Commerce Resources Corp. Completes Preliminary Evaluation for Renewable Power at the Ashram Rare Earth Project

Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXv: CCE, FSE: D7H, OTCQX: CMRZF) (the “Company” or “Commerce”) announces that it has completed a preliminary evaluation of local and regional wind data to the west of Lac LeMoyne, indicating favourable wind speeds for renewable power development as part of the Ashram Rare Earth Project’s energy requirements.  

The wind speed modelling was completed by Tugliq Energy Co. (TUGLIQ) as a first step towards understanding the potential of wind power generation in the region, and its applicability to the Ashram Project. The work incorporated local wind data, collected since early 2013 from a weather station located ~1 km south of the Ashram Deposit, as well as available regional data, correlated and extrapolated into a common dataset.

Benefits of wind power generation for mining projects include reducing the project’s overall carbon footprint through a reduction in fossil fuel use and related transportation costs. In addition, the advancement of wind turbine technology in recent years has made the method more cost competitive and applicable to remote environments where a connection to the regional power grid is not practical. 

Company President Chris Grove states, “Wind power is a renewable resource that should be considered for several reasons, including reducing overall energy costs for the Ashram Project.  We are happy to be working with TUGLIQ and are encouraged by these results.”

Wind power generation for northern mining projects is currently operating successfully at two Canadian mine sites; the Diavik Mine, NWT, with a four turbine wind farm (9.2 MW generating capacity) operating since 2012, and most recently at the Raglan Mine, Nunavik, QC, with a single 3 MW turbine and energy storage commissioned in 2014.

The Raglan wind power project is owned and operated by TUGLIQ under a long-term power purchase agreement with Glencore. Public funding supported the R&D components aimed at evaluating several methods of energy storage in a northern microgrid/offgrid environment, enabling high penetration of renewable energy in a hybrid-diesel context.

The preliminary wind speeds recorded in the area of the Ashram Deposit are higher than those of the Diavik Mine, NWT, adding further encouragement to the potential applicability to Ashram. The wind farm at Diavik operates four 2 MW ENERCON turbines, providing a good analogue for Ashram in terms of power capacity and applicable turbine models. The ENERCON turbines at Diavik, as well as Raglan, have been designed to operate in temperatures as low as -40°C and have been demonstrated to be practical, reliable, and cost effective in such environments.

Based on the encouraging findings, the Company is advancing towards a collaborative agreement with TUGLIQ in order to prepare a more definitive assessment of the wind power generation potential at Ashram.

The Federal and Quebec governments are actively supporting the advancement of clean/green technologies and renewable energy resource development as Canada transitions to a lower-carbon economy. This is demonstrated through various ongoing grant programs available at both the federal and provincial levels, as well as being recently highlighted (November 2015) by the legally binding, global climate change framework agreement at COP21 in Paris.

The results of the programs described in this news release will be incorporated, along with other necessary technical data including geological and engineering studies, into the ongoing Pre-feasibility Study, with costs and benefits to be described in more detail therein.

NI 43-101 Disclosure

Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol., Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.  

About TUGLIQ Energy Corp.

TUGLIQ is a specialist Independent Power Producer (IPP) focused on remote and hybrid energy diversification for off-grid solutions tailored to the mining industry or islanded grids. Flexible structures and agreements ensure CAPEX conservation for the mining client, and immediate savings over current power generation costs from diesel, adapting to low prices in commodities and fossil fuels.

TUGLIQ takes responsibility on a turnkey basis of the financing, technology assessment, ownership, development, construction, execution and commissioning, operation and maintenance, in the end offering mining customers an all-inclusive price of energy on a $/kWh or $/GJ basis.

About Commerce Resources Corp.

Commerce Resources Corp. is an exploration and development company with a particular focus on deposits of rare metals and rare earth elements.  The Company is focused on the development of its Ashram Rare Earth Element Deposit in Quebec and the Upper Fir Tantalum and Niobium Deposit in British Columbia.

For more information please visit the corporate website at http://www.commerceresources.com or contact Investor Relations at 604.484.2700 or info@commerceresources.com.  

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.

“Chris Grove”

Chris Grove
President
Tel:  604.484.2700

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.  For example forward looking statements in this press release include and are not limited to the statement that benefits of wind power generation for mining projects include reducing the project’s overall carbon footprint and related transportation costs, as well as that the advancement of wind turbine technology has made the method more cost competitive and applicable to remote environments.  These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information.  Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to fruition include changing costs for mining and processing; increased capital costs; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; geological interpretations based on current data that may change with more detailed information; potential process methods and mineral recoveries assumption based on limited test work and by comparison to what are considered analogous deposits that with further test work may not be comparable; the availability of  labour, equipment and markets for the products produced; and despite the current expected viability of the project, conditions changing such that the minerals on our property cannot be economically mined, or that the required permits to build and operate the envisaged mine can be obtained. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com

Copyright © 2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.