15 September 2021
September 15, 2021 ? Vancouver, British Columbia ? NorZinc Ltd. (TSX: NZC; OTCQB: NORZF) (the “Company” or “NorZinc”) is pleased to announce the launch of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on a 2,400 tonnes per day (“tpd”) production plan for the Prairie Creek Project (“Prairie Creek” or the “Project”) and provide a general corporate update, including the achievement of a major permitting milestone being the advancement without the need for an additional Environmental Assessment (“EA”).
Rohan Hazelton, CEO of NorZinc Ltd commented: “I am delighted by the substantial progress being made on the Prairie Creek Mine. The PEA will provide an update to all stakeholders on the Company’s strategy to expand the throughput of Prairie Creek, based on an updated geological resource.
The team is making excellent progress with environmental permitting for the expanded 2,400 tpd plan, and the ability to proceed to the next stages of the expansion permits without the need for a further Environmental Assessment was a significant milestone.
Additionally, as part of the Company’s overall strategy to share the NorZinc story with a broader base of potential investors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Red Cloud Financial Services to assist with a multitude of capital markets advisory services. The Project is building strong momentum and I am proud of how well our team is executing on the project schedule and getting Prairie Creek another step closer to production.”
PEA
The Company announces the commencement of a PEA on an expanded mining and milling rate of 2,400 tpd led by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. (“Ausenco”). The Company’s 2017 Feasibility Study prepared by AMC Mining Consultants and Ausenco was based on a mining rate of 1,600 tpd. Beginning in 2020, the Company has been developing an internal Mine Enhancement Program (“MEP”) aimed at optimizing the overall Project including mining rate, mill throughput, capital and operating cost estimates. Based on these internal studies, the Company determined that a 50% increase in the mining rate to 2,400 tpd is optimal.
The PEA will be an independent study to lay the foundation for an updated feasibility study expected to be completed by Q2 2022. The PEA will build upon the significant engineering and project development work performed to date including detailed studies on plant enhancement and road design. Based on the nature of a PEA compared to a feasibility study, the updated mineral resource estimate included in the study will only refer to measured, indicated and inferred resources.
The PEA will be led by Ausenco and the Company has retained Greg Mosher of Global Mineral Resource Services for an updated Resource Estimate and Mining Plus Canada Consulting Ltd with respect to mine plans. Mr. Mosher previously completed the Resource Estimate for Prairie Creek as part of the 2017 Feasibility Study.
Metallurgical Testing
The Company continues to advance discussions with multiple offtakers for the sale of future zinc and lead concentrates. In order to further define the expected concentrate quality as mining progresses through different locations of the deposit, in particular as it relates to mercury content, the Company has initiated a detailed Metallurgical Microprobe Study with SGS Canada Inc. (“SGS”) in Lakefield, Ontario.
The 2021 Metallurgical Microprobe Study is examining the variability of mercury that could be expected throughout the mine life, by analyzing the relative abundance of mercury occurring in sphalerite and tetrahedrite-tennantite within the three mineralization styles seen at Prairie Creek.
Samples for this study were selected from existing drill core, assay pulps and assay rejects, and were submitted to SGS, whereby polished thin sections will be prepared from each sample and submitted for electron microprobe analysis. Up to 50 individual grains of sphalerite and tetrahedrite-tennantite will be analyzed, per sample, in a program that is scheduled to be complete by early Q4 2021. See Figure 1 for the location of the samples.