Agoracom Blog Home

Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

North Bud Farms $NBUD.ca Signs Binding Letter of Intent to Enter U.S. Market with Strategic Acquisition of Multi-State Licensed Operator Eureka Vapor

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:33 AM on Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
  • Entered into a binding letter of intent to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Eureka Vapor LLC. and all of its subsidiaries , a U.S. multi-state cannabis operator, and arm’s length to the Company, in a transaction valued at CAD$20 million. 
  • In 2018, Eureka recognized revenue of approximately CAD$11.5 million* with a net profit margin of 16%* from its California and Colorado operations.
  • Eureka anticipates further growth in revenue due to anticipated changes to retail regulation of adult cannabis use in California.

TORONTO, March 06, 2019 – North Bud Farms Inc. (CSE: NBUD) (OTCQB: NOBDF) (“NORTHBUD” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that effective March 3, 2019 it entered into a binding letter of intent (“LOI”) to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Eureka Vapor LLC. and all of its subsidiaries (“Eureka”), a U.S. multi-state cannabis operator, and arm’s length to the Company, in a transaction valued at CAD$20 million. 

Eureka, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries holds Manufacturing and Distribution licenses in the states of California and Colorado. Eureka manufactures and sells a premium line of disposable vapor pens as well as multi-use cartridge-style vapor pens and hardware. Eureka has been operating in California and Colorado since 2011 and 2015, respectively, showing significant organic growth year over year. In 2018, Eureka recognized revenue of approximately CAD$11.5 million* with a net profit margin of 16%* from its California and Colorado operations. Eureka anticipates further growth in revenue due to anticipated changes to retail regulation of adult cannabis use in California. Eureka products are currently available in over 100 retail stores. (*all figures are unaudited).  For more information about Eureka Vapor, visit: www.eurekavapor.com.
                                   
Transaction Terms
The proposed transaction (the “Transaction”) is structured as a share purchase agreement whereby in exchange for the purchase of all of the shares of Eureka, NORTHBUD will issue CAD$20 million in common shares (“Common Shares”) to the shareholders of Eureka (the “Eureka Shareholders”) with the price per Common Share to be determined based on a formula of the higher of (a) CAD$0.35 per Common Share and (b) the 30-day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) calculated on the closing date (the “Closing Date”) of a definitive agreement in respect of the transaction (the “Definitive Agreement”). NORTHBUD and Eureka expect to enter into the Definitive Agreement by May 30, 2019. 10% of the Common Shares issued pursuant to the Definitive Agreement will be issued to the Eureka Shareholders on the Closing Date, with the remainder of Common Shares issued in equal tranches of six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months from the Closing Date (the “Escrow Period”). The Transaction will be considered a “Fundamental Change” pursuant to the policies of the CSE and will accordingly require a new listing statement (the “Listing Statement”). Given that effective as of the Closing Date the Company will have United States cannabis operations, the Listing Statement will provide disclosure of the risks associated with cannabis operations in the United States. Closing of the Transaction is subject to applicable corporate and regulatory approvals as well as shareholder and CSE approval.

In addition, Eureka Shareholders will be eligible to receive up to an additional CAD$25 million of Common Shares (“Revenue Milestone Shares”) based on the achievement of USD$25 million of revenue derived from existing Eureka California and Colorado operations. Eureka Shareholders will receive Revenue Milestone Shares pro rata, on a quarterly basis, based on the percentage of USD$25 million of revenue generated in that quarter. All Revenue Milestone Shares will continue to be subject to the remainder of the Escrow Period at the time of issuance and will only be releasable in accordance with the Escrow Period. The Revenue Milestone Shares will be issued at the 10-day VWAP at the time of issuance.

“The opportunity to partner with a recognized brand in some of the most developed retail markets in North America is an exciting development for NORTHBUD,” says Ryan Brown, CEO of NORTHBUD. “We believe that vape cartridges represent a high margin and high-growth product segment of the market. The Eureka team are proven operators and possess an unmatched product knowledge which is evidenced by the strong brand loyalty that they have established.”

“Aligning ourselves with NORTHBUD provides Eureka with both exposure to the Canadian public markets as well as the largest federally legal adult-use market in the world,” says Justin Braune, CEO of Eureka Vapor. “We will be working with the NORTHBUD team to introduce our product line into the Canadian market for the fourth quarter of 2019 when vape pens will be permitted.”

Granting of Stock Options
The Company also announces the granting of 150,000 stock options to a consultant and employee. Each option entitles the holder to acquire one Common Share for a period of five years at an exercise price of CAD$0.35 per Common Share.  The options all vest immediately.

About Eureka Vapor LLC.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, EUREKA Vapor was founded in 2011 and holds licenses in both California and Colorado.  EUREKA Vapor’s multi state operation manufactures and sells a premium line of vaporizer cartridges, disposable vapor pens and proprietary vaporizer batteries designed to work with their highly sought-after CO2 extracted oil.  Using their refined extraction processes and techniques developed over almost a decade of extracting, EUREKA Vapor is committed to providing the cleanest and safest natural oil cartridges in the industry.  Long referred to as one of the leaders in the industry, EUREKA has one of the most loyal customer bases in the category which reflects their commitment to honesty and transparency above all else. EUREKA continually looks for innovative ways to improve and refine their product offerings in order to deliver the best, most consistent vaping experience in the industry. 

For more information, visit: www.eurekavapor.com

About North Bud Farms Inc.
North Bud Farms Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary GrowPros MMP Inc., is pursuing a licence under The Cannabis Act.  The Company is constructing a state-of-the-art purpose-built cannabis production facility located on 95 acres of Agricultural Land in Low, Quebec. North Bud Farms Inc. will be focused on Pharmaceutical and Food Grade cannabinoid production in preparation for the legalization of edibles and ingestible products scheduled for October 2019.

