Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX-V: VM) has submitted a Multi-Year Area-Based Notice of Work application to the British Columbia Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals for its Frances Creek barite project, marking a key step toward advanced exploration and feasibility studies. The application seeks authorization for a five-year program on a 76.8-hectare area within mineral claims 571267, 1054177, and 1031568, with activities planned primarily on previously disturbed forestry land.
The proposed program includes exploration trenching, access trail development, processing area construction, and a mine rock storage facility. A comprehensive package of technical studies was submitted, covering terrain stability, acid rock drainage, soil surveys, archaeology, and management plans for dust, weeds, and emergency response.
The Year 1 program involves extracting 2,000 tonnes of high-grade barite ore (specific gravity 4.5) hosted in dolomite (specific gravity 2.9), with 1,000 tonnes from the A Zone and 1,000 tonnes from the B Zone. This extraction stays within the annual limit of 1,000 tonnes per cell under the Mineral Tenure Act regulations. 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 barium upgrading plant. The 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 MYAB framework also allows further exploration sampling in subsequent years, up to 1,000 tonnes per cell per year, subject to regulatory requirements.
The application also includes a geotechnical drilling program to provide rock mechanics and slope stability data needed to finalize quarry pit wall designs and waste rock storage configurations. This information is the primary remaining data requirement to complete a National Instrument 43-101 Final Feasibility Study, building on the company's 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment and the Pre-Feasibility Study currently in progress.
Brent Willis, CEO of Voyageur Pharmaceuticals, 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. Frances Creek’s grade and purity continue to position Voyageur as a potential future secure North American supplier of pharmaceutical barium contrast products.”
All proposed activities will comply with the Mines Act, the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, and applicable Mineral Tenure Act regulations, with progressive reclamation planned upon completion.
The NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment 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, which may positively influence updated project economics. The project hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 132,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical-grade barium sulfate, forming the cornerstone of Voyageur's strategy to establish a fully vertically integrated barium contrast media supply chain. Recent testing confirmed the FC barite purity exceeds Pharmaceutical Grade (97.5%), with an average grade of 98.8% BaSO4 (see news release dated March 3, 2026).
The PEA base case economics, at an 8% discount rate, assume an initial 10-year project horizon with total capital of $36 million over three years, equipment delivery and installation within 24 months, an 11-month payback period after start of production, and average operating gross margins of approximately 75%. The PEA is preliminary and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative to have economic considerations applied to them. There is no certainty that the PEA results will be realized.
Voyageur Pharmaceuticals aims to become the first vertically integrated company in the radiology contrast media drug market, controlling all primary input costs from raw material sourcing to final production. The company owns a 100% interest in the Frances Creek barite project and has developed five barium contrast products with Health Canada licenses.
