BEACON GOLD MILL IS FULLY PERMITTED
The entirely refurbished Beacon Gold Mill was last fully operational in early 2023 when the price of gold was USD$1,800 per ounce and has been under care and maintenance since that time. As gold approaches a record price of USD$3,000 per ounce, the goal of restarting the Beacon Gold Mill in the coming months is an exceptional opportunity for LaFleur Minerals to also target the custom milling of mineralized material from nearby gold deposits that surround the Beacon Mill. LaFleur Minerals demonstrates significant upside potential by ultimately generating revenue at the current elevated gold prices, with the restart of the Beacon Mill targeting a potential annual production scenario of approximately 30,000 to 40,000 ounces of gold based on the current mill capacity. The Company is currently finalizing the restart costs for the Beacon Mill and expects to have all permits and updates completed by the end of Q2 2025.
The entire LaFleur Minerals team has been collectively working toward a successful restart of the Beacon Mill. With the current increase in the price of gold and the fully-permitted Beacon Mill that lies within the prolific Abitibi Gold Belt in the Tier 1 mining district of Val-d'Or, Québec, LaFleur Minerals has a great opportunity to eventually produce gold at Beacon with gold prices at record levels. LaFleur Minerals is now approaching the finish line on many of the fundamental pieces that support this goal including assessing nearby advanced gold deposits and initiating discussions with neighbouring mining companies that could utilize the Beacon Mill to process their bulk samples and future mineralized material through a custom milling agreement for numerous gold deposits in the Val-d'Or region surrounding the Beacon Mill (Figure 3).
Paul Ténière, CEO of LaFleur Minerals, stated, "We continue to make great progress in achieving key operational readiness milestones at the Beacon Mill, including ongoing inspections of all equipment and systems and ensuring an adequate supply of spare parts. The highly experienced team at ABF Mines has been diligently working to finalize a detailed plan and the cost to restart the mill with results expected within the next few weeks. We also continue to meet our environmental monitoring and sampling requirements under our permit to operate, which includes completion of fish and wildlife studies within the tailings storage facility (TSF) as required under both provincial and federal environmental regulations. Our consultants are also working with us to evaluate required upgrades to the TSF as we move towards restarting production at the Beacon Mill."
SWANSON GOLD PROJECT UPDATE
The Swanson gold project is over 15,000 hectares in size and includes several prospects rich in gold and critical metals previously held by Monarch Mining, Abcourt Mines and Globex Mining. The consolidated Swanson Gold Project covers a major structural break that hosts the Swanson, Bartec, and Jolin gold targets and numerous other showings which make up the Swanson gold project. The Swanson gold project is easily accessible by road with a rail line running through the property, allowing direct access to several nearby gold mills and further enhancing its development potential. The Swanson gold project has had in excess of 36,000m of drilling.
(MRE source: NI 43-101 technical report, effective September 17, 2024, filed on the Company's SEDAR+ profile).
- Bartec target (Au): Historical Mineral Resource Estimate.
(source: GESTIM - DV 87-01 - historical estimate not compliant NI 43-101)
Recent Exploration Activities:
High-resolution airborne magnetics and VLF-EM geophysics program:
Oriented soil geochemistry and prospecting program:
Induced Polarization (IP) - Resistivity Ground Geophysics Survey:
A total of 166 line-km will be surveyed in February 2025 at 200 m line spacings.
This will cover the Swanson, Bartec, and Jolin deposits, all of which are advanced gold targets with current and historical mineral resources.
LaFleur Minerals is currently working with its consultants to expedite permitting of the Swanson Gold Project with a focus on evaluating its potential to supply mineralized material to the Beacon Gold Mill.
LaFleur Minerals is also completing an IP ground geophysics survey on its Swanson Gold Project and is planning an aggressive drilling program for this spring and summer to increase the existing mineral resource for the project including incorporating the Bartec, Jolin, and other gold targets. Other ongoing work includes evaluating the open-pit mining potential of the mining lease at the Swanson gold deposit and planning to advance to a Pre-Feasibility Study and mine permitting.
ACQUIRES ADDITIONAL CLAIMS ADJOINING THE SWANSON GOLD PROJECT
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a Property Purchase Agreement with third-party arm's length vendors (the "Vendors") dated February 28, 2025 (the "Agreement"). Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company is entitled to acquire 100% interest to 17 mining claims covering approximately 699 hectares (the "Claims") contiguous with the Company's Swanson Gold Project ("Swanson") in the Barraute region, north of Val-d'Or, Québec. These Claims are located east of the Swanson gold deposit and mining lease held by LaFleur Minerals.
The acquisition terms for the Claims consists of a cash payment totaling $15,000 and the issuance of 150,000 common shares of the Company to the Vendors within 7 business days of approval of the Agreement by the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). The common shares issued under the Agreement are subject to a statutory hold period in Canada expiring four (4) months and one day from the closing date.
For further background information on the Beacon Gold Mill and Swanson Gold Project please refer to the Company's website and recent videos at the following link: https://lafleurminerals.com/valdor.
LAFLEUR MINERALS ATTENDING PDAC CONFERENCE IN TORONTO - MARCH 2 TO 5
Connect with LaFleur Minerals CEO, Paul Ténière, Technical Advisor/Exploration Manager, Louis Martin, and Senior Advisor, Jean LaFleur, March 2 to 5 at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre for a 1-on-1 meeting to discuss the Company's recent developments and plans moving forward for its Swanson Gold Project and Beacon Gold Mill. Contact info@lafleurminerals.com to book in advance.
Figure 1: Photo of interior of Beacon Mill currently undergoing detailed inspections for restart
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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6526/242940_2cb6b54a047c48d9_001full.jpg
Figure 2: Photo of exterior of Beacon Mill in Val-d'Or, Québec
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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6526/242940_2cb6b54a047c48d9_002full.jpg
Figure 3: Map of nearby gold deposits within a 50 km radius of the Beacon Gold Mill
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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6526/242940_2cb6b54a047c48d9_003full.jpg
Qualified Person Statement
All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared and approved by Louis Martin, P.Geo., Technical Advisor to the Company and considered a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101.
About LaFleur Minerals Inc.
LaFleur Minerals Inc. (CSE: LFLR) (OTCQB: LFLRF) (FSE: 3WK0) is focused on the development of district-scale gold Deposits in the Abitibi Gold Belt near Val-d'Or, Québec. Our mission is to advance mining Deposits with a laser focus on our resource-stage Swanson Gold Deposit and the Beacon Gold Mill and Property, which have significant potential to deliver long-term value. The Swanson Gold Deposit is over 15,000 hectares (150 km2) in size and includes several prospects rich in gold and critical metals previously held by Monarch Mining, Abcourt Mines, and Globex Mining. LaFleur has recently consolidated a large land package along a major structural break that hosts the Swanson, Bartec, and Jolin gold deposits and several other showings that make up the Swanson Gold Deposit. The Swanson Gold Deposit is easily accessible by road with a rail line running through the property allowing direct access to several nearby gold mills, further enhancing its development potential. Lafleur Minerals' fully-refurbished and permitted Beacon Gold Mill is capable of processing over 750 tonnes per day and is being considered for processing mineralized material at Swanson and for custom milling operations for other nearby gold Deposits.
ON BEHALF OF LAFLEUR MINERALS INC.
LaFleur Minerals Inc.
1500-1055 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 4N7
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements about the Offering and the Company's expectations with respect to the foregoing. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements in this news release include the tax treatment of the FT Shares. All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration, risks related to environmental regulation and liability. the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
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Beacon Mill in Val-d'Or, Québec
Cartier projects in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Quebec