Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX-V: VM) announced the submission of a Multi-Year Area-Based (MYAB) Notice of Work application to the British Columbia Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals for its Frances Creek barite project. The application seeks authorization for a five-year advanced exploration program on a 76.8-hectare work area, covering exploration trenching, access trail development, processing area construction, and a mine rock storage facility, primarily on previously disturbed forestry land.
The proposed Year 1 program includes the extraction of 2,000 tonnes of high-grade barite ore (specific gravity 4.5) from the A and B Zones, with 1,000 tonnes from each cell, within the annual limit under the Mineral Tenure Act. The barite will be processed on site using dry densimetric technology to produce an initial concentrate, which will be shipped to Voyageur’s future facility for a US Pharmacopeia (USP) barium upgrading plant. This material will be used to design, test, and validate the company’s proprietary concentration and acid leach process to meet USP specifications for pharmaceutical-grade barium contrast agents.
The application also includes a geotechnical drilling program to provide rock mechanics and slope stability data required to finalize quarry pit wall designs and waste rock storage configurations. This data is needed to complete a National Instrument 43-101 Final Feasibility Study, building on the company’s 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and the Pre-Feasibility Study currently in progress.
Brent Willis, CEO of Voyageur, stated: “This Notice of Work submission is a significant de-risking milestone. The Year 1 test extraction will generate the material required to advance process development and validation at our pilot plant in support of a future full-scale pharmaceutical API facility. The accompanying geotechnical program will enable us to progress the project to Final Feasibility Study level.”
The PEA, dated February 22, 2022, outlined a low-cost open-pit development scenario focused on high-value pharmaceutical applications. Recent market observations indicate that costs for imported pharmaceutical-grade barite have increased significantly compared to PEA assumptions, potentially improving project economics. The project hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 132,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical-grade barium sulfate, with average purity of 98.8% BaSO4 (see news release dated March 3, 2026).
The PEA’s base case economics (8% discount rate) include a $36 million initial capital over 3 years, equipment delivery and installation within 24 months, an 11-month payback period after production start, and average operating gross margins of approximately 75%. The PEA is preliminary and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA results will be realized.
Voyageur’s strategy is to vertically integrate the barium contrast market, from raw material sourcing to final production, aiming to become a key North American supplier. The company owns a 100% interest in the Frances Creek barite project and has developed five barium contrast products with Health Canada licenses.
