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Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. is pleased to present a corporate update on the company’s activities.
Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. (TSXV:PLAN) (“PLAN” or the “Company”), an emerging leader in the commercialization of natural pozzolans, is pleased to present a corporate update on the company’s activities.
We are accelerating our efforts to commercialize our developing portfolio of natural pozzolan properties. In combination with these efforts, we are seeking to address the massive carbon footprint and requirements of one of the world’s largest industries…cement production.
Research Partnership with University of Alberta
Throughout the world, fly ash is generated as a by-product of burning coal for electricity generation. Fly ash is used as a supplementary cementing material in blended cement mixes. The supply of fly ash is directly related to the amount of coal which is combusted in power plants which in many parts of Canada, and the world, are scheduled for decommissioning or already being decommissioned.
In December 2019, PLAN announced a strategic relationship with the University of Alberta to conduct work with respect to improving the slump of the natural pozzolan from its Z-1 Quarry so that it possesses similar rheology to commercially available fly ash.
We have received an interim report from the University which describes the work done to date. The slump has been improved with a combination of various inputs which will remain proprietary; however, one input in the blend which we will disclose is pulverized, recycled glass.
The preliminary results are encouraging and in turn we believe there is tremendous potential for using waste material in a proprietary blend to create a high-quality supplementary cementing material (SCM) for the cement industry as a potential replacement for fly ash.
The initial research trial is expected to conclude at the end of April 2020 at which time we expect to finalize our proprietary formulation for CSA testing. Once CSA testing is completed, we intend to begin production on a small scale to introduce our SCM to the BC and Alberta markets.
Natural Pozzolans
In the fall of 2019, we announced the option of the Z-2 Natural Pozzolan Property. In February 2020, we announced the option of the Z-3 Natural Pozzolan Property (Heffley Creek). These three properties form the core portfolio of natural pozzolan properties for PLAN.
These three high quality properties near Kamloops, BC are all close to rail access to the Lower Mainland and Alberta.
We are currently finalizing the 2020 exploration plans for both the Z-2 and the Z-3 and expect to commence exploration work in late April or early May with work commencing once the snowpack is melted and the ground is sufficiently dry to conduct field work.
The intention for the Z-2 Property is to start to quantify the amount of natural pozzolan contained in an area of the property where we have already confirmed natural pozzolans occur.
For the Z-3 Property, we intend to conduct soil work on the property while completing further testing in areas previously drilled by LaFarge Canada which identified natural pozzolans.
For the Z-1 Property, our COO is working to renew the Notice of Work (license to mine the property) which is up for renewal in July 2020. In the interim, we will continue to draw down on the previously mined stockpile of natural pozzolan as required.
Z-1 Zeolite for Denaturing Cannabis
PLAN is experiencing an increase in the volume of denatured cannabis it is collecting from its contract with one of Canada’s largest extraction facilities. The success of utilizing our Z-1 natural pozzolan in the denaturing process has resulted in additional extraction companies requesting samples and pricing. We view supplying Z-1 natural pozzolan to denature cannabis as a growth opportunity in 2020.
Comminution Toll Processing
PLAN completed a small comminution contract in 2019. Comminution is the process of pulverizing rocks into fine powders. Based on industry feedback, PLAN intends to procure additional comminution equipment to enable it to respond to commercial demand for
comminution services. We are targeting soft rock phosphate and limestone companies. This same equipment is used for pulverizing natural pozzolans and will increase our capacity to process our own material. This complementary revenue stream will support our capacity growth for other core initiatives.
Third Party Building Product Development
Over the last six months, PLAN has supplied pulverized natural pozzolan from the Z-1 Quarry to three companies which produce cementitious products. In particular, we are jointly working on product development with one of these companies and on sharing the costs of CSA testing on the building product which we hope will ultimately contain Z-1 pulverized natural pozzolan as a core ingredient.
Commenting on the recent activities and milestones, PLAN’s CEO, Steve Harpur, said “We are very excited about the potential for our natural pozzolan assets and affiliated cementitious building products in development to contribute to the effort of reducing the carbon footprint of the cement industry. The PLAN team, which welcomed Mike Wypych as COO in February 2020, is accelerating our efforts to lay the foundation for significant commercialization and expansion in 2020.”
For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact:
Stephen Harpur, CEO
sharpur@progressiveplanet.ca
Or:
investors@progressiveplanet.ca
1-800-910-3072
www.progressiveplanet.ca
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