Athabasca Minerals Updates Business Plans

Athabasca Minerals Inc. (AMI) along with its wholly owned subsidiary, AMI Silica Inc. announced:

• Filing of regulatory application with Alberta Environment & Parks (AEP) for AMI’s Prosvita Sand Project (formerly called the Duvernay Sand Project).
• 12 million tonnes of additional premium domestic sand resource associated with AMI’s Whitetail holdings.
• A resource update for AMI’s White Rabbit sand holdings.

AMI Silica has filed its regulatory application with Alberta Environment & Parks (AEP) for the Prosvita Sand Project (formerly called the Duvernay Sand Project). The application, as prepared by TerraShift Engineering Ltd., follows the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) to operate a Class 1 Pit under the Code of Practice for Pits in Alberta.

AMI added sand resource associated with its Whitetail land holdings. An auger drilling program was conducted in Q1-2020, followed by a sonic drilling program and lab analysis in Q4-2020. Measured and Indicated resources of 40/140 mesh fraction were calculated to be 11.9 million tonnes (MT) with an additional 0.9 MT of Inferred resources. In terms of Whitetail’s sand quality, the lab analysis of various core samples reported consistent crush strengths of 8K for 40/140 size fractions, with shape factors of 0.6 and 0.7-0.8 for roundness and sphericity respectively. The “qualified person” as defined by National Instrument 43-101, attesting to the technical information associated with AMI’s Whitetail resource, including technical statements is Dr. Derek Apel, P.Eng.

For business purposes, AMI released certain lands associated with its White Rabbit holdings. The measured in-place mineral resource for White Rabbit sand has been updated to 18.8 MT from the original 24.7 MT. The Qualified Persons, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, attesting to the technical information associated with AMI’s White Rabbit sand resource including technical statements are William A. Turner, P.Geol. and Ivan Minev, P.Geol. of Stantec.

Robert Beekhuizen, the corporation’s chief executive officer, stated, “We are really pleased to add more premium domestic sand resource from our Whitetail properties in the vicinity of our White Rabbit holdings. The quality of this local sand benchmarks well against imported Tier-1 Wisconsin sand. The Whitetail resource is ideally situated in terms of rail, trucking, utilities, infrastructure and offers synergies with our international industrial partner, all of which contribute to lower development costs. It also provides excellent access to both the Duvernay and Montney basins to help improve logistics costs in the sand market. With the recent filing of our regulatory applications, AMI has moved another step forward in advancing a strategic project with local and provincial benefits. We look forward to working with the community and regional stakeholders in creating employment and contracting opportunities, demonstrating our commitment to environmental & social responsibility, and offsetting Western Canada’s reliance on imported American sand.”

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