SASKATOON, Saskatchewan & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gensource Potash Corporation (“Gensource” or the “Company”) (TSXV: GSP, AIM: GSP) is pleased to announce the acquisition of an additional potash permit area, Block 59, through the recent Government of Saskatchewan public offering of subsurface Mineral Crown Dispositions S010. Block 59 abuts existing Gensource leases, is approximately 7,244 hectares and represents a direct addition to mineral leases KL244 and KL245 in Gensource’s Vanguard Area. Block 59 is located immediately north of KL245 in the Rural Municipality of Huron No.223, which is the location of Gensource’s Tugaske potash project (the “Tugaske Project”), the Company’s first modular potash production project. The total price paid to the Government of Saskatchewan for Block 59 was $103,305, or $14.26 per hectare of Crown mineral rights and will be satisfied from existing cash resources. Management believes that this is a cost-effective addition to Gensource’s potash asset base. Pursuant to Schedule Four of the AIM Rules for Companies, it is noted that there are no profits attributable to Block 59.
Gensource’s President and CEO Mike Ferguson comments, “Gensource is leading the way to what it believes is the future of the potash industry and this land addition is an exciting opportunity to complete further geological and project development work towards a potential new project. We are already seeing new players following Gensource’s lead, but the combination of Gensource’s technical expertise to actually implement a project, innovative business thinking, and first mover advantage means exciting things ahead for the Company as we engage with new potential partners for future projects.”
Further detail
Management believes that Saskatchewan contains the world’s greatest resource of potash-bearing ores, found in the Prairie Evaporite Formation. This resource is rich, widespread and consistent in its grades and thicknesses and is very well understood, having been discovered in the 1940s. Therefore, no one needs to “explore” in order to “find” potash in Saskatchewan, as it is available in abundance. On this basis, Gensource has operated under a new philosophy that land, or mineral rights, is not the most important aspect of a potash operation. Access to surface infrastructure (road, rail, power, gas, water, etc.) necessary to construct and operate a potash production facility is important. Furthermore, the technology and the business plan to monetize the resource in the most efficient manner are the key factors to becoming a new potash producer.
Gensource is increasing the value proposition by developing an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible mining operation that eliminates the most negative impacts of traditional potash mining: salt tailings and brine ponds. While the Tugaske Project is Gensource’s first planned potash production module, the Company has identified additional project opportunities in other market areas. Gensource’s overall business plan is to develop several modular projects within its Vanguard Area, each directing product to clearly defined market areas.
Due to Block 59 being directly adjacent to KL245 and in close proximity to the resource confirmation wells that Gensource has drilled over the past several years, the data from those wells will be applicable to Block 59. This optimizes and leverages Gensource’s existing investments in geological and geophysical exploration and analysis, making the process of defining a resource on Block 59 more efficient from both a cost and time perspective. Further, being a separate mining permit, Block 59 is expected to create a future project area, separate from the Company’s existing leases KL244 and KL245, capable of supporting the implementation of even more potash production modules under Gensource’s business model.
About Gensource
Gensource is a fertilizer development company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and is on track to become the next fertilizer production company in that province. With a small scale and environmentally leading approach to potash production, Gensource believes its technical and business model will be the future of the industry. Gensource operates under a business plan that has two key components: (1) vertical integration with the market to ensure that all production capacity built is directed, and pre-sold, to a specific market, eliminating market-side risk; and (2) technical innovation which will allow for a small and economic potash production facility, that demonstrates environmental leadership within the industry, producing no salt tailings, therefore eliminating decommissioning risk, and requiring no surface brine ponds, thereby removing the single largest and negative environmental aspect of potash mining.
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