NORTHCLIFF ANNOUNCES FUNDING TO ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SISSON CRITICAL MINERALS PROJECT Canadian Tungsten to Address Critical Mineral Supply Chain Vulnerability
NORTHCLIFF ANNOUNCES FUNDING TO
ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
SISSON CRITICAL MINERALS PROJECT
Canadian Tungsten to Address Critical Mineral Supply Chain Vulnerability
VANCOUVER, BC
,
May 1, 2025
/CNW/ - Northcliff Resources Ltd. ("Northcliff" or the "Company")
(TSX: NCF) is pleased to announce the United States Department of Defense ("US DoD") has
awarded the Company a
US$15 million
(
~C$20.7 million
) award under the Defense Production Act
("DPA") Title III program to expand tungsten's domestic capacity, sustainment of its critical
production and address vulnerability in the Critical Minerals supply chain in
the United States
and
Canada
. This important non-share dilutive funding will allow Northcliff to advance the Sisson
Tungsten-Molybdenum Project in
Canada
(the "Sisson Project") toward a project construction
decision. The Company has also obtained conditional funding from the Government of
Canada
,
pending due diligence, under Natural Resources Canada's Global Partnerships Initiative for up to
C$8.2 million
(
~US$5.9 million
) to support the project.
Located near tidewater on the southeastern coast of
Canada
in
New Brunswick
, the Sisson Project
hosts a deposit with the Critical Mineral tungsten and the strategic mineral molybdenum. Northcliff
advanced resource, engineering, environmental and economic studies that culminated in a positive
feasibility study in 2013, then progressed the project through provincial and federal environmental
assessment and other processes to gain key approvals, expending some
C$70 million
. The
Company developed a detailed work program and is currently focused on advancing the project
through the pre-construction phase.
In that regard, the US DoD funding from the DPA Title III program and the Government of
Canada's
funding under the Global Partnerships Initiative, in total up to
~C$29 million
(
US$20.9 million
) will be
used to update Northcliff's feasibility study as well as support related pre-construction work
programs. This work would involve completion of engineering activities and studies needed to satisfy
the technical conditions associated with its in-hand environmental approvals and project development
workstreams (project finance and offtake sounding), to provide the necessary economic and
technical information to support a construction decision.
As a project at the pre-construction phase, the Sisson Project is well positioned to help address the
demand for tungsten and molybdenum. Tungsten is an essential ingredient in modern and emerging
technologies, has few substitutes and could face high supply risks in Western economies. Tungsten
carbides are an integral part of the tools that are used to shape metals, alloys, wood, composites,
plastic, and ceramics and to power the oil and gas, mining and construction industries. A key alloying
metal, molybdenum is an essential component in steel production. Both tungsten and molybdenum
play a key role in many defense and aerospace applications and are growing in importance in the
production and improved performance of batteries
1,2
used in energy storage and other green
transition technologies.
According to a Geoscience Australia synthesis of individual country rankings
3
, tungsten is among the
minerals recognized as most critical by
the United States
,
Japan
, Republic of Korea, the European
Union, and the
United Kingdom
, ranking as the fourth-most critical mineral.
The United States
and its
allies currently rely on sources such as
China
for tungsten.
China
produces about 80% of the world's
tungsten, a supply that lacks pricing transparency causing market disruptions in the past.
__________________________________
1
https://masanhightechmaterials.com/h-c-starck-tungsten-and-zsw-collaborate-on-tungsten-in-lithium-ion-batteries/
2
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/2021/5130420
3
https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/critical-minerals
If developed, the Sisson Project would become an easily accessible and reliable supplier of tungsten
and molybdenum, strengthening and diversifying the supply chain for these metals used in important
industrial, electronic, aerospace and defense applications, and new technologies with the additional
advantage of being produced under North American standards for transparency and Environmental
Social Governance.
Andrew Ing
, Northcliff's Chairman, President and CEO commented,
"Northcliff's aim is to contribute to the efforts to build a resilient North American supply chain and
support development of new technologies through becoming a reliable, easily accessible producer of
tungsten and molybdenum. We greatly appreciate this strategic financial support by the US
Department of Defense and the Global Partnerships Initiative. These funds will be collectively used
to update the project economics and finalize details of the mine development plan, secure the
remaining permits, and obtain the required authorizations to accelerate the Sisson Project toward a
construction decision."
The proposed operation in the 2013 feasibility study for the Sisson Project is an open pit mine with
conventional processing facilities, supplemented by value-added downstream and on-site processing
of tungsten concentrates in an ammonium paratungstate ("APT") plant. The Company plans to
update the feasibility study as part of the focused work program described above.
The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been
reviewed and approved by
Tanya Yang
, P.Eng., a Qualified Person who is not independent of the
Company.
The Canadian to U.S. dollar exchange rate used in the conversions is
US$1
=
C$1.38
.
About Northcliff Resources Ltd.
Northcliff is a mineral resource company focused on advancing the Sisson Tungsten-Molybdenum
Project located in
New Brunswick, Canada
, to production.
Additional information on Northcliff is available on the website at
www.northcliffresources.com
.
Investor services can be reached at (604) 684-6365 or within
North America
at 1-800-667-2114.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Andrew Ing
Chairman, President & CEO
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" or
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian and
United States
securities law. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address the use of the DoD funds, and
Government of
Canada
funds, if awarded; advancement of the Sisson Project towards a project
finance decision, including the successful development and construction of the planned Sisson
tungsten-molybdenum mine, concentrator and APT plant to become a reliable source of tungsten
and molybdenum, and the projected average annual production of tungsten and molybdenum are
forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. The assumptions used by Northcliff to develop forward-
looking statements include the following: the actual receipt of funds from DoD and the Government
of
Canada
, the Company's ability to complete construction of Sisson Project mine and facilities, the
Company's ability to arrange the necessary financing beyond the DoD funding and Government of
Canada
funding to continue operations and develop the Sisson Project, the receipt of all necessary
regulatory approvals for the construction and operation of the Sisson Project; the relevant laws and
regulations in
Canada
and the US; studies and development of the Sisson Project will continue to be
positive; our expectations of continued availability of capital and debt financing, and no geological or
technical problems will occur. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking information. These factors include the risks that may interfere
with the Company's ability to continue development of the Sisson Project, the Company may not be
able to finance and develop the Sisson Project on favourable terms or at all, relevant regulatory
changes, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of required permits, approvals and
agreements for the development of the Sisson Project, the Company may not be able to secure
offtake agreements for the metals to be produced at the Sisson Project, the inherent risks involved
in the exploration and development of mineral properties and in the mining industry in general, the
financial markets and in the demand and market price for tungsten, molybdenum and other minerals
and commodities, and fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the value of the US
Dollar and Canadian Dollar; the exploration and development of properties located within First
Nations treaty and Aboriginal groups asserted territories may affect or be perceived to affect treaty
and asserted aboriginal rights and title, which may cause permitting delays or opposition by
Aboriginal groups or communities, environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining
including processing and stockpiling; changes in government policies regarding mining and natural
resource exploration and exploitation, continued availability of capital and financing, and general
economic, market or business conditions, as well as risks relating to the uncertainties with respect to
conflicts in
Ukraine
and the
Middle East
. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company reviews its forward-looking
statements on an ongoing basis and updates this information when circumstances require it. For
more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's annual information form
that is available on its profile at
www.sedarplus.ca
.
SOURCE
Northcliff Resources Ltd.
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CO: Northcliff Resources Ltd.
CNW 07:45e 01-MAY-25