Encanto Announces New Board and CEO Appointments

TRADING SYMBOL:  TSXV:EPO

VANCOUVER, Aug. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Encanto Potash Corp. ("Encanto" or the "Company") (TSXV: EPO) is pleased to announced the appointment to its Board of Directors of Messrs. Norman Brewster, Noureddine  Mokaddem, Martin Wong, David Franklin, Maurice Stekel, Chief Reg Bellerose and Joe Varner,  effective August 11, 2016.  In addition Mr. Brewster has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Chief Bellerose has been appointed First Nations Special Counsel .  In conjunction with these appointments the Company will be relocating its head office to Toronto, Ontario.  The Company has accepted the resignations of Messrs. Robert McMorran, John Reynolds, Jamie Schwitzer, Brian Thurston and Jim Walchuck.  Mr. Walchuck has agreed to continue as an Advisor to the Company. The Company would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Walchuck for his tireless efforts in advancing the project to this stage and would like to thank the resigning directors for their many years of contributions and wish them success in their future ventures.

The company is looking forward to the further progress of work on its Joint Venture with the Muskowekan First Nation on the Home Reserve Project in southeastern Saskatchewan, beginning with implementation of the previously recommended Feasibility Study. Since completion of a Preliminary Feasibility Study filed in March of 2013 several initiatives have been negotiated and put in place by the company's  President Mr. Stavros Daskos.

"Following close to one year as Encanto's President, and having secured the base terms that will lead to a long term agreement with MMTC, that will allow for the resource to be developed, and the company to expand, it was essential that a team be implemented that has had a long track record with strong project and finance execution to take this project forward with the First Nations".

About the New Board:

Norman Brewster:  Currently Mr. Brewster is the President, Director and C.E.O. of Cadillac Ventures Inc., with development projects in Ontario (copper) and New Brunswick (Tungsten).   Mr. Brewster has served on many public and private company boards over his career in the mineral industry. Prior to joining Cadillac Ventures Inc. Norman was the interim President and Executive Chairman of Iberian Minerals