MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - June 8, 2017) - Sama Resources Inc. ("Sama" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SME) announces that the Company has signed a Technology License Agreement ("License") with Canadian-based CVMR Corporation ("CVMR" or the "Licensor"). Under the terms of the agreement, CVMR grants Sama use of its technology to refine the mineralized material from the Samapleu property in Ivory Coast, West Africa, to produce nickel and iron powders. At present, prices payable for nickel powders treated using CVMR's technology are at a significant premium above the current LME prices for nickel, providing Sama with a market advantage and growth opportunity not previously available.
CVMR initiated a pilot program in March 2017 with a 260-gram concentrate of mineralized material from Samapleu. The concentrate graded 3.01% copper, 2.30% nickel and 25.90% iron. Preliminary results indicate a 91% and 92% recovery rate for the nickel and the iron, respectively.
"The partnership with CVMR will enable Sama to complete technical studies for a proposed open pit operation at Samapleu with higher returns compared to a simple flotation process," said Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sama Resources. "We expect to complete the Samapleu feasibility study by year-end 2017."
"The geological formation of the Samapleu deposit is ideally suited to CVMR's nickel and iron powder production technology. The manufacture of metal components and additives has undergone a paradigm shift in the past ten years as 3D printing and metal injection moulding are replacing many other manufacturing methods. Accordingly, the demand for nickel and iron powders is increasing more rapidly than most optimistic forecasts. Sama Resources is well positioned to take advantage of this major shift in the manufacturing industry," said Kamran M. Khozan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CVMR (http://www.cvmr.ca).
The Licensor authorizes Sama to use CVMR's patents and technology to operate nickel and iron powder manufacturing plants in the Ivory Coast (the "Plants"), to be built, commissioned and delivered on a turn-key basis by CVMR, following a positive feasibility study. The Plants will be dedicated to the production of metal powders used in a variety of products and manufacturing processes, including: 3D printing (additive manufacturing), aerospace and automotive parts manufacturing, medical instruments, computer and electronic parts, super alloys, sophisticated net shapes for use in the defence and space industries, metal injection molding (MIM), anti-seize lubricants, chemicals and catalysts, etc.
In consideration of the License, Sama has agreed to pay CVMR CA$5,000,000 either in cash or, subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"), through the issuance of an equivalent value of common shares of Sama within 90 days of the granting of the mining license. Share price will be based on the average closing price of those shares on the Exchange for each day during the three months of trading prior to issuance. In addition, CVMR will receive a royalty equal to 15% of the sale price of metal powders produced by the Plants in excess of the London Metal Exchange price of the elements contained in such powders.
Sama and CVMR will negotiate a project construction agreement with respect to the Plants.
Sama has also retained CVMR to perform a detailed technical study to confirm the commercial viability of producing nickel and iron powders from nickel-iron concentrate obtained from the flotation of the mineralized material of the Samapleu deposits. Sama will apply to the Department of Mines in Ivory Coast to transform the current exploration permit #123 ("PR123") into a mining license.
A Proven Process with In-Demand Products
Global nickel carbonyl powder production capacity is approximately 37,000 metric tons per year, with the main producers being Vale (Inco) in Canada and Wales, Jilin Jien and Jinchuan in China and Norilsk in Russia. Iron powder production capacity is reported to be around 29,000 metric tons per year, with BASF of Germany being the largest manufacturer followed by Ashland in USA, Sintez in Russia, CVMR in Canada and Jilin Jien in China.
About Sama Resources Inc.
Sama is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with projects in West Africa. For more information about Sama, please visit Sama's website at http://www.samaresources.com.
About CVMR Corporation
CVMR Corporation is a privately held multinational, multi-disciplinary, organization operating in four continents, with offices in Canada, US, UAE and Turkey, and representative offices in Indonesia, Australia, and a number of Latin American countries. The company specializes in manufacture of metal powders, nano-powders, alloys, super alloys and net shapes based on its proprietary vapour metallurgy. It designs mineral processing plants, constructs and commissions the plants on behalf of its clients. It conducts metallurgical tests and piloting of various minerals.
CVMR's vapour metallurgy processes and technologies have been developed over 20 years and are continuously upgraded and improved as new complementary technologies evolve. CVMR's refining/manufacturing processes are capable of producing pure metal products with very high degree of purity.
Such high-purity metal was used by CVMR to produce nickel tubes for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), through the Canadian Department of Defense. These tubes are the only nickel tubes with minimum radioactive emission needed to be used for the detection and measurement of neutrinos being emitted from the sun.
CVMR Corporation was one of the very few privately held corporations to have contributed to this scientifically valuable project in partnership with the governments of Canada, US and UK. The SNO project was the precursor to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, at CERN, in Switzerland, which is probing the fundamental structure of the universe.
Readers are invited to visit CVMR's website at: http://www.cvmr.ca.
The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo and President and CEO of Sama, and a 'qualified person', as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