For more information, visit: www.northbud.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the “CSE”) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking statements
Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively, “forward-looking statements”), including those identified by the expressions “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “should” and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. This press release contains forward- looking statements including those relating to the projected growth of Eureka in 2019, the entering into of the Definitive Agreement, closing of the Transaction and associated approvals, Eureka’s ability to achieve milestones under the Definitive Agreement and associated Common Share issuances, the growth of the vape industry and its profitability, the timing of the introduction of Eureka vape pens into the Canadian market, and the projected legalization of edibles and ingestible products scheduled for October 2019. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk factors included in North Bud Farms Inc.’s final long form prospectus dated August 21, 2018 which is available under the issuer’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
North Bud Farms Inc.
Edward Miller
VP, IR & Communications
Office: (855) 628-3420 ext. 3
[email protected]

$HPQ.ca Gen2 PUREVAP(TM) Testing of Tapping Section of Pilot Plant Design and Subsystems, De-Risking Up-Coming Pilot Plant Trials $PYR.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:15 AM on Tuesday, March 5th, 2019
  • Announced the receipt of a progress report from PyroGenesis Canada Inc (TSX Venture: PYR) describing continuous development testing of the pilot plant design and reactor related subsystems of the Silicon Melt Drainage (Tapping) part of the process.  
  • Work of the Gen2 PUREVAP™ Commercial Scalability Proof of Concept platform is undertaken in order to minimize the risk of design failure during the pilot plant trials schedule to start mid-2019.

MONTREAL, March 05, 2019 – HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (HPQ) (TSX VENTURE:HPQ) (FRANKFURT:UGE) (OTC PINK:URAGF) is pleased to announce the receipt of a progress report from PyroGenesis Canada Inc (“PyroGenesis”) (TSX Venture: PYR) describing continuous development testing of the pilot plant design and reactor related subsystems of the Silicon Melt Drainage (Tapping) part of the process.  This work of the Gen2 PUREVAP™ Commercial Scalability Proof of Concept platform is undertaken in order to minimize the risk of design failure during the pilot plant trials schedule to start mid-2019.

DRAINAGE OF LIQUID SILICON MELT AT THE BOTTOM OF REACTOR (TAPPING) CRITICAL TO PROCESS

Drainage of silicon (tapping) is one of the most important aspects of the process.  Efforts have been made by PyroGenesis to optimize the design of the melt drainage subsystems of the pilot plant.  In order to test design efficiency and to generate computational studies to predict the tapping behaviour of liquid silicon in the Gen3 pilot plant, a few silicon melting and tapping tests using GEN2 reactor have been conducted to date.

SIMULATED TAPPING DONE USING GEN2

To simulate the tapping process of the pilot plant unit, the Gen2 reactor was ramped up to operating parameters with a standard mixture of quartz and carbon introduced at the beginning.  Once the reactor reached operating temperature as-received Si is introduced in the reactor for effective melting.  Once the whole Si mass melted, the tap hole was opened to drain the liquid metal and the data from the test was then used to generate computational studies.

Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon Resources Inc stated: “We are very happy to show our first ever public picture of the Gen2 in action.  What these tests demonstrate is the incredible versatility of our Gen2 PUREVAPTM QRR platform, highlighting the advancement being made on the project and toward de-risking the mid-2019, Gen3 commercial scalability testing phase”.

Pierre Carabin, Eng., M. Eng., Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist of PyroGenesis has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release.

This News Release is available on the company’s CEO Verified Discussion Forum, a moderated social media platform that enables civilized discussion and Q&A between Management and Shareholders. 

About HPQ Silicon

HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. is a TSX-V listed resource company focuses on becoming a vertically integrated and diversified High Purity, Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG Si) producer and a manufacturer of multi and monocrystalline solar cells of the P and N types, required for production of high performance photovoltaic conversion.

HPQ’s goal is to develop, in collaboration with industry leaders, PyroGenesis (TSX-V: PYR) and Apollon Solar, that are experts in their fields of interest, the innovative PUREVAPTM “Quartz Reduction Reactors (QRR)”, a truly 2.0 Carbothermic process (patent pending), which will permit the transformation and purification of quartz (SiO2) into high purity silicon metal (Si) in one step and reduce by a factor of at least two-thirds (2/3) the costs associated with the transformation of quartz (SiO2) into SoG Si. The pilot plant equipment that will validate the commercial potential of the process is on schedule to start mid-2019.

Disclaimers:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact
Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman, President and CEO Tel (514) 907-1011
Patrick Levasseur, Vice-President and COO Tel: (514) 262-9239
www.HPQSilicon.com

Shares outstanding: 222,284,053 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0a12fa2b-0337-4107-8531-a2feb7f7c2e3

Picture of Gen2 in action during simulated tapping test

INTERVIEW: $HPQ.ca Discusses PUREVAP Conversion of Low Purity Quartz Into 4N+ Silicon Metal

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:23 PM on Friday, March 1st, 2019

AGORACOM Welcomes Iconic Minerals $ICM.ca $BVTEF With An Inferred Resource of 11.8 Billion Pounds of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent $LI.ca $MGG.ca $PAC.ca $CYP.ca $NEV.ca $SX.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:27 PM on Thursday, February 28th, 2019
Logo small

(TSXV: ICM) (OTC Pink: BVTEF) (FSE: YQGB)

Why Iconic Minerals?

  • Bonnie Claire Lithium property hosts 11.8 Billion pounds of lithium carbonate equivalent (28.5 Million tonnes of LCE) Inferred Resource (43-101).
  • Potential to be the largest lithium resource globally (based on size)
  • Initial leaching tests applying dilute acid to the drill cuttings resulted in recoveries as high as 98%.
  • Two other highly prospective Lithium exploration properties also located in Nevada.

Lithium Projects

Iconic Minerals has three highly prospective Lithium exploration properties located in Nevada, the Bonnie Claire Sarcobatus Valley Lithium property, the Smith Valley Creek Property, and the Third Nevada Lithium Property.

