Resource World Magazine

58 www.resourceworld.com J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 9 MINING W hen you think about the medi- cal applications for barium, you don't think British Columbia min- ing; however, that's about to change when Voyageur Minerals Ltd. [VM-TSXV; VYYRF-OTC] develops the Frances Creek barite deposit. Voyageur Minerals has a short but impressive history. The company's assets were spun out of Tiger Ridge Resources, a private company that operated the Jubilee Mountain Mine producing drilling-grade barite from 1999-2005. By the end of the same year, Voyageur had discovered a rare high-grade (93.83- 99.68%) barium sulfate deposit on their Frances Creek property located 50 km from Radium Hot Springs, southeast British Columbia. In addition they have potential high-grade iodine deposits in the USA. Barium sulfate and iodine are con - trast agents. Barium sulfate is ground to a powder and put into a drink. The solu- tion coats the inside of the esophagus, stomach or intestines which makes them more clearly visible on a C.T. scan or other radiologic (x-ray) examination. Iodine is injected intravenously and used with the same scans. It's rare to find industrial grade bar - ite with grades as high as 99.68%, and it also commands a significantly higher price due to shortages of U.S.P. pharmaceutical barite. Given this, it was no surprise shortly after publishing a NI 43-101 resource of 361,788.3 tonnes of resource that contains 62,745 tonnes indicated and 69,299.80 tonnes inferred barium sulphate (BaSO 4 ) – also known as barite – Voyageur signed a joint venture with Chief Medical Supply Ltd. to develop, market and commercialize barium sulfate contrast and iodine contrast products for the human and veterinary - pharmaceutical markets. To put this resource into context, it could supply the Chief bottling plant with enough barium sulfate for 800 million bot- tles of contrast solution or approximately a 30-year supply. The terms of the joint venture are straightforward. Voyageur provides bar- ium sulfate U.S.P. from the Frances Creek property and Chief provides pharmaceuti- cal and manufacturing expertise at their Calgary plant. The JV markets the barium sulfate, and each party receives 50% of the revenue less the regulatory, marketing and sales costs attributable to the JV. Neither of the assets (bottling plant or mine) resides in the JV. "We have our mineral sources, which will potentially allow us to be the most competitively priced contrast company in the world because all of our competitors are importing the product from third party sources. By manufacturing our brand of barium and iodine contrast, controlling all cost inputs, Voyageur will maximize its profit margin and create exceptional asset value on our deposit," says Brent Willis, Chief Operating Officer of Voyageur Minerals. In January of 2019, Voyageur and Chief formed ImagingX Pharmaceuticals Ltd, fashioned on the business model for the EZ-E-M Canada development of the unique barite deposit at Brookfield in Nova Scotia. EZ-E-M was a high-grade barite deposit with many similarities to Voyageur's Frances Creek property: the barite crystals were fine, the whole deposit was virtually free of heavy metals and the deposit was on the side of a hill, so the ore was mined employing low-cost quarrying methods. Although high-quality, the deposit was not large enough for conventional uses such as in the production of drilling mud. Instead, EZ-E-M Canada implemented a novel but simple processing plant to pro - duce U.S.P. grade pharmaceutical barium sulfate. This high-grade product was fed Voyageur Minerals: Rare high-grade barium sulfate and iodine discovery spurs pharmaceutical joint venture by Robert Simpson Stockpiling barite from the Frances Creek deposit in southeast British Columbia at the Chief Medical Supplies Ltd. manufacturing plant, a joint venture with Voyageur Minerals. Photo courtesy Voyageur Minerals Ltd.

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