Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX-V: VM) announced the submission of a Multi-Year Area-Based (MYAB) 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 within mineral claims 571267, 1054177, and 1031568, as per a news release.
The proposed program includes exploration trenching, access trail development, construction of a processing area, and development of a mine rock storage facility, all primarily on previously disturbed forestry land. A comprehensive package of technical studies was submitted, including terrain stability assessment, acid rock drainage and metal leachate assessment, soil surveys, archaeological assessment, and management plans for dust, weeds, and emergency response.
The Year 1 program includes a planned extraction of 2,000 tonnes of high-grade barite ore (specific gravity 4.5) hosted in dolomite (specific gravity 2.9), comprising 1,000 tonnes from the A Zone and 1,000 tonnes from the B Zone. This extraction is within the annual limit of 1,000 tonnes ore per cell under the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The barite will be extracted via exploration trenches and processed on site using dry densimetric technology to produce an initial concentrate. This concentrate will be shipped to the Company’s future facility where a USP barium upgrading plant will be located, to design, test, and validate the Company’s proprietary concentration and acid leach process to meet USP specifications for pharmaceutical-grade barium contrast agents.
The geotechnical drilling program included in the application will provide rock mechanics and slope stability data required to finalize quarry pit wall designs and waste rock storage facility configurations. This information is the primary remaining data requirement to complete an NI 43-101 Final Feasibility Study, building on the Company’s 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment and the Pre-Feasibility Study currently in progress.
Brent Willis, CEO of Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd., stated: “This Notice of Work submission is a significant de-risking milestone. The Year 1 test extraction will generate the material required to advance process development and validation at our pilot plant in support of a future full-scale pharmaceutical API facility. The accompanying geotechnical program will enable us to progress the project to Final Feasibility Study level. Frances Creek’s grade and purity continue to position Voyageur as a potential future secure North American supplier of pharmaceutical barium contrast products.”
All proposed activities will be conducted in accordance with the Mines Act, the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and applicable provisions of the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The program is designed to be low-impact, with progressive reclamation planned upon completion of exploration activities.
The NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment dated February 22, 2022, for the Frances Creek Project outlined a low-cost open-pit development scenario focused on high-value pharmaceutical applications. Recent market observations indicate that costs for imported pharmaceutical-grade barite have increased significantly compared to the PEA assumptions, which may positively influence updated project economics. The project hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 132,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical grade barium sulfate, forming a cornerstone of the Company’s strategy to establish a fully vertically integrated barium contrast media supply chain. Recent testing confirms the FC barite purity exceeds Pharmaceutical Grade (97.5%), with an average grade 98.8% BaSO4, as reported in a news release dated March 3, 2026.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA results will be realized. A pending Pre-Feasibility Study is in progress and will provide updated information.
