EPM Mining announces agreement to produce Preliminary Feasibility
Study and strengthens its team
TORONTO,
Jan. 3, 2013 /CNW/ - EPM Mining
Ventures Inc. ("EPM" or the "Company") (TSXV: EPK - OTCQX: EPMMF)
today announced the signing of a contract with CH2M HILL ("CH2")
and Agapito Associates, Inc. ("AAI") to produce a Preliminary
Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the production of Sulfate of Potash
("SOP") from its Sevier Dry Lake
Potash project located in southwestern Utah. With US $6.4
billion in revenue and 30,000 employees worldwide, CH2 is a
global leader in full-service consulting, design, design-build,
operations, and program management services for public and private
clients. AAI has provided consulting and engineering services to
mining companies producing base metals, precious metals, trona,
potash, and salt. Their potash and fertilizer clients include
Potash One, Intrepid Mining, Vale, Rio Tinto, Western Potash, and
others.
Lance D'Ambrosio, Chief Executive Officer of
EPM, said; "We are very pleased to continue our relationship with
CH2 and to welcome Agapito to our project. After the encouraging
results of our preliminary economic assessment, we look forward to
completing this next step and moving seamlessly to the Definitive
Feasibility Study."
The estimated completion date of the PFS will be
mid-2013 and will serve as an important milestone leading to the
Company's Definitive Feasibility Study anticipated to be completed
by late 2013. It will build upon the recently completed preliminary
economic assessment which indicated SOP production of 300,000
metric tonnes ("MT") with an estimated Net Present Value of
$956.5 million (pre-tax, inflated, 8%
discount rate) and an estimated Net Present Value of $629.7 million (after tax, inflated, 8% discount
rate); and with an estimated Internal Rate of Return of 30%
(pre-tax, inflated) and an estimated Internal Rate of Return of 24%
(after tax, inflated).
Team Expansion
In order to effectively manage the environmental
effort and permitting process, EPM is pleased to announce that
LeeAnn Diamond P.G. has joined the
team. Having worked on environmental, geological, and geotechnical
projects for many years, LeeAnn has a wide variety of compliance
and technical experience. Before joining Peak Minerals Inc., the
Company's U.S. subsidiary, she worked for Kleinfelder Inc. as a
project manager where she had many responsibilities including
supervising NEPA, EPA Brownfields, RCRA Subtitle D landfill, Phase
I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, and transportation
projects. LeeAnn has five years' experience as the lead technical
writer and project manager on several National Park NEPA projects
in the western United States. As a
task manager and field engineer, she spent nine years managing
surface, groundwater, leachate, and methane monitoring and
reporting, as well as NPDES and air permitting for a RCRA Subtitle
D landfill. LeeAnn provided project management oversight, Phase I
assessments, and public outreach, including public open house
meetings and individual stakeholder meetings for Salt Lake County's 135-acre West Millcreek EPA
Brownfields project. For Utah Department of Transportation, she
provided environmental compliance oversight on the Legacy Parkway
Project, including identification and disposal of hazardous
materials, coordinating abatement and abandonment activities and
providing quality assurance review of all environmental project
documents. LeeAnn earned her Bachelor of Science in Geological
Engineering from the University of Utah
and is a Registered Professional Geologist.
Lance D'Ambrosio, Chief Executive Officer of
EPM, said; "We are very pleased to welcome LeeAnn to the EPM team
at a time when we are moving our project to the next stage. Her
experience, skills, and in-depth knowledge of Utah's permitting process strengthens our
in-house know-how and adds necessary expertise as we build our
preeminent SOP project."
About EPM Mining Ventures
EPM, through its wholly owned subsidiary Peak Minerals Inc.,
controls directly or through agreement, mineral leases on more than
124,000 acres on the Sevier Dry Lake property in Millard County, Utah. EPM is targeting the
future development and production of Sulfate of Potash (SOP), a
premium priced fertilizer used with special crops and soil types,
through a cost-effective solar evaporation methodology.
For more information on the Company, please
visit our web site at www.epmmining.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE EPM Mining Ventures Inc.