Independent Preliminary Economic Assessment for Atlas Salt's Great Atlantic Project Supports State-of-the-Art "Salt Factory" Vision GlobeNewswire 8:24 PM ET
Independent Preliminary Economic Assessment for Atlas Salt's Great Atlantic Project Supports State-of-the-Art "Salt Factory" VisionGlobeNewswireJanuary 31, 2023ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlas Salt(the "Company" or "Atlas" - TSXV: SALT; OTCQB: REMRF) is pleased to announce the results of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and updated Mineral Resource estimate
prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. (SLR) on its 100%-owned Great Atlantic Salt Project located on the west coast of Newfoundland.
Great Atlantic is the premier undeveloped salt deposit situated in the heart of a large regional U.S./Canadian road salt market facing a significant domestic production shortfall.
Highlights:
Pre- ax internal rate of return (IRR) of 22%; NPV(8) of $909 million; payback in 4.2 years after commencement of operations;Base case of 2.5 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) production for a 30-year mine life with a mine and processing design to accommodate expansion up to 4 million tonnes per year and capable of extending the mine life beyond the 30-year standard production model;Low-cost production - utilizing a Q4 2022 cost basis of $23.81 per tonne FOB;Expansion of Mineral Resource estimate including first-time declaration of Indicated Mineral resources (187 million tonnes @ 96.4% salt) with Inferred Mineral resources of 999 million tonnes @ 95.6% salt;State-of-the-art, environmentally friendly design featuring the first major salt mine in North America accessible through declines, providing all the attendant benefits of scalability and economic efficiencies;Recently completed drill hole CC-9, collared 250 meters east of hole CC-4 (refer to Jan. 11, 2023 news release), was not incorporated into the PEA. Results from this hole and other data from the 2022 drill campaign will be included in the upcoming Feasibility Study currently being prepared by SLR;Further to its news release of May 19, 2022, Atlas has entered into discussions regarding Great Atlantic with interested parties including potential suitors. With an independent PEA now in hand, management expects these discussions to accelerate with the focus on possible outcomes aimed at maximizing shareholder value.Mr. Rowland Howe, Atlas President, commented: "In my 30+ years in this industry I have not come across a salt project as unique as Great Atlantic given its combination of size, shallowness, and logistical advantages. This robust PEA confirms our vision for the project."