Encanto Appoints Chief Operating Officer and Announces Next Stages of Mine Plan
TSX-V: EPO
VANCOUVER, July 9, 2018 /CNW/ - Encanto Potash Corp. ("Encanto" or the "Company") (TSX-V: EPO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Lively to the position of Chief Operating Officer. "Since joining Encanto, Richard Lively has shown great ingenuity to bring the Muskowekwan Potash Project forward", commented CEO Stavros Daskos.
Mr. Lively will continue working towards analyzing the potential of lowering Capex, creating efficiency in Opex with a goal of reducing the construction costs and strategically optimizing transportation costs, and maintaining reasonable engineering costs. Under Mr. Lively's guidance, Encanto will initialize the engineering plan immediately, and move the project towards the construction stage.
Encanto will imminently engage an engineering firm to perform a value engineering analysis in efforts to lower the project's total Capex. To move the project to detailed design and engineering, Encanto will use the summer months to complete the value analysis. Encanto also expects to have a finalized EIS gap analysis by end of summer 2018, laying out the next 12 months of EIS work to finalize the study.
With 3 plus decades of experience, Mr. Lively will help Encanto create an efficient project design, in the Company's endeavour to deliver value-maximized potash for the 20 years of production needed to supply the off-take with NACOF. With this added experience, Encanto is positioned to manage in-house key development engineering costs for the immediate project steps such as addressing EIS deficiencies. Mr. Lively states, "By managing project design and staying in control, we can avoid costly overruns, duplication, delays, and high engineering costs. I believe in the model of having vendors and engineering firms compete and offer fair fees to come in line with Encanto's budget."
"With both the engineering and environmental analysis to be completed this summer, we are working towards a construction start in November 2019. Our new COO has joined the Encanto team to see this plan forward. By optimizing the design, we will have a stellar operation and can compete in the near future as well as long term in this tight potash market", states Mr. Daskos.
About Encanto Potash Corp.
Encanto Potash Corp. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed and traded Canadian Resource Company engaged in the development of potash properties in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada, the largest producing potash region in the world. Through a joint venture agreement with Muskowekwan Resources Ltd, Encanto has secured a project land package which totals approximately 61,000 largely contiguous acres. Pre-Feasibility Study dated February 28, 2013 titled "Encanto Potash Corp. Technical Report Summarizing the Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Muskowekwan First Nations Home Reserve Project in South Eastern Saskatchewan, Canada" confirms the Proven and Probable KCI Reserves totaling 162 Mt grading 28% KCl (average) which supports primary and secondary mining for over 50 years at an assumed annual rate extraction rate of 2.8 Mt of MOP. The PEA dated May 24, 2017 titled " NI 43-101 Technical Report on a Preliminary Economic Assessment and Preliminary Feasibility Study of the Muskowekwan Potash Project, South-Eastern Saskatchewan, Canada" summarizes an alternative development option that supports primary and secondary mining of the Mineral Resources for 48 years at an annual extraction rate of 3.4 Mt of MOP. On December 30, 2016, Encanto signed a 20-year off-take agreement with the National Federation of Farmers' Procurement, Processing, and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd., (NACOF) registered under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India to supply 5 million metric tons a year of potash.
For further information:
Gary Deathe
Director of Corporate Development
Toronto, Tel: 905-510-3079
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THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN "FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION" WITHIN THE MEANING OF CANADIAN SECURITIES LEGISLATION AND "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE UNITED STATES PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. THIS INFORMATION AND THESE STATEMENTS, REFERRED TO HEREIN AS "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS" ARE MADE AS OF THE DATE OF THIS DOCUMENT. GENERALLY, THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY THE USE OF FORWARD-LOOKING TERMINOLOGY SUCH AS "EXPECTS", "ANTICIPATES", "PLANS", "PROJECTS", "ESTIMATES", OR VARIATIONS THEREOF OR STATING THAT CERTAIN ACTIONS, EVENTS OR RESULTS "MAY", "COULD", "WOULD", OR "MIGHT" BE TAKEN, OCCUR OR BE ACHIEVED. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, WHILE BASED ON MANAGEMENT'S BEST ESTIMATES AND ASSUMPTIONS, ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT MAY CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: RISKS RELATING TO VARIATIONS IN THE MINERAL CONTENT WITHIN THE MATERIAL IDENTIFIED AS MINERAL RESOURCES FROM THAT PREDICTED; VARIATIONS IN RATES OF RECOVERY AND EXTRACTION; THE GEOTECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROCK MINED OR THROUGH WHICH INFRASTRUCTURE IS BUILT DIFFERING FROM THAT PREDICTED, DEVELOPMENTS IN WORLD METALS MARKETS; RISKS RELATING TO FLUCTUATIONS IN THE CANADIAN DOLLAR RELATIVE TO THE US DOLLAR; INCREASES IN THE ESTIMATED CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS OR UNANTICIPATED COSTS; DIFFICULTIES ATTRACTING THE NECESSARY WORK FORCE; INCREASES IN FINANCING COSTS OR ADVERSE CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF AVAILABLE FINANCING, IF ANY; TAX RATES OR ROYALTIES BEING GREATER THAN ASSUMED; CHANGES IN DEVELOPMENT OR MINING PLANS DUE TO CHANGES IN LOGISTICAL, TECHNICAL OR OTHER FACTORS; CHANGES IN PROJECT PARAMETERS AS PLANS CONTINUE TO BE REFINED; RISKS RELATING TO RECEIPT OF REGULATORY APPROVALS; DELAYS IN STAKEHOLDER NEGOTIATIONS; CHANGES IN REGULATIONS APPLYING TO THE DEVELOPMENT, OPERATION, AND CLOSURE OF MINING OPERATIONS FROM WHAT CURRENTLY EXISTS; THE EFFECTS OF COMPETITION IN THE MARKETS IN WHICH ENCANTO OPERATES; AND OPERATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE RISKS. ALTHOUGH MANAGEMENT HAS ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE CONTAINED IN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, THERE MAY BE OTHER FACTORS THAT CAUSE RESULTS NOT TO BE AS ANTICIPATED, ESTIMATED OR INTENDED. THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT SUCH STATEMENTS WILL PROVE TO BE ACCURATE, AS ACTUAL RESULTS AND FUTURE EVENTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN SUCH STATEMENTS. ACCORDINGLY, READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE RELIANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. ENCANTO DISCLAIMS ANY OBLIGATION TO UPDATE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN OR TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE THE RESULT OF ANY REVISIONS TO ANY SUCH STATEMENTS TO REFLECT FUTURE RESULTS, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAW. PLEASE REFER TO ENCANTO'S MOST RECENT FILINGS UNDER ITS PROFILE AT WWW.SEDAR.COM FOR FURTHER INFORMATION RESPECTING THE RISKS AFFECTING ENCANTO AND ITS BUSINESS.
SOURCE Encanto Potash Corp.
