MONTREAL, March 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Geomega Resources Inc. (“GeomegaThe past 6 months have been dedicated to bringing engineering to a sufficient level of completion that it could be tendered to the construction contractors for execution and completion of the rare earths recycling demonstration project. Procurement also progressed and various items were ordered while others were received at the Saint-Hubert facility during this period. In parallel, permitting activities have been ongoing at both the municipal and provincial levels. The objective was to be able to start the construction activities in February 2024. As a result of providing all the requested data to the governmental authorities, Geomega was notified by the municipality of Saint-Hubert, a borough within the city of Longueuil, that the sewer system capacity is not currently able to accommodate the water discharges from the cooling tower that was to be installed for the demonstration plant (please see September 20, 2023 press release for the 3D model of the originally intended layout of the plant and cooling tower). Various solutions have been evaluated by Geomega, including in collaboration with city engineers, however none were appropriate for the project due to resulting increased costs, additional unforeseeable delays, and the overall feasibility of the proposed solution. As a result, Geomega had to undertake a design change for the rare earths recycling demonstration plant.Geomega’s engineering team has begun a design change for the rare earths recycling demonstration plant from a batch process to a continuous 24hrs operation with smaller equipment and lower demand for utilities, most importantly in regard to the cooling requirements (chillers with a closed loop operation instead of a cooling tower with regular water discharges into the municipal sewer system). Despite the design change, the demonstration plant throughput capacity is planned to remain unchangedFollowing a thorough review of the required construction activities and the ongoing design change, the engineering team was able to select several items that are not being impacted by the design change to continuous operation. In particular, Geomega has secured the services of a local construction company that will manage and execute the required work. The site preparation activities that have begun at the Saint-Hubert facility include some of the civil work that is not being affected by the design change, electrical work, installation of the required fire protection system and the HVAC system for the rare earths recycling demonstration plant. The majority of that work is expected to be completed by end of June 2024. Engineering and procurement work will continue in parallel to these site preparation activities to avoid any further delays once equipment installation and assembly is ready to commence.Geomega would like to make an addendum to its January 26, 2024 Press Release relative to the vesting of the Restricted Share Units (“RSUs”) in order to align with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The change is as follows:Geomega develops innovative technologies for extraction and separation of rare earth elements and other critical metals essential for a sustainable future. With a focus on renewable energies, vehicle electrification, automation and reduction in energy usage, rare earth magnets or neo-magnets (NdFeB) are at the center of all these technologies. Geomega’s strategy revolves around gradually de-risking its innovative technology and delivering cashflow and return value to shareholders while working directly with the main players in these industries to recycle the magnets that power all those technologies.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
(GlobeNewsWire)