Exhibit 99.1
Prophecy Submits Enhanced Baseline Studies for Gibellini Vanadium
Project in Nevada
Vancouver, British Columbia, April 16, 2019 – Prophecy
Development Corp. (“Prophecy” or the “Company”)
(TSX:PCY, OTCQX:PRPCF, Frankfurt:1P2N) is pleased to announce that it has
submitted, through its wholly owned US subsidiary, the requisite
baseline studies for its Gibellini Vanadium Project located in
Eureka County, Nevada, USA to both the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
(NDEP).
In
consultation with the BLM and NDEP, Prophecy is working with
contractors to collect supplemental baseline data that will update
and confirm the existing data sets. That work is set to be
completed in May.
The
Enhanced Baseline Report format, made with guidance from the BLM,
is designed to identify potential resource conflicts early in the
project timeline. Doing so will allow measures to be taken to avoid
and/or minimize such conflicts and ensure an up-front project
planning that is sensitive to all environmental
resources.
Mine Plan of Operations
These
baseline studies will be the foundation for the Mine Plan of
Operations (MPO). The MPO, which is already under development,
describes the concept-level design for the all proposed mine
operations and the possible effects of those operation on the
environment. Specifically, the MPO outlines scheduling, equipment,
operating facilities, water usage, air emission, process design,
and access. The MPO also provides a detailed reclamation and
closure plan pertaining to any disturbances that might result from
operations. This allows the BLM to assess the project in detail
and, in coordination with the operator and appropriate agencies,
expedite the EIS process. Prophecy intends to submit its MPO by
July 2019.
Engineering
for heap leaching, the processing facility, and the mine design (M3
Engineering and Newfields Companies, LLC) is being integrated into
to the site Closure Plan. This facilitates concurrent closure of
the heap as each heap cell is finished leaching. This will allow
the Closure Plan to be implemented during operations. At the end of
active mining, the site can be closed at minimal technical risk.
This reduces the closure duration and liability and the
commensurate reclamation bond.
1
Water
The
Company has signed a 10-year water lease agreement (WLA) with the
owner of a private ranch located approximately 5 miles from the
project. The WLA can be extended for any number of additional
7-year terms, not to exceed a total of 99 years (including the
primary term). The Gibellini Project requires a modest maximum flow
rate of 500 gallons per minute (gpm) from the ranch that represents
less than 20% of the water rights for the ranch.
The WLA
provides, as the source of water, surface springs located on the
private ranch, thus eliminating the need to appropriate water
rights from the Nevada Division of Water Resources. The Gibellini
Project has completed water-related baseline studies that cover the
quantity and quality of both surface and groundwater at the site,
surrounding areas and the ranch water supply. Since the baseline
studies have been completed, Prophecy expects to expedite any
permitting process. See Company press release dated August 20,
2018.
Uranium
A small
amount of uranium will be produced as a by-product at Gibellini
(approximately 1% in volume relative to the vanadium production
volume) with minute concentrations arising during the vanadium
purification process. As uranium concentration and extraction occur
only at a single stage within the process design, the uranium
permit footprint is confined to a small portion of the process
facility. This will be overseen by the Nevada Department of Health
rather than the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and results
in a significantly reduced regulatory permitting
timeline.
Sage Grouse
With
the implementation of the Nevada Sage Grouse Conservation Credit
System (CCS), Prophecy has conducted an extensive baseline habitat
condition survey. It will use the Habitat Quantification Tool to
calculate the number of debits required to mitigate any direct and
indirect impacts to sage grouse habitat. Prophecy intends first to
avoid and minimize impacts to habitat, and second to either develop
or purchase credits to mitigate any remaining impacts.
Summary
“The
Prophecy team is working diligently with the support of the federal
and state regulators and is actively engaging all stakeholders in
order to obtain all the state and federal permits so that we can
begin construction of North America’s first producing primary
vanadium deposit. We are on track to initiate the EIS process after
the Notice of Intent is published, which will be a milestone in
permitting the Gibellini Project,” notes Ron Espell, VP
Environment and Sustainability. “It will represent the
starting point of a well-defined 12-month process under the
Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Order No. 3355 that
shareholders will be able to mark on their
calendars.”
