Athabasca in Holding Pattern on Firebag Project

Athabasca Minerals Inc. announced the corporation’s second quarter financial results for the period ending June 30, 2016.

The company:

  • Completed the sale of leases surrounding the Obed transloading facility for a purchase price of $800,000.
  • Commissioned the 55-acre Emerson Road aggregate operation located in the Hinton/Edson, Alberta, region for potential aggregate deliveries.
  • Working capital of $6,970,238 as of June 30, 2016.
  • Cash position of $3,941,339 as of June 30, 2016.
  • Revenue of $563,638 in Q2 2016 versus revenue of $3,348,425 during Q2 2015.
  • Net loss of $258,773 in Q2 2016 versus a net loss of $763,146 in Q2 2015.
  • Completed the balance of payments on the capital term loan of $500,000 in 2016 to a balance of zero.

The corporation is focused on completing engineering options and additional permitting for the Firebag Frac Sand Project. There will be limited capital spending on the Firebag project until greater certainty surrounding pricing and domestic frac sand demand is established.

The corporation was impacted by the recent Fort McMurray wildfires, whereby evacuation orders in the region and limited personnel did not allow for any production or deliveries from the Susan Lake public pit and corporate aggregate pits for a significant period of time. Susan Lake operations re-commenced on May 26 after the forest fires closed operations on May 3 with limited demand as regional customers re-start operations at regional oil sands facilities. The corporation’s sales were hindered by the current low oil price environment experienced during the second quarter.

Athabasca operates corporate pits situated in close proximity to Highway 881 and Highway 63 for the potential supply of aggregates for construction, infrastructure, development projects and steam assisted gravity drainage operations. The corporation is bidding upcoming infrastructure projects and continues to evaluate and seek diversification opportunities outside of the Wood Buffalo region. The corporation maintains an inventory of aggregates available for new work, and is in the process of obtaining a dewatering permit for the corporate Kearl pit in order to build inventory for anticipated sales in the second half of 2016.

Athabasca is also exploring development and joint venture partners for the Richardson Dolomite/Granite Project located 70 km north of the Susan Lake public pit and 130 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Richardson Project consists of eight mineral permits totaling 150,650 acres, with a National Instrument 43-101 technical report demonstrating an initial inferred crushed rock aggregate resource estimate of 683,000,000 tons.

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