Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX-V: VM) has submitted a Multi-Year Area-Based Notice of Work application to the British Columbia Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals for its Frances Creek barite project, marking a key step toward de-risking the project and advancing it to a final feasibility study. The application seeks authorization for a five-year advanced exploration program on a 76.8-hectare area within mineral claims 571267, 1054177, and 1031568.
The proposed program includes exploration trenching, access trail development, construction of a processing area, and a mine rock storage facility, 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 involves 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 per cell under the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The barite will be processed on site using dry densimetric technology, producing an initial concentrate to be shipped to the Company's future facility for USP barium upgrading. The material will be used to design, test, and validate Voyageur’s proprietary concentration and acid leach process to meet USP specifications for pharmaceutical-grade barium contrast agents.
The MYAB framework also allows further exploration sampling in subsequent years, up to 1,000 tonnes ore per cell per year, subject to regulatory conditions.
Additionally, the application includes a geotechnical drilling program to provide rock mechanics and slope stability data needed to finalize quarry pit wall designs and waste rock storage configurations. This data is the primary remaining requirement to complete a National Instrument 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, 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 comply with the Mines Act, the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. The program is designed to be low-impact, with progressive reclamation planned upon completion.
The NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment dated February 22, 2022 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, with recent testing confirming an average grade of 98.8% BaSO4, exceeding the 97.5% pharmaceutical grade threshold (see 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.
