Lafleur Minerals Provides Update On PEA For The Restart Of Beacon Gold Mill Sourcing Material From Its Swanson Gold Deposit, Val D'or, Québec

2025-10-06 10:05:44

(MENAFN- Newsfile Corp) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2025) - LaFleur Minerals Inc. (CSE: LFLR) (OTCQB: LFLRF) (FSE: 3WK0) (" LaFleur Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the engagement of global mining, sustainability, and environmental consultant firm Environmental Resources Management (" ERM ") for the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (" PEA" ) for the purpose of restarting gold production at the Company's wholly-owned Beacon Gold Mill using mineralized material from its Swanson Gold Deposit (" Swanson "). Both the Swanson Gold Project and Beacon Gold Mill are located in proximity to one another and strategically positioned in one of the world's largest and most established gold-producing regions, the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. On the back of recent news of the ongoing drilling program that is delivering encouraging high-grade assay results that suggest continuity and scale of the mineralized system, and potential for further expansion at the Swanson Gold Deposit (refer to press release dated September 24, 2025 ), ERM now brings a highly experienced technical team to deliver a robust mining and economic study for the restart of the Beacon Gold Mill using mineralized material primarily supplied from the Company's Swanson Gold Deposit.

LAFLEUR MINERALS IS AIMING TO RESTART THE BEACON GOLD MILL USING MINERALIZED MATERIAL PRIMARILY SUPPLIED FROM THE COMPANY'S 100%-OWNED SWANSON GOLD DEPOSIT, LOCATED IN VAL D'OR, QUEBEC, CANADA, WITH TOLL MILLING OPTIONS FROM OTHER REGIONAL COMPANY DEPOSITS.

Kal Malhi, Chairman of LaFleur Minerals, comments, "Advancing the Beacon Gold Mill to restart gold production with gold prices at record levels above US$3,800 per ounce offers amazing economic potential. The Beacon Gold Mill last operated in 2022 when the price of gold was US$1,600 per ounce. Having 100% ownership of the Beacon Gold Mill, along with a fully permitted tailings storage facility and the nearby Swanson Gold Deposit differentiates LaFleur Minerals from single facet junior gold exploration companies and offers investors a true near-term gold producing investment. LaFleur isn't relying on toll milling other companies' gold deposits, but a fully functional and vertically integrated gold mining company on the cusp of producing ounces aimed for early 2026 from its own Swanson Gold Deposit."

Preliminary Economic Assessment Study

The Company is working diligently with ERM to complete the PEA in the coming weeks. The PEA will be managed by ERM's Technical Mining Services Group, based in Toronto, Ontario, which operates as the technical services arm of ERM. ERM acquired CSA Global in 2019 to strengthen its capabilities in mineral resource/reserve evaluation, mining and metallurgical engineering, and to complement its established business in environmental stewardship and sustainable development across the mining sector. ERM's Technical Mining Services Group will oversee and disclose technical study results as part of the PEA, including the mineral resource estimate update, open-pit mine plan, and ore-sorting and metallurgical testing programs and Beacon Gold Mill restart costs. The ERM team includes highly experienced mining engineers, metallurgists, resource geologists, and environmental and sustainability specialists, ensuring a comprehensive and multidisciplinary evaluation. This collaboration underscores LaFleur Minerals' commitment to responsible resource development and positions the Company to capitalize on the current gold market momentum.

The PEA will serve as the basis for the restart of Beacon Mill, which was recently refurbished with over $20 million worth of upgrades and includes a fully permitted tailings storage facility. Beacon Gold Mill's state of readiness significantly reduces CAPEX and the timeline for a production restart, which the Company expects will be validated through a realistic PEA. The PEA will also benefit from mill operating data from 2022 when the mill last ran at gold price of US$1600/ounce and aims to provide accurate, real-world cost estimates across mining, milling, and tailings operations.

Regulations require companies to define initial mineral resources on a project via a PEA, and this applies to the Beacon Gold Mill production restart and the Swanson Gold Deposit. The Company believes that there are three reasons why the PEA, which includes restarting the Beacon Gold Mill with mineralized material supply from the Swanson Gold Deposit, will be a sufficient and comprehensive plan for gold production restart.

Realistic Costing: The PEA will provide a AACE class 5 estimate understanding of costs, from blasting, mining, moving a tonne of material to milling, and to operating the tailings treatment facility. Additionally, the mill was operational as recent as two years ago, so costs for that facility are also well understood. Most PEA studies rely on rough estimates for milling costs; the inclusion of the Beacon Mill in the PEA will have realized operating costs from when the mill last operated in 2022, at a time when the price of gold was US$1,600 per ounce.

The Beacon Gold Mill was recently refurbished by Monarch Mining for C$20 million in 2022 and is already built with a state of readiness to restart. Most PEA studies include as-yet unanswered questions on essential aspects; examples include a full definition of processing flowsheets, mining methods, tailings facility design, or human resource requirements. With the Beacon Mill having operated only a few years ago and with the Company having studied and remedied many of the issues from that period over the last 18 months, there are very few outstanding engineering questions at the Beacon Mill aside from equipment upgrades. A Mining Model for the restart has been reviewed and refined by LaFleur and Consultants and will form a strong part of the PEA, maintenance and repairs.

