TORONTO, April 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Newstrike Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:HIP) ("Newstrike" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary and licensed producer of cannabis, Up Cannabis Inc. (“Up Cannabis”), has received a producer’s licence to cultivate (“Licence”) in respect of its 160,000 sq. ft. automated greenhouse site in the Niagara region (the “Niagara Facility”). The Licence has a term of three-years and permits production at the Niagara Facility by Up Cannabis of:
- Dried and fresh Marihuana;
- Marihuana plants and seeds;
- Cannabis in its natural form: Cannabis Resin; and,
- Cannabis oil (bottled).
Cultivation is expected to begin at the Niagara Facility during the current month of April 2018 with the first harvest to take place in the third quarter of 2018. Production at the existing greenhouse is expected to reach the forecasted annual capacity of approximately 12,500 kg by the end of 2018.
“The receipt of this cultivation Licence marks the achievement of another critical milestone and showcases the ability of our production team to move from concept to cultivation effectively and quickly”, stated Jay Wilgar, Newstrike’s CEO. “In just over eight months, we acquired, financed, engineered, permitted, retrofitted and now licensed this fully-automated greenhouse facility and, in doing so, we expect to have aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 15,000 kg coming online for the opening of the Canadian adult-use cannabis market.”
The receipt of the Licence relates to the existing and recently retrofitted greenhouse operation in Ontario’s Niagara Region. As previously disclosed, Up Cannabis has received all land-use and related construction permits and expects to break-ground in the second half of 2018 to expand the Niagara Facility by adding an additional 160,000 sq. ft. of cultivation space as well as enhanced processing, packaging, shipping, storage and administrative facilities. On completion of this planned expansion to the Niagara Facility, Up Cannabis’ aggregate annual production capacity is expected to increase to approximately 27,500 kg