Bonnie Claire Property

Property Overview

  • 11.8 Billion pounds of lithium carbonate equivalent (28.5 Million tonnes of LCE) Inferred Resource (43-101).
  • Potential to be the largest lithium resource globally (based on size)
  • Bonnie Claire is a 100% owned lithium brine property comprising of 23,100 acres of contiguous placer claims, currently in control of 28.75 square miles (75 km2) located in Nye County, Nevada.
  • Property area is contained within a valley that is 60kms from the only producing lithium mine in North America (Albermarle Silver Peak Mine).
  • Over +20 miles (+30 km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide into which streams from an +800 mi2 (2,070 km2) drainage basin empty.
  • Sampling of salt flats within the basin, have found lithium values in salt samples yielding up to 340 ppm.
  • Current claim block covers the gravity low and associated mud flats that could be used for evaporation ponds if significant lithium brines are discovered in drilling.
  • Preliminary NI 43-101 Technical Report completed Read More
  • A total 5,550 feet has been drilled at the Bonnie Claire with an average 963+ppm from four drill holes
  • Great infrastructure
  • Local end-users

Property Details Snapshot


Drainage Basin  (20 x 30 kms)830 square miles
Gravity Lows (length)20 x 30 kms
Valley Sediment (Range)460 – 610m (1,500 to 2,000ft)
BLM Drilling Permits
Drilling ProgramDrilling completion of first of three test wells

Smith Creek Valley Property

  • Controls 808 placer claims totaling 25.25 square miles (65.4 km2) over a major gravity low.
  • The enclosed Smith Creek Valley Basin covers 582 square miles (1,507 km2), which is slightly larger than Clayton Valley Basin where lithium brines are produced.
  • Smith Creek Valley is over +40 miles (+64 km) long in a north-northeast direction and averages 9 miles (14.5 km) in width.
  • The vast majority of rock weathering into the basin is felsic ash flow tuff, which is an excellent source of lithium.

Lithium Brine Benefits

  • Lower Cost Exploration
  • Easy access because flat and arid
  • Decreased environmental impact
  • Shorter Timeline to Production
  • Requires Less Capital
  • Lower Cost Production than bedrock
  • Found beneath salt flats in brine bearing aquifers
  • Easily pumped to Surface from vertical production well
  • After evaporation lithium recovered in small on site mill
  • Potassium may also be recovered
  • Nevada is a Geopolitically Stable Jurisdiction

Gold Projects

The company’s Gold exploration portfolio includes the Hercules property in the Como mining district, 17 kms from the famous Comstock Lode mine, the New Pass property in the New Pass mining district, and the Squaw Creek property located in the northern area of the Carlin Trend.

Gold Properties

The Hercules Property

  • Situated within and on the margins of the Como mining district, located in Lyon County, Nevada.
  • Como district was worked as early as the late 1850s, before the famous Comstock Lode deposit was discovered about 10 miles (16 km.) to the north by prospectors following float upstream from placer gold deposits at Dayton.
  • By the early 1860’s the Como district was abandoned due to the rich lodes having been discovered at Virginia City (Russell, 1981).
  • In the late 1880’s the Hercules Mining Company explored the occurred with the excavation of another 1,500 feet (450 m) of underground workings.

New Pass

  • Gold and silver property which, is comprised of 107 unpatented lode mining claims (2,231 acres).
  • The property is located in eastern Churchill County, Nevada; in the New Pass Mining District, 27 miles west of Austin, Nevada and 105 miles east of Reno.
  • Iconic Minerals has a controlling interest in the property, in a joint venture with White Knight Gold U.S. Inc., (now U.S. Gold), with Iconic earning a 50% interest.

Squaw Creek

  • Property is located 42 miles due north of Battle Mountain, Nevada and lies between the Midas and Ivanhoe mining districts on the northern portion of the Carlin Trend, six miles north of the Dee Mine in the Lower Plate Bootstrap Window.  Iconic’s Research and Development partner
  • St-Georges’ metallurgists report that they have successfully improved the concentration of lithium in the Sediments, originally reported in December  using mechanical separation and selective leaching of other elements within the Sediments.
  • The additional tests St-Georges completed in Stage 2, through selective leaching methods, have improved the elimination of barren material from 55% to 85%-88%, while retaining 100% of the lithium.
  • Upon completion approximately 12% to 15% of the original material remains for further processing and purification. This process may significantly reduce the cost of production.
  • Lithium also leachable by water

BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – Budget 2019 likely to boost India’s education sector $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:24 PM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. Connecting global leading educators to the mass population of India. BetterU Education has ability to reach 100 MILLION potential learners each week. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

————————

Budget 2019 likely to boost India’s education sector

Published: February 23, 2019

  • India’s Annual Budget decides the way ahead for different sectors in the country.
  • Government has emphasised on education along with other sectors.
  • How the Budget 2019-20 will pave way for improvement in education sector

Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, The Shahani Group

The acting Finance Minister, Piyush Goyal said that India is among the youngest nations in the world and the Government is proud of its youth. The problems of India’s education sector are well known, so how effectively has he addressed this major issue for India’s youth in the 2019 interim budget.

Overall funding for school and higher education has gone up by 10 percent to Rs 93,847.64 crore. However, this could be considered insufficient considering India’s inflation rate of 6-7 percent. The newly constituted Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) will receive 24 percent less funding for the coming year. Considering that IIT’s, IIM’s and other central universities have been asked to get loans from HEFA instead of depending on Government grants, this reduced funding could limit their efforts to expand or improve quality.

Goyal said in his Budget speech, “The poor have the first right on the resources of the nation. The Government while maintaining the existing reservation for SC/ST/Other Backward Classes, have now ensured 10 percent reservation in educational institutions and Government services for poor. In these institutions, around 25 per cent extra seats (approximately 2 lakh) will be provided so that, there is no shortfall of presently available/reserved seats for any class.” So, he has asked institutions to increase their student capacity by 25 percent but has not allocated extra funds for them to do so. A couple of minor announcements included the establishment of an institute for Artificial Intelligence and a new AIIMs in Haryana.

Overall, it could be argued that 2019’s budget could have done a lot more for the education sector. For example, the Government has provided free healthcare for 50 crore people via its Ayushman Bharat scheme. It could have launched another scheme that provides scholarships for students to study in any quality institution of their choosing, instead of being limited to Government schools. Additionally, the Government could have allowed private investment into for-profit companies to setup schools and colleges. Funds for teacher training, primary research in universities and student career guidance could also have been allocated. The GST rate of 18% on digital education could have been slashed or removed.

Based on the above, are there any aspects of the 2019 budget that could facilitate growth in the education sector?

Albert Einstein once said, “Within every difficulty, lies opportunity”. The fact that the education sector’s problems remain mostly unaddressed, offers interesting prospects for education entrepreneurs. Having a look at the other parts of the budget speech indicates what some of those opportunities could be for education entrepreneurs.

The first aspect is that Rs. 60,000 Crore has been allocated for the MNREGA scheme which provides 100 days of paid employment for rural households. Additionally, the Government has launched the PM Kisan program which allocates Rs. 75,000 crore in cash grants to around 12 crore farmers. The key aspects about both these programmes are that rural families will be able to raise themselves out of extreme poverty and aspire for a better life.

