VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 11, 2017) - Search Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SMY) ("Search" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Leo Power, to the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") as an independent director.
"As we complete pilot plant testing and move forward with the next phase of development of our FOXTROT critical rare earth element deposit in SE Labrador, we are excited to welcome Leo to the Board. Mr. Power has demonstrated leadership at board and senior executive levels within the mining and oil and gas sectors and a solid grasp of the complexities of the markets for minor metals and industrial minerals. Not only does he bring a wealth of development and international project finance experience to our team, but years of experience in dealing with governments and regulatory agencies within Newfoundland and Labrador and Ottawa. The latter will be extremely important as we move forward with the environmental impact assessment process for FOXTROT and ramp up the drilling program for our Deepwater Fox discovery in the same district," stated Jim Clucas, Executive Chairman of Search.
Leo Power is a graduate of the Kellogg-Schulich Joint MBA program at York University, Toronto and Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois and holds a Masters Degree in Oil and Gas Studies (MOGS) from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is also a graduate of the Directors Education Program of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Mr. Power is an active member of the Atlantic Canadian business and volunteer community and his work includes:
- Executive Chairman - Barite Mud Services Inc.
- CEO and Director- Ptarmigan Energy Inc.
- Director - Canada Fluorspar Inc
- Board Member - Institute of Corporate Directors, Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter
- Board Member - Atlantic Cabinet, Nature Conservancy of Canada
- Newfoundland and Labrador Vice Chair - Atlantic Institute of Market Studies (AIMS)
This appointment is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
About Search Minerals Inc.
Led by a proven management team and board of directors, Search is focused on finding and developing resources within the emerging Port Hope Simpson Critical Rare Earth Element (CREE) District of SE Labrador. The Company controls a belt 70 km long and 8 km wide including its 100% interest in the FOXTROT Project which is road accessible and at tidewater. Exploration efforts have advanced "Deepwater Fox" and "Fox Meadow" as significant new CREE prospects very similar and in close proximity to the original FOXTROT discovery. While the Company has identified more than 20 other prospects in the District, its primary objective remains development of FOXTROT by confirming proprietary processing technology at the pilot plant level (in progress) and delineation of prospects that will ensure competitive-low cost production beyond the 14-year mine life contemplated in the Preliminary Economic Assessment of FOXTROT completed in April 2016. The FOXTROT Project has a low capital cost to bring the initial project into production ($152 M), a short payback period and is scalable due to Search's proprietary processing technology.
All material information on the Company may be found on its website at www.searchminerals.ca and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
About CREEs
Identified as Neodymium (Nd), Europium (Eu), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy) and Yttrium (Y) this valuable subset of the complete series of 17 rare earth elements is considered critical due to high demand and/or constrained domestic supply. Containing unique properties which enhance the performance of a range of innovative technologies, CREEs are essential components in the development of permanent magnets and a variety of other components used in renewable energy, green technology automobiles, medical devices, electronics and agricultural production.
