LaFleur Minerals diamond drilling Swanson Gold Deposit, Quebec

LaFleur Minerals Inc. [CSE: LFLR; OTCQB: LFLRF; FSE: 3WK0] reported that it has commenced its diamond drilling program at its Swanson Gold Project in the Abitibi region, Québec, after receiving all the necessary permits including the Authorization to Intervene (ATI) and the Forestry Intervention permits.

These permit approvals mark a major milestone, allowing the company to move forward with its fully funded, minimum 5,000-metre drilling program starting with the Swanson Gold Deposit. Simultaneously, the company announces the completion of the independent valuation of its Beacon Gold Mill by Bumigeme Inc., confirming the Beacon Mill is in excellent condition, with rehabilitation and commissioning costs estimated at C$4.1 million, and full replacement cost of the mill and tailings storage facility combined with permitting costs estimated to exceed C$71.5 million, underscoring the strategic value of the asset.

LaFleur Minerals has also significantly expanded its land position at its wholly-owned Swanson Gold Project, now covering over 18,300 hectares across 445 claims and one mining lease, reinforcing its district-scale exploration potential.

These recent developments mark a major operational inflection point for LaFleur Minerals. Detailed Mill Restart Plan: With the Beacon Gold Mill valued at over 17x its estimated rehabilitation and re-commissioning costs, LaFleur Minerals holds a unique, fully-permitted processing facility within a major gold mining jurisdiction, providing a path to near-term gold production in a region flush with custom-milling opportunities and nearby gold deposits.

Aggressive Drilling and Land Expansion: The start of a fully funded 5,000-metre drilling campaign and a significant land expansion within the Swanson Gold Project can unlock substantial discovery potential.

Strategic Positioning: Few junior mining companies control both an advanced gold project and a fully permitted and refurbished mill. LaFleur Minerals is now positioned with low mill restart and commissioning costs and significant assets exceeding its current market cap.

Independent mining engineering firm Bumigeme has completed its full evaluation of the company’s Beacon Mill in Val d’Or, Québec and concluded that the mill is in excellent condition with anticipated rehabilitation and re-commissioning costs of C$4.1 million as part of its planned restart program.

Furthermore, Bumigeme estimated the replacement CAPEX cost to build a new similar gold mill today at C$49.5 million. This cost does not include the building of a new tailings storage facility (TSF) including a tailings pond, finishing basin, piping, pumping station, etc., which is estimated at C$12 million, and mining and environmental studies and permitting costs estimated at C$10 million.

Bumigeme also estimates it would take a minimum of 18 months to build a new mill and TSF, in addition to a minimum of five years to complete all required studies and receive all necessary permits from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, and local and Indigenous communities prior to construction.

Results of the Bumigeme evaluation will also be incorporated into the company’s ongoing work towards a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Swanson Gold Project.

The company’s next step is to secure financing to complete the rehabilitation and re-commissioning of the Beacon Gold Mill with the aim to complete the mill restart program by early 2026.

The diamond drilling program at the Swanson Gold Project will focus on priority target areas including the Swanson Gold Deposit, as well as Bartec, Jolin, and Marimac target areas. These high-potential zones were selected following an extensive compilation of historical data and recently completed detailed exploration work by LaFleur Minerals, including high-resolution airborne magnetic and VLF-EM surveys; prospecting and soil geochemistry surveys; induced polarization (IP) survey program.

Drilling has already begun at the Swanson Gold Deposit and will test key structural, geological, geochemical and geophysical anomalies for additional gold mineralization potential along strike. The company looks forward to sharing additional details and drilling assay results in the coming weeks.

The company also recently staked an additional 32 mineral claims, covering approximately 1,824 hectares, on strike and to the northwest of the Swanson Gold Deposit. This claims expansion extends the project’s coverage of favourable geology to over 33 km of strike length, significantly enhancing Swanson’s exploration potential.

The Swanson Property represents one of the largest land and mineral packages in the renowned southern Abitibi Gold Belt, which hosts favourable geology and mineralized structures. The Swanson Gold Project now covers a total of 18,304 hectares. The project has seen over 36,000 metres of historical drilling and multiple high potential drill targets.

Paul T├⌐ni├¿re, CEO, stated, “We are very pleased with results of the full evaluation of the Beacon Gold Mill by Bumigeme and it truly shows the incredible potential of this milling asset as we advance towards becoming a near-term gold producer. Our technical team has also done an exceptional job integrating historical exploration data with new geophysical and geochemical datasets to define compelling drilling targets at Swanson. Receiving the required permits clears the way for us to advance one of the most exciting exploration and drilling campaigns in the region. Not only are we launching a fully funded, data-driven drilling program, but we’ve also strategically expanded our land position in a way that meaningfully increases our discovery potential.”

LaFleur Minerals is focused on the development of district-scale gold projects in the Abitibi Gold Belt near Val-d’Or, Québec. Our mission is to advance mining projects with a focus on the resource-stage Swanson Gold Project and the Beacon Gold Mill, which have significant potential to deliver long-term value. The Swanson Gold Project includes several prospects rich in gold and critical metals previously held by Monarch Mining, Abcourt Mines, and Globex Mining.

LaFleur recently consolidated a large land package along a major structural break that hosts the Swanson, Bartec, and Jolin gold deposits and several other showings which make up the Swanson Gold Project. The Swanson Gold Project is easily accessible by road allowing direct access to several nearby gold mills, further enhancing its development potential.

The fully-refurbished and permitted Beacon Gold Mill is capable of processing over 750 tonnes/day and is being considered for processing mineralized material at Swanson and for custom milling operations for other nearby gold projects.