One of the most common actions done by aspiring families is to find ways to educate their children so that they will be able to live better lives than their parents. Interestingly, many of these parents prefer to send their children to private schools as they believe that the education offered is better than what is available in free Government schools, which have high teacher absenteeism and unsatisfactory education outcomes. This means that there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to open private budget schools charging fees of Rs 100-200 per month per child, which is within the reach of many of these families.

The past years have seen an 11 percent drop in student enrollment in Government schools and a 36 percent increase in enrollment in these private budget schools, totaling around 16 million students. This shows that there is a great demand from lower income families for low cost quality education for their children. Private budget schools do not get funding from the Government, but are able to turn a profit, even with the low level of fees charged. Additionally, a few NBFCs have recognized the potential of this sector and have started advancing loans to budget schools to enable them to grow.

Another interesting point in the budget speech was that mobile data consumption has increased by 50 percent in the past five years. This is because India has among the lowest rates for mobile data in the world. The Government aims to create 1 lakh digital villages in the next five years, which will greatly increase mobile data penetration in these locations. This means that a huge number of people in small towns and villages will be able to easily access education content via their mobile phones and facilitate their own learning. Edtech entrepreneurs can then beam their online lessons into the budget schools around India, to enhance the teaching provided there. Vocational training providers can offer video lessons showing subscribers how to develop useful job skills.

Much of existing online education content is in English. However, as demand for online education increases across the country from lower income groups, there is a huge opportunity to provide this content in local languages to make it easier to understand. Additionally, English language training via apps or videos are also in high demand.

Even though the 2019 budget has not given any real sops to the education sector, the increase in access to mobile data among poorer Indians whose income is being supplemented by the Government can offer great growth opportunities for Indian education entrepreneurs.

Source: https://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2019/02/budget-2019-likely-to-boost-indias-education-sector/

New Age Metals $NAM.ca Provides an Update on the Platinum Group Metals (PGM) and Lithium Divisions $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:00 PM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
  • The River Valley Project is the largest undeveloped primary PGM mineral resource in North America. The Project has excellent infrastructure and is within 100 kilometres of the Sudbury Metallurgical Complex. The Project is 100% owned by New Age Metals.
  • Palladium continues to reach new all-time highs and as of February 26, 2019 it was priced at over $1,500 USD/oz. This represents a 45% price increase in the last 12 months. (Source: https://www.kitco.com/charts/livepalladium.html)
  • The amended January 9, 2019 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate on the River Valley Project confirms that the River Valley Project has 2,867,000 Measured and Indicated Palladium Equivalent (PdEq) ounces, with 1,059,000 PdEq ounces in Inferred at a 0.35 g/t and 2.0 g/t PdEq cut-off for open pit and underground respectively. See the January 15, 2019 press release to read more on the newest resource estimate.
  • The Project’s first economic study a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is slated to be completed on or before the end of Q2 2019.
  • The Company is actively seeking a strategic partner for our Genesis PGM Project in Alaska.

February 26th, 2019 / Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO, stated; We are pleased to update our shareholders and interested parties as to our ongoing activities in both our PGM and Lithium divisions. Specifically, give a progress update on the River Valley Project Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). Exploration and development plans for both PGM and Lithium divisions in 2019, highlight the current PGM market and particularly Palladium price trends, and finally reviewing our corporate awareness program for 2019.”

River Valley PGM Project Goals & Objectives

During the next year the company’s exploration & development objectives are as follows:

  1. 1.Complete the re-stated resource calculation (Q1 2019);
  2. 2.Complete the Projects first economic study, PEA (Q2 2019);
  3. 3.Solicit a strategic partner to aid in further exploration and development of the Project;
  4. 4.Complete surface exploration on additional target areas based on recommendations of the updated 43-101 and the 2017/2018 geophysics (slated for Q3-Q4 2019);
  5. 5.Conduct 5000 metre drill program focusing in the northern portion of the Project;
  6. 6.Our corporate mandate is to build a series of open pits (bulk mining) over the 16 kilometers of mineralization. We will concentrate on site and ship concentrates to Sudbury.

River Valley PGM Project Goals & Objectives

NAM commissioned both P&E Mining Consultants (P&E) and DRA Americas (DRA) to complete the Project’s first economic study, a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in August 2018. The study is underway and expected to be released at the previously stated time of June 2019. Thus far we can report the following:

  • – Resource calculation updated for recent trailing average metal price increase by P&E. – Preliminary mining, processing and G&A costs determined by P&E and DRA. – Preliminary process plant recoveries determined by DRA. – Initial pit optimizations complete by P&E. – Recently commenced exploring open pit phasing sequence by P&E. – Commenced geotechnical pit slope review by MDEng.

The objective of the PEA would be to create a mine plan, mine schedule, a capital cost estimate, and operating cost estimate incorporated into a financial model to provide total cash flow, net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR).

Platinum Group Metal Prices & Performance

Palladium (Pd) has thus far, been a shining star in terms of commodities in 2019 and we expect the supporting fundamentals to contribute to escalating prices. Most recently the price of Pd, our primary metal at River Valley, has hit an all-time high price of over $1,500 USD per oz. There are various reasons why this price movement has occurred and more to suggest that Pd price may continue to rise. First, there are continued supply deficits forecasted for Pd and in 2019 alone it is expected to be an estimated 615,000 ounces. It is also worthwhile to note the possibility of supply disruptions in South Africa, which provides the majority of the Pd supply. Next, according to SFA Oxford, the allowable limits of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) from gasoline passenger vehicles in China will be reduced by 60% by 2025 (SFA Oxford, 2019). Pd is the metal which reduces both CO and HC and therefore we can expect increased Pd loadings in all gasoline passenger vehicles to successfully meet these limits. The Chinese emission standard story tends itself to the increase in Pd demand to grow by 500,000 ounces by 2021. To summarize, the Palladium fundamentals and forecasts align well with the timeline for development of our River Valley Project.

Recently the World Platinum Investment Council forecasted a deficit in Platinum production for the next 5 consecutive years. Palladium for the 10 years from 2008-2017, has averaged 21.5% per annum while Gold averaged only 5.8% per annum over that same period. Both Platinum and Palladium, (outside of their extensive uses in catalytic converters which convert harmful gasses from hydrocarbon emissions into less harmful substances in vehicles), are considered precious metals, like Gold and are seen as a store of value.

