Foran orders Sandvik BEV equipment for McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan

Foran Mining (TSXV: FOM) has entered an agreement with Sandvik to supply initial underground equipment for development at its 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan. The initial equipment order includes battery electric underground drills, trucks and loaders that will be used for both development and production.

As part of the agreement, Sandvik will provide and maintain all batteries through a service agreement and will support the Foran maintenance team though embedded Sandvik battery and equipment technicians.

Dave Bernier, chief operating officer of Foran, said, “This is a very exciting period for Foran as we continue to execute on our initiatives to permit, construct and operate McIlvenna Bay. Sandvik is a global leader in industrial battery technology, and we look forward to working together on our project.

“Utilizing battery electric equipment with semi- and fully autonomous capabilities can help us achieve our carbon neutral targets and provide a safe working environment, which is part of our net positive business strategy as we look to deliver critical metals essential for global decarbonization in a responsible and social-empowering way.”

Stefan Widing, president and CEO of Sandvik, added, “I am very pleased that we have been chosen by Foran to deliver our leading battery-electric solutions for the pioneering McIlvenna Bay project. Sandvik sees very strong momentum for our mining electrification offering, which offers great potential in driving more sustainable mining, helping customers to boost productivity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve workers’ health.”

Foran’s McIlvenna Bay project is intended to be the centre of a new mining camp in a prolific district that has already been producing for 100 years. The copper-zinc-gold-silver rich, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposit sits just 65 km West of Flin Flon, Man., and is part of the world-class Flin Flon greenstone belt that extends from Snow Lake, Man., through Flin Flon to Foran’s ground in eastern Saskatchewan, a distance of over 225 km.

At present, McIlvenna Bay is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the Flin Flon region, with 39 million tonnes of indicated resources grading 1.20% copper, 2.16% zinc, 0.41 g/t gold and 14 g/t silver.