Open Pit life-of-mine plan with a bulk sample verification: PEA studies are conventionally completed before the definition drilling into a deposit is complete. For mineralized feed to a mill, this means a PEA predates a detailed mine design, and stope-defined targeted mining areas with engineered access will define a reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE). Previous operators have undertaken past scoping studies and life-of-mine plans for open-pit mining at the Swanson Gold Deposit, and LaFleur Minerals also envisions an open-pit mining project. The first 100,000 tonnes of the open pit material will be mined and processed as a bulk sample taken from the mining lease that covers the Swanson Gold Deposit. The bulk sample and its processing at the Beacon Gold Mill will reduce project risk related to costs and recovery and bring the project nearer to operational readiness.

Tailings Dam Lift

As part of the PEA disclosure, LaFleur Minerals has conducted technical studies to support upgrades to the Tailing Pond located at the Beacon Mill, providing complete details of the required upgrades and associated costs.

Definition Drilling

Definition drilling at the Swanson Gold Deposit is currently underway with "twinning" of mineralized holes at the Swanson Deposit. This effort is expected to provide confident updated mineral resource confirmation at the Swanson Gold Deposit using a diamond drill.

The twinned holes are planned to confirm and refine the spacing between historical intercepts, thereby confirming the existing geological model and analytical results that define the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at the Swanson Project.

Open-Pit Mining Scenario at Swanson Gold Deposit

The entirety of the MRE at the Swanson Gold Deposit is located on an existing mining lease, and permitting is in progress to extract mineralization destined for the Beacon Gold Mill. The mining lease permits the extraction of a large bulk sample of mineralized material with minimal permitting requirements.

As part of the PEA, LaFleur Minerals has commissioned an ore-sorting study using Swanson Gold Deposit material in partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). The ore-sorting technology will concentrate the mineralized material prior shipment by truck to the Beacon Gold Mill, reducing trucking costs and minimizing waste rock processing at the Beacon Gold Mill. The ore-sorted material will also undergo metallurgical testing by SGS Minerals in Lakefield to simulate metallurgical results at the Beacon Gold Mill.

The Swanson Gold Deposit is easily road accessible with minimal infrastructure improvements required and only ~60 kilometres from the Beacon Gold Mill, making it an ideal source of mineralized material to be trucked over for processing. LaFleur Minerals is currently receiving detailed quotation for trucking concentrate material from the Swanson Gold Deposit to the Beacon Gold Mill, and these costs will form part of the market studies and contracts section of the PEA. The Abitibi region is otherwise flush with nearby deposits that could be potential sources of material for custom milling purposes (refer to Figure 1).

Figure 1: Regional Deposits Surrounding LaFleur's Swanson and Beacon Assets

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

Paul Ténière, CEO of LaFleur Minerals, commented, "Engaging a consulting firm of the caliber and reputation of ERM to complete our PEA marks a significant milestone for LaFleur Minerals. By combining our district-scale exploration and resource potential with the fully-permitted Beacon Gold Mill, we are advancing a near-term, sustainable production pathway in one of the world's most prolific gold camps. This is an exciting step that positions us to unlock significant value for shareholders. We think we are strongly aligned with both strong investor appetite for safe, secure, and high-quality assets and favorable market timing with gold trading near record levels, as we advance the Swanson Gold Deposit with near-term production potential."

Figure 2: Beacon Gold Mill in Val d'Or, Québec

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

Site Visit

The Company held a Beacon Gold Mill site visit for analysts, investors and consultants in Val d'Or, Québec during August 2025 and received very positive feedback and appreciation in the Company's stock price following the mill visit. LaFleur will be holding a second site visit at the Beacon Gold Mill and Swanson Gold Project on October 7-8, 2025, for prospective investors and financiers, as well as ERM. ERM will attend to begin investigations for the purpose of assessing the state of readiness and infrastructure at the Beacon Mine and Mill, including equipment and tailing storage facility, and the quality of mineralized material and access at the Swanson Gold Project to gather detailed information required to complete the PEA.

Figure 3: Inside the Beacon Gold Mill in Val d'Or, Québec

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

Stock Options Issued:

Lafleur Minerals has approved the issuance of 1,000,000 stock options (the "Options") pursuant to the Company's incentive stock option plan (the "Stock Option Plan"). The Options provide for the purchase of an aggregate of 1,000,000 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at an exercise price of $0.75 per share, All of the Options have a 5 year term. These grants form part of the overall annual remuneration package. Stock option grants are subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

About LaFleur Minerals Inc.

LaFleur Minerals Inc. (CSE: LFLR) (OTCQB: LFLRF) (FSE: 3WK0) is focused on the restart of gold production at its 100% owned Beacon Gold Mill and 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 laser focus on our resource-stage Swanson Gold Project and the Beacon Gold Mill, which have significant potential to deliver long-term value. The Swanson Gold Project spans approximately 18,304 hectares (183 km2) in size and comprises several prospects rich in gold and critical metals previously explored by Monarch Mining, Abcourt Mines, and Globex Mining. LaFleur has recently consolidated a large land package along a major structural break that hosts the Swanson, Bartec, and Jolin gold deposits, as well as several other showings, which comprise the Swanson Gold Project. The Swanson Gold Project is easily accessible by road, providing direct access to several nearby gold mills and further enhancing its development potential. Lafleur Minerals' fully-refurbished and permitted Beacon Gold Mill, which was upgraded at $20M expense in 2022) is capable of processing over 750 tonnes per day and is being considered for processing mineralized material at Swanson and for custom milling operations for other nearby gold projects.

MENAFN06102025004218003983ID1110156574

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.