Probe Metals Advances Val-d’Or East Project Development Studies with the Completion of Geotechnical Site Characterization and Design Criteria

Highlights:

• The geotechnical program was conducted to determine mine design constraints to be applied as input parameters for the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for the Val-d’Or East project.
• All deposits showed better inter-ramp slope angles (IRA) and rock strength than initially considered for significant portions of the open pits.
• The ability to increase pit slopes should allow for reduced waste to ore ratios and will lead to lower costs and increase potential profitability.
  

TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Probe Metals Inc. (TSX-V: PRB) (OTCQB: PROBF) (“Probe” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce positive results of the geotechnical site characterization and the pit slope design for its Val-d’Or East Project. The work included characterizing joint-scale structural trends, and rock mass quality, as well as bench design, and high wall stability assessments. The main objective of the program was to define catch bench capacities, and inter-ramp angles, to support ongoing mine design and economic evaluations. The positive results have identified opportunities to further increase slope angles for a number of the planned pits of the Val-d’Or East project.

David Palmer, President and CEO of Probe, states: “As we progress towards the PEA we continue to improve upon the fundamental building blocks of a development project. These current geotechnical studies are an integral part of mine design and the ability to increase pit slopes should allow the reduction of the waste to ore ratios, typically referred to as the “strip ratio”, which will lower costs and increase potential profitability. The Val-d’Or East project has continued to show promising results in several development-related items, including geochemical characterization studies, metallurgical studies and this geotechnical work. All of these aspects will help to build a more robust PEA and maximize value in the project.”

Geotechnical Update – Objectives and Details

A geotechnical update of the design criteria was completed to determine the relevant design constraints to be applied to the PEA resource estimate for the deposits at Val d’Or East. This involved a review of the geotechnical drillhole database, an update to the geomechanical site characterization, and open pit stability analysis. The update and analysis were conducted by RockEng Inc. and Probe.