2019 Mineral Resource Update

On January 9, 2019 NAM filed its latest Mineral Resource Estimate on the River Valley Project. The May 2018 Resource Estimate presented a global mineral inventory. The January 2019 Resource presents a pit constrained mineral resource that shows reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The results of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate are tabulated in Table 1 below (0.35 g/t PdEq open pit and 2.0 g.t PdEq underground cut-off). This 43-101 Technical Report is available on SEDAR.

Table 1: Results from the amended NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate.


Click Image To View Full Size

Class PGM + Au (oz) PdEq (oz) PtEq (oz)
Measured 1,394,000 1,701,000 1,701,000
Indicated 983,000 1,166,000 1,166,000
Meas +Ind 2,377,000 2,867,000 2,867,000
Inferred 841,000 1,059,000 1,059,000

Notes

  1. 1.CIM definition standards were followed for the Mineral Resource Estimate.
  2. 2.The 2018 Mineral Resource models used Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model with mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids.
  3. 3.A base cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t PdEq was used for reporting Mineral Resources in a constrained pit and 2.00 g/t PdEq was used for reporting the Mineral Resources under the pit.
  4. 4.Palladium Equivalent (PdEq) calculated using (US$): $950/oz Pd, $950/oz Pt, $1,275/oz Au, $1500/oz Rh, $2.75/lb Cu, $5.25/lb Ni, $36/lb Co.
  5. 5.Numbers may not add exactly due to rounding.
  6. 6.Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have economic viability

7. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.

This stated resource will closely relate to the resource that will be reported in the upcoming PEA slated to be completed in Q2 2019. See Figure 1 which shows the mineral resource reported in each area of the River Valley Project.


Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1: The Yellow Band represents the footwall potential area of the River Valley Deposit based on the results of the Pine Zone where footwall mineralization was noted to extend 150 metres eastward from the Pine Zone/ T3 main deposit. At present the only area that has confirmed footwall mineralization is in the Pine Zone (defined from 2015 to 2017 drilling). Geophysics and exploration are in progress to test other areas of the Deposit. Management’s specific focus is to outline a sufficient potentially economic Mineral Resource in the northern portion of the Project, and subsequently develop a series of open pits (bulk mining), crush, and concentrate on site, and ship the concentrates to Sudbury for metallurgical extraction.

2019 Exploration Plan for River Valley PGM Project

To date an approximate 160,441 metres (481,323 feet) in 710 drill holes have been conducted by the company as operator on the River Valley Project. Several independent 43-101 compliant resource estimates have previously been generated for the deposit through the exploration and development phases. The River Valley Deposit’s present resource, with approximately 2.9M PdEq ounces in Measured Plus Indicated mineral resources and near-surface mineralization, covers a total of 16 kilometers of strike. The company continues to explore and enhance the River Valley PGM Deposit.

After the ground proofing and surface exploration program conducted in Summer 2018 which followed up on the most recent induced polarization survey by Abitibi, NAM management has designed a 5000 metre drill programs to test the new geophysical anomalies. See Figure 2 below which shows these new geophysical anomalies and potential targets for the next stage of drilling at River Valley superimposed over the upper 4 kilometres of the project map.


Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2: Northern portion of the project with superimposed 2018 merged IP at -100 level. Retrieved from River Valley Geophysical review by Geoscience North (Alan King, P. Geo., M.Sc.)

2019 Exploration Plans for Lithium Division

The Company has eight pegmatite hosted Lithium Projects in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, located in SE Manitoba. In 2018 NAM conducted surface exploration programs on our Lithman East, Lithman North, Lithium One and Lithium Two projects. The programs consisted of reviewing, characterising and sampling all of the known surface pegmatites. Samples were taken from the Eagle and FD5 pegmatites on Lithium Two and returned results of up to 3.8% Li2O. On Lithium One, samples were taken from the known Silverleaf and Annie pegmatites and not only returned significant Li20 assays of up to 4.1% but heightened levels of Rubidium Oxide (Rb2O).

In 2019, the Company plans to drill on both Lithium One and Lithium Two. Drill permits have been applied for and the company is awaiting approval from the province.

Conferences This Quarter

In late January, our Chairman & CEO Harry Barr travelled to South Africa and attended two 1-2-1 style conferences with over 40 booked meetings with mine finance companies, major mine companies, institutions, stock brokers, and high net worth individuals. The trip was very successful and we are currently following up on several new opportunities that were generated from these meetings. In the meantime, the company is preparing for the upcoming PDAC 2019 (March 3 to 6). The company has secured a meeting place and is currently organizing meetings with parties interested in our PGM and Lithium divisions.

Opt-in List

If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.

QUALIFIED PERSON

The contents contained herein that relate to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information compiled, reviewed or prepared by Carey Galeschuk, a consulting geoscientist for New Age Metals. Mr. Galeschuk is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Harry Barr”

Harry G. Barr

Chairman and CEO

For further information on New Age Metals, please contact Anthony Ghitter, Business Development at 613-659-2773, or [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as “continue”, “efforts”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “confident”, “intend”, “strategy”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “project”, “goal”, “target”, “prospects”, “optimistic” or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company’s ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts’ expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

#HPQ Latest Gen2 Progress Report Confirms PUREVAP, QRR Ability to Convert Low Purity Quartz Into 4N+ Silicon Metal, in One Step, at Commercial Scale

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:42 AM on Tuesday, February 26th, 2019
  • GEN2 PUREVAP™Â TESTS SUCCESSFULLY CONFIRMS THE SCALABILITY OF PUREVAP™Â QRR PROCESS
  • 99.83% TOTAL IMPURITY REMOVAL EFFICIENCY REACHED DURING GEN2 PUREVAP™TESTING
  • HPQ PUREVAP™ PATHWAYS TO PRODUCE SOLAR GRADE SILICON METAL PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE

MONTREAL, Feb. 26, 2019 – HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (HPQ) (TSX VENTURE:HPQ) (FRANKFURT:UGE) (OTC PINK:URAGF) is pleased to announce the receipt of a progress report from PyroGenesis Canada Inc (“PyroGenesis”) (TSX Venture: PYR) describing the latest significant milestones reached during Gen2 testing of the PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor (“QRR”).  Key takeaways from the report are summarized bellow.

