LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: LME | OTC: LMEFF | FSE: 5YD) has provided an update on environmental, technical, and regulatory work at its 100%-owned Ishkōday Gold and Polymetallic Project in Northwestern Ontario. The company is advancing two complementary initiatives at the historical Sturgeon River Mine: recovery and remediation of a surface waste rock stockpile, and an Advanced Exploration Project involving dewatering and rehabilitation of the flooded mine shaft and underground workings.
The surface stockpile initiative has reached a regulatory milestone with the submission of a Recovery of Minerals Permit application to Ontario's Ministry of Energy and Mines, including a Recovery and Remediation Plan under section 152.1 of the Mining Act and Ontario Regulation 463/24. The stockpile, a legacy of decades-old mining operations, contains mineralized material that LAURION seeks to recover through removal and off-site processing, followed by remediation to provincial standards. The company notes that recovery would not require new infrastructure, mining, or underground development, and is supported by assessments of potential environmental effects and identification of protection measures.
Separately, LAURION is preparing a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) application for submission to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in Q4 2026, targeting controlled dewatering of the historical shaft. The shaft extends approximately 642 metres below surface and includes 15 underground levels, with an estimated 114,000 cubic metres of static water. The proposed Advanced Exploration Project would involve removing the shaft cap, rehabilitating the collar, and installing a temporary headframe and hoisting plant to enable safe access and progressive rehabilitation. Once access is established, the company plans underground exploration drilling and sampling to evaluate the deposit. No commercial production or ore processing is proposed at this stage.
The permitting process is supported by five years of independent environmental baseline studies, including terrestrial ecology and species-at-risk surveys, aquatic and benthic assessments, multi-year groundwater and surface water monitoring, shaft water and hydrogeological studies, and a Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment. These studies provide a foundation for regulatory review and will inform environmental management and monitoring measures.
LAURION has also engaged applicable Indigenous communities through an Indigenous Joint Steering Committee, with project-specific consultation involving Animbiigoo Zaagi'igan Anishinaabek First Nation, Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation, and Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek First Nation. Public notice and meetings will be part of the Closure Plan process.
Management emphasizes the significance of this work. "Five years of rigorous, independent environmental baseline work is not a small undertaking," said Cynthia Le Sueur-Aquin, President and CEO. "Recovering potentially economic residual mineralization within the stockpile, and doing so responsibly, is exactly the kind of value-additive, environmentally sound project our shareholders should expect." She added that the dewatering program could provide safe underground access to evaluate gold-bearing structures not fully explored before mining ceased in 1942, while also rehabilitating a long-standing legacy mine hazard.
These advancements matter because they position LAURION to potentially unlock value from historical waste while addressing environmental liabilities, and to gain critical geological data needed to assess the project's resource potential. Successful permitting could lead to a future Mineral Resource Estimate and enhance project development flexibility. For more information, visit LAURION's website.
