, 2022
). The results are in line with previous results of drilling in 2018 and 2020.
VONE expects to provide an updated resource report in Q2 2022 to form a basis for the
ongoing Mont Sorcier Feasibility Study. The goal of the 2021 drill program was to upgrade a
sufficient portion of the current North Zone Inferred Mineral Resources to the Measured and
Indicated Categories to support a minimum 20-year mine life as the basis for a Feasibility
Study.
__________
1
Average manganese price in 2021 was US$5.36/dry metric tonne unit (dmtu); a recent closing price is approximately US$8.03/dmtu (44-46% Mn CIF China, Argus Metal prices,
April 7, 2022).
2
A term for describing different greenhouse gases in a common unit. For any quantity and type of greenhouse gas, CO
2
eq signifies the amount of CO
2
which would have the
equivalent global warming impact.
3
Coated Spherical Purified Graphite, a product manufactured from graphite concentrates.
David Gaunt
, P.Geo., a qualified person who is not independent of Electric Royalties, has reviewed
and approved the technical information in this release.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
Brendan Yurik
CEO
About Electric Royalties Ltd
.
Electric Royalties is a royalty company established to take advantage of the demand for a wide
range of commodities (lithium, vanadium, manganese, tin, graphite, cobalt, nickel, zinc and copper)
that will benefit from the drive toward electrification of a variety of consumer products: cars,
rechargeable batteries, large scale energy storage, renewable energy generation and other
applications.
Electric vehicle sales, battery production capacity and renewable energy generation are slated to
increase significantly over the next several years and with it, the demand for these targeted
commodities. This creates a unique opportunity to invest in and acquire royalties over the mines and
projects that will supply the materials needed to fuel the electric revolution.
Electric Royalties has a growing portfolio of 18 royalties, including one royalty that currently
generates revenue. The Company is focused predominantly on acquiring royalties on advanced
stage and operating projects to build a diversified portfolio located in jurisdictions with low
geopolitical risk, which offers investors exposure to the clean energy transition via the underlying
commodities required to rebuild the global infrastructure over the next several decades towards a
decarbonized global economy.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange), nor any other regulatory body or securities exchange
platform, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Other
Company Information
This news release includes forward-looking information and forward-looking statements
(collectively, "forward-looking information") with respect to the Company within the meaning of
Canadian securities laws. Forward looking information is typically identified by words such as:
believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those,
which, by their nature, refer to future events. This information represents predictions and actual
events or results may differ materially. Forward-looking information may relate to the Company's
future outlook and anticipated events and may include statements regarding the financial results,
future financial position, expected growth of cash flows, business strategy, budgets, projected
costs, projected capital expenditures, taxes, plans, objectives, industry trends and growth
opportunities of the Company and the projects in which it holds royalty interests.
While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on information
available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the Company or these projects to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to risks associated with general
economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative
and regulatory developments involving the renewable energy industry; inability to access sufficient
capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable
terms; the mining industry generally, the Covid-19 pandemic, recent market volatility, income tax
and regulatory matters; the ability of the Company or the owners of these projects to implement
their business strategies including expansion plans; competition; currency and interest rate
fluctuations, and the other risks.
The reader is referred to the Company's most recent filings on SEDAR as well as other information
filed with the OTC Markets for a more complete discussion of all applicable risk factors and their
potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Company's profile page at
www.sedar.com
and at otcmarkets.com.
SOURCE
Electric Royalties Ltd.
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For further information:
Brendan Yurik, Phone: (604) 364
3540, Email:
[email protected], www.electricroyalties.com
CO: Electric Royalties Ltd.
CNW 07:45e 13-APR-22