GEN2 PUREVAP™ TESTS SUCCESSFULLY CONFIRMS THE SCALABILITY OF PUREVAP™ QRR PROCESS

2018 Gen2 PUREVAP™ Commercial Scalability Proof of Concept tests confirmed the PUREVAP™ QRR could operate under a semi-continuous mode (January 15, 2018 release).  Next, additional process improvements and design modifications to Gen 2 were tested, and demonstrated that semi-continuous operation improves the PUREVAP™ QRR Production Yield1.  Scaling up from Gen1 to Gen2 in semi-continuous mode, production yield increased from ~ 1% to 34% (February 15 and April 19, 2018 releases).

99.83% TOTAL IMPURITY REMOVAL EFFICIENCY REACHED DURING GEN2 PUREVAPTESTING

While mostly focussed on testing components and processes for the final design of Gen3 PUREVAP™, the Gen2 testing also demonstrated that production yield is crucial to the final purity of the Silicon Metal (Si) produced by the PUREVAP™.

A Gen2 PUREVAP™ test provided 17.9% production yield and 99.83% total impurity removal efficiency2 compared to a Gen1 test under similar operating conditions, that provided 3% production yield and 97.14 % total impurity removal efficiency.  PyroGenesis3 was able to validate that production yield does play an important role in the impurity removal efficiency of the process and final purity of Si.

Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon Resources Inc stated: “The one step impurities removal capacity of the PUREVAP™ QRR and its direct impact on the final purity of the PUREVAP™ Si is the key milestone that will allow HPQ, working with PyroGenesis and Apollon Solar, to develop a low cost and green metallurgical process to produce Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG-Si).  The fact that, as expected, Gen2 testing replicated and improved Gen1 results is a major milestone that bodes well for the future as we get ready to start, mid-2019, the Gen3 commercial scalability testing phase, aimed at demonstrating the PUREVAP™ QRR commercial potential.”

HPQ PUREVAP™ PATHWAYS TO PRODUCE SOLAR GRADE SILICON METAL PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE

Using data from both Gen1 and Gen2 tests, PyroGenesis repeated the 2017 extrapolation exercise and concluded that, even using low purity feedstock (98.84% SiO2), the carbothermic part of the PUREVAP™ QRR process should allow HPQ to reach the 4N+ Si (99.99+% Si) purity threshold, assuming a production yield of +90% (or commercial scale production yield of traditional Metallurgical Grade Si (MG-Si) smelters (98.5% – 99.5% Si)).

These results exceed 2017 Gen1 base extrapolations that indicated then that the carbothermic part of the PUREVAP™ QRR process could only reach the 3N+ Si (99.9+% Si) threshold using low purity feedstock (98.84% SiO2)4, and furthermore this required a 100% production yield (November 1, 2017 release).

Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon Resources Inc further stated: “Having a process capable of producing 4N+ Silicon Metal in one step is, according to Apollon Solar, one of the most unique and potentially the greatest advantage of the PUREVAP™ QRR process as we strive to develop a low cost and green metallurgical process to produce Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG-Si).”

Pierre Carabin, Eng., M. Eng., Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist of PyroGenesis has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release.

This News Release is available on the company’s CEO Verified Discussion Forum, a moderated social media platform that enables civilized discussion and Q&A between Management and Shareholders. 

About HPQ Silicon

HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. is a TSX-V listed resource company focuses on becoming a vertically integrated and diversified High Purity, Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG Si) producer and a manufacturer of multi and monocrystalline solar cells of the P and N types, required for production of high performance photovoltaic conversion.

HPQ’s goal is to develop, in collaboration with industry leaders, PyroGenesis (TSX-V: PYR) and Apollon Solar, that are experts in their fields of interest, the innovative PUREVAPTM “Quartz Reduction Reactors (QRR)”, a truly 2.0 Carbothermic process (patent pending), which will permit the transformation and purification of quartz (SiO2) into high purity silicon metal (Si) in one step and reduce by a factor of at least two-thirds (2/3) the costs associated with the transformation of quartz (SiO2) into SoG Si. The pilot plant equipment that will validate the commercial potential of the process is on schedule to start mid-2019.

Disclaimers:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, contact

Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman, President and CEO Tel (514) 907-1011
Patrick Levasseur, Vice-President and COO Tel: (514) 262-9239
www.HPQSilicon.com

Shares outstanding: 222,284,053

1 Production Yield of the process is the conversion efficiency of Si element in the raw material (i.e. Quartz) into elemental Silicon Metal

2 Capacity of the process to volatize impurities from raw material (Quartz or SiO2 and Carbon) while making Si

3 Pyrogenesis Canada Inc. Technical Memo: “TM-2018-894 REV 00, – Final Report”

4 Pyrogenesis Canada Inc. Technical Memo: “TM-2017-830 REV 00, – Final Report-Silicon Metal Purity Enhancement”

Bougainville Ventures Inc $BOG.ca – Nearly 1 in 6 Canadians Have Used Marijuana Since Recreational Pot Was Legalized $CROP.ca $VP.ca NF.ca $MCOA

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:33 PM on Monday, February 25th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Bougainville Ventures Inc (CSE: BOG) Converting irrigated farmland to greenhouse-equipped farmland. Bougainville does not “touch the plant” and only provides agricultural infrastructure as a landlord for licensed marijuana growers. Click here for more info.
BOG:CSE
—————————————

Nearly 1 in 6 Canadians Have Used Marijuana Since Recreational Pot Was Legalized

New data from Statistics Canada offers an inside look at cannabis consumption rates based on province, gender, and age.

  • The sky seems to be the limit for the legal marijuana industry.
  • According to the most bullish forecast from Wall Street investment firm Cowen Group, the legal weed industry could surpass soda in global sales by 2030 and generate $75 billion in yearly revenue.
  • More immediately, a co-authored report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics has called for 38% global sales growth in 2019 to $16.9 billion.

Sean Williams Feb 23, 2019 at 10:51AM

The sky seems to be the limit for the legal marijuana industry. According to the most bullish forecast from Wall Street investment firm Cowen Group, the legal weed industry could surpass soda in global sales by 2030 and generate $75 billion in yearly revenue. More immediately, a co-authored report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics has called for 38% global sales growth in 2019 to $16.9 billion. No matter how you analyze the data, that’s a lot of green to go around; and it’s a big reason why pot stocks have been virtually unstoppable since the year began.

Although the United States would represent the largest cannabis market in the world by sales if it were legalized at the federal level, it’s our northerly neighbor Canada that’s leading the charge on marijuana reform. Having become the first industrialized country in the world, and only second overall behind Uruguay, to legalize adult-use pot in October, Canada looks to be on track for an estimated $5.9 billion in annual sales by 2022.

Image source: Getty Images.

An inside look at the average Canadian cannabis user

But just how quickly are Canadians adapting to this legalized environment? For that answer, I turn to Statistics Canada, the national statistics office that gathers information on Canada’s economy, environment, and society.

Recently (as of Feb. 21, 2019), Statistics Canada released self-reported data on consumers’ use of cannabis over the past three months. As a refresher, marijuana legalization occurred roughly four months ago, although the first month was a supply-side disaster. That means the past three months of use should give us a really good idea of what the typical Canadian consumer looks like.

According to the data, which Statistics Canada will continue to update, 15.4% of all citizens, or nearly 1 out of 6 Canadians, have used cannabis over the past three months. As you can imagine, usage statistics tend to vary by region, gender, and age. For instance, Quebec had the lowest percentage of people using marijuana over the past three months (13.6%), while the lesser-populated Nova Scotia had the highest percentage by far at 21.6%. Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick were also significantly above the national self-reported average in three-month use rates.

In terms of gender, men were significantly more likely than women (19.4% vs. 11.3%) to have consumed cannabis recently.

Finally, as you might expect, pot use over the past three months was considerably higher among younger people than older folks. Overall, 27.4% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 and 23.2% of those aged 25 to 34 used cannabis over the past three months. Meanwhile, just 5.2% of seniors aged 65 and up and 10.4% of Canadians aged 55 to 64 used weed recently. Even though the older generation has more disposable income, it’s these younger adults that are the future of the legal weed industry. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Cannabis consumption rates are likely to rise — here’s why

Although there were no major surprises here, there are some relatively interesting takeaways to be made.

For example, an average use rate of just 15.4% might seem rather low, but it’s not factoring in two pretty important catalysts. First, there’s the fact that marijuana growers are still in the early stages of ramping up their production. Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB), which is my selection to lead the country with 700,000 kilograms of peak annual production, is only producing at an annual run rate of 120,000 kilos right now. By the end of the current calendar quarter, Aurora Cannabis should be yielding more than 150,000 kilos annually, but it’s going to take perhaps 12 to 24 more months before Aurora is operating on all cylinders. When consumers have access to ample demand and the per-gram price for dried cannabis flower comes down a bit, we’re liable to see usage rates increase.

The second catalyst is the expected legalization of new consumption options by this fall. When the Cannabis Act was signed into law last June, and legal product sales commenced on Oct. 17, 2018, it only included dried flower, cannabis oil, and sprays. Alternative products such as edibles and cannabis-infused beverages aren’t yet legal. That, however, is expected to change by no later than Oct. 17, 2019, according to an outline presented by Health Canada. Edibles and infused beverages containing cannabidiol (CBD), the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid best known for its medical benefits, are expected to be especially important in luring in new users.

The provincial-use data is also interesting in that it highlights one potential under-the-radar grower: OrganiGram Holdings (NASDAQOTH:OGRMF). The New Brunswick-based OrganiGram is the only Atlantic grower expected to yield more than 100,000 kilograms per year when at full production capacity. Its geographic location gives it competitive advantages in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Sure, these are far less populated regions than, say, Ontario or Quebec, but it nevertheless allows OrganiGram a foothold in these potentially higher-use provinces and territories. OrganiGram was already a value stock among its peers, but it’s now that much more intriguing following the release of this data.

Image source: Getty Images.

I believe this data also demonstrates the scope of opportunity awaiting Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) and its e-commerce platform. A number of large growers and provinces, including Ontario, have chosen to utilize Shopify’s sales platform for online and brick-and-mortar sales. Aside from simply being the sales platform of choice, Shopify offers marijuana companies purchasing data on consumers for pretty much the first time ever. With this being a cash-dominated industry, it’s been virtually impossible for growers and retailers to understand their customer base. With Shopify, this is going to change, and both producers and retailers will be able to more directly target consumers.

Ultimately, the legal weed industry is still in its infancy in Canada. That means we’re liable to see this data shift as Health Canada adjusts the boundaries of what’s legal and growers and retailers come to better understand their customers.

Source: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/02/23/nearly-1-in-6-canadians-have-used-marijuana-since.aspx

INTERVIEW: CardioComm Solutions $EKG.ca Is Connecting Your Heart To The Cloud

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:09 PM on Thursday, February 21st, 2019

CardioComm is a leading global provider of consumer heart monitoring and ane electrocardiogram (aka “EKG”) solutions.  Their products are sold in over 20 countries and they’ve received numerous awards over the years.

So what does that mean?

If you’ve ever had to have your heart checked out, you know the experience involves going to a hospital / clinic and being hooked up to machines that make you look like you’re plugged into the matrix.  A technician takes a bunch of readings and a doctor tries to come up with a status of your heart’s condition.

PROBLEM 1:  It is a terribly outdated system.  You have to leave work.  The hospital / clinic has to buy & maintain a bunch of machines.  The process is very time consuming.  The entire problem also gets a lot worse if you don’t live near a major city with great hospitals, doctors and equipment.

PROBLEM 2: WORSE of all, if your heart is playing nice that day and isn’t showing signs of problems that have got your worried, you don’t get a proper diagnosis and / or you may have to come back again.

SOLUTION?  You guessed it >> CardioComm.  Thanks to the combination of your smartphone + an app and some tiny nodes to place on your chest, your heart can be monitored at length during normal activity to get you the best diagnosis possible.  The results are shot up to the cloud, where they are remotely analyzed by doctors / technicians that can then speak to you directly, or get you into a hospital ASAP.

This is the simplified version.  Now watch CEO Etienne Grima give you the deep dive in a way that will actually have you on the edge of your seat yearning for more.

If you love the transition of big existing things to digital, then you are going to love what CardioComm does.  Grab a cup of coffee and watch this.

PyroGenesis $PYR.ca Signs Pre-Tolling Agreement with Major Aluminum Smelter in the Middle East

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:44 AM on Tuesday, February 19th, 2019
  • Entered into a pre-tolling agreement with a major aluminum smelter in the Middle East, the name of which remains confidential for competitive reasons
  • Agreement outlines the next steps to enter into a final tolling arrangement, which includes a formal demonstration of the Company’s proprietary DROSRITETM System at the Client’s facility.

MONTREAL, Feb. 19, 2019 — PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a TSX Venture 50® high-tech company, (the “Company”, the “Corporation” or “PyroGenesis”) that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch  products, announced today that the Company has entered into a pre-tolling agreement (the “Agreement”) with a major aluminum smelter (the “Client”) in the Middle East, the name of which remains confidential for competitive reasons.

PyroGenesis’ DROSRITE™ system is a proven, salt-free, cost-effective, sustainable process for maximizing metal recovery from dross, a waste generated in the metallurgical industry. PyroGenesis’ patented process avoids costly loss of metal, while reducing a smelter’s carbon footprint and energy consumption, thus providing a high return on investment. The system has been designed to process and recover valuable metals such as aluminum, zinc and copper from dross. Of note, a tolling service arrangement is one in which a smelter provides dross to a third party to be processed for a fee either on or off site.

The Agreement outlines the next steps to enter into a final tolling arrangement, which includes a formal demonstration of the Company’s proprietary DROSRITETM System at the Client’s facility. This will demonstrate to local authorities that DROSRITE™ can process the Client’s dross in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner. The trials are expected to further demonstrate that DROSRITE™ can be used to recover aluminum from the Client’s dross without the addition or use of fluxing salts, resulting in a non-hazardous residue which can then be utilized by other industries, thereby closing the loop in dross processing.

Prior to entering into this Agreement, the Client conducted its own independent analysis and concluded that the DROSRITE™ technology should have a significantly higher recovery rate than their current practices, and embraced the fact that the DROSRITE™ System does not use salt and, therefore, unlike other processes, does not produce hazardous salt-cakes as a by-product.

Once demonstrated, the Agreement anticipates that the Client will engage PyroGenesis to build, install, and operate a DROSRITE™ plant, with the potential for additional Systems, to process their hot dross on-site, recover and return the metallic aluminum to the Client, and manage the resulting non-hazardous residue. The terms and conditions of any eventual tolling agreement will be based on demonstration economics, which is expected to be completed in Q2, 2019.

PyroGenesis’ DROSRITE™ tolling service has two forms of revenues: (i) a traditional tolling fee per metric tonne of dross processed, which ranges widely depending upon the region, and is typically up to US $450 per ton, and (ii) a bonus, which is based upon the increase in aluminum recovery uniquely generated by PyroGenesis’ DROSRITE™ technology, and which is typically between 10-20%.

PyroGenesis leverages DROSRITE™â€™s non-hazardous salt-free process to address increased environmental regulations.

“Not only is PyroGenesis’ DROSRITE™ technology game-changing in its own right, as it operates on-site with increased aluminum recovery, but at the same time it addresses the environmental issues associated with dross, which are becoming critical for aluminum smelters around the world, and particularly in the Middle East,” commented Mr. David D’Aoust, Sales Manager – DROSRITE™ of PyroGenesis. “In nearly all the Gulf Cooperation Council nations, the environmental authorities have tightened their restrictions on dross management with the goal of eliminating landfills with hazardous dross or residue by-products, such as salt-cakes, which are produced by traditional dross processing technologies. It is now imperative that dross be managed in an environmentally friendly fashion, which speaks to the urgent need for PyroGenesis’ DROSRITE™ technology to service the rapidly growing aluminum industry. We are highly confident this will be a successful demonstration, based on the outstanding results we have generated to date.”

The Client allows PyroGenesis to showcase DROSRITE™ to other potential customers in the region.

The Client also agreed to allow PyroGenesis to showcase the DROSRITE™ System to other local aluminum smelters who are also prospective clients for the DROSRITE™ System, and who are similarly looking for salt-free, environmentally friendly, solutions for the processing of their dross.

“We are happy to have the opportunity to showcase the DROSRITE™ technology with the support and backing of this Client,” said Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. “I believe this underscores the impact DROSRITE™ is having in the industry and, additionally, the unique environmental benefits it provides.”

DROSRITE™ demonstrates significant advantages over current practices, and is becoming the high-tech alternative with additional unique environmental benefits.

“PyroGenesis’ on-site DROSRITE™ tolling services address all of the environmental concerns in dross management at its head,” said Mr. Pierre Carabin, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist of PyroGenesis. “Existing technologies continue to propose salt-based processing technologies, and address the resulting hazardous salt-slag wastes by developing complex post processing, salt-slag washing technologies. This results in an unwieldy three-step offering: (i) the smelter must cool the dross and transport it off-site, losing valuable metal in the process, (ii) the dross is then processed with a salt-based technology producing hazardous and toxic salt-slag residues, and (iii) the now highly contaminated salt-slag residues must be transported to a third facility, which is specifically designed to wash the salt-slag and process the material back into a non-hazardous material. By contrast, PyroGenesis’ patented DROSRITE™ technology is a simple and cost-effective one-step-solution with high return on capital for the client.  Specifically, hot-dross is processed on-site, at the smelter, with zero hazardous salt-slag waste byproducts.”

PyroGenesis, together with its Japanese partner, advance on multiple tolling opportunities.

Mr. P. Peter Pascali added, “In addition to this latest Agreement, we are actively pursuing other tolling arrangements through our new, multi-billion-dollar global partner headquartered in Japan, which we announced in November, 2018. Our business development team, together with our Japanese partner’s upper management, recently returned from our first series of on-site customer visits, all of whom requested moving forward to the next step. This contract, along with other discussions we are having with various players worldwide, should enable us, together with our Japanese partner, to provide a cookie-cutter offering, and rapidly roll out our on-site tolling business worldwide.”

About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a TSX Venture 50® high-tech company, is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward- looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Corporation’s current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Corporation’s ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

For further information please contact: Clémence Bertrand-Bourlaud, Marketing Manager/Investor Relations, Phone: (514) 937-0002, E-mail: [email protected]  

RELATED LINKS: http://www.pyrogenesis.com/