Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd. has entered into a strategic partnership that will fully fund the development of its Fraser Canyon placer gold project in British Columbia. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PSI Group, a Saskatoon-based mining engineering firm, which assumes responsibility for all capital and operating expenses in exchange for a 75% share of recovered metals, while Omineca retains a 25% zero-cost carried interest.
The Fraser Canyon Project, located 12 kilometers northwest of Quesnel, BC, encompasses claims extending 11 kilometers along the Fraser River. The property contains a known, buried paleochannel that has demonstrated historical gold production. Between 1907 and 1986, the Canyon Mine and Tertiary Mine collectively produced 1,482 ounces of raw placer gold from the site. In 1986 alone, the Canyon Mine operation produced 421.634 troy ounces of refined gold and 40.342 troy ounces of silver from processing 9,932 loose cubic yards of pay gravels.
Under the partnership framework, PSI will implement modern mining technologies to expedite operations. The company plans to use multiple roadheaders instead of conventional drill-and-blast methods, which are designed to tunnel, excavate and load substantially faster. PSI also plans to implement a pre-sorting and gold recovery operation underground to allow for continuous mining and processing throughout the year. The partnership reunites the original team responsible for the 1986 bulk sample at Fraser Canyon and subsequent geological surveys.
The strategic partnership establishes a fully funded framework for engineering, design and operation of the Fraser Canyon Project, with timelines aimed at submitting a Notice of Work in the first quarter of 2026 and beginning trial mining by the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to permitting and regulatory approvals. PSI will lead interactions with the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals while Omineca maintains oversight as the registered landowner. The MOU also includes provisions for PSI to earn up to a 50% ownership interest in each of the three project components through performance-based milestones.
This arrangement allows Omineca to advance the Fraser Canyon Project without capital expenditure while maintaining a significant interest in potential production. The company's other major project, the Wingdam gold exploration and placer recovery project located 45 kilometers east of Quesnel, continues to operate independently. The historical placer recovery figures disclosed are derived from past operator records, government filings and technical reports that pre-date the implementation of NI 43-101 standards. All scientific and technical information in the announcement has been prepared or approved by qualified person Stephen Kocsis, P.Geo.