Michael
Doolin, Prophecy’s CEO and COO, observes, “The State of
Nevada is the best jurisdiction for mining investment in the world,
according to Fraser Institute. The deposit is critical as
Gibellini’s annual production profile of 9.65 million lb. of
V2O5 outlined in the independent preliminary economic assessment is
sufficient to meet United States current vanadium consumption
requirement.”
2
Qualified Persons and QA/QC
The
technical contents of this news release have been prepared under
the supervision of Danniel Oosterman, VP Exploration. Mr. Oosterman
is not independent of the Company in that he is employed by the
Company. Mr. Oosterman is a Qualified Person (“QP”) as
defined by the guidelines in NI 43-101.
About Prophecy
Prophecy
is developing the Gibellini project – the only large-scale,
open-pit, heap-leach vanadium project of its kind in North America.
Located in Nevada, Gibellini is currently undergoing EPCM and
permit development. Further information on Prophecy can be found at
www.prophecydev.com.
PROPHECY
DEVELOPMENT CORP.
ON
BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Michael
Doolin”
Chief
Executive Officer
For
more information about Prophecy, please contact Investor
Relations:
+1.604.569.3661
ext. 101
ir@prophecydev.com
www.prophecydev.com
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto
Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Some
statements in this news release are about future events and
performance. Such statements are based on current estimates,
predictions, expectations, or beliefs. The subjects of the
statements include, but are not limited to, (i) the PEA
representing a viable development option for the project; (ii)
construction of a mine at the project and related actions; (iii)
estimates of the capital costs of constructing mine facilities,
bringing the mine into production, and sustaining the mine,
together with estimates of the length of financing payback periods;
(iv) the estimated amount of future production, of both [raw
material?] and metal recovered; and (vi) estimates of the life of
the mine and of the operating and total costs, cash flow, net
present value, and economic returns, including internal rate of
return from an operating mine constructed at the project. All
forward-looking statements are based on Prophecy’s or its
consultants’ current beliefs and assumptions, which are in
turn based on the information currently available to them. The most
significant assumptions are set forth above, but generally these
assumptions include: (i) the presence and continuity of vanadium
mineralization at the project at the estimated grades; (ii) the
geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of the rock
conforming to the sampled results; (iii) infrastructure
construction costs and schedule; (iv) the availability of
personnel, machinery, and equipment at the estimated prices and
within the estimated delivery times; (v) currency exchange rates;
(vi) vanadium sale prices; (vii) appropriate discount rates applied
to the cash flows in the economic analysis; (viii) tax rates
applicable to the proposed mining operation; (ix) the availability
of acceptable financing on reasonable terms; (x) projected recovery
rates and use of a process method, which although well-known and
proven with other commodity types, such as copper, has not been
previously brought into production for a vanadium project; (xi)
reasonable contingency requirements; (xii) success in realizing
proposed operations; and (xiii) assumptions that the
project’s environmental approval and permitting is
forthcoming from county, state, and federal authorities. The
economic analysis is partly based on Inferred Mineral Resources
that are considered too speculative geologically to have the
economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to
be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that
the PEA based on these Mineral Resources will be realized.
Currently there are no Mineral Reserves on the Gibellini property.
Although the Company’s management and its consultants
consider these assumptions to be reasonable, given the information
currently available to them, they could prove to be incorrect. Many
forward-looking statements are made assuming the correctness of
other forward-looking statements, such as statements of net present
value and internal rates of return. Those statements are based in
turn on most of the other forward-looking statements and
assumptions made herein. The cost information is also prepared
using current values, but the time for incurring the costs is in
the future and it is assumed costs will remain stable over the
relevant period.
These
factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements by Prophecy or
its consultants. Prophecy and its consultants believe that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained
in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference
herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these
expectations will prove correct. In addition, although Prophecy and
its consultants have attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially
from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be
other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as
anticipated, estimated, or intended. Prophecy and its consultants
undertake no obligation to publicly release any future revisions of
the forward-looking statements that reflect events or circumstances
that occur after the date of this news release or reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by
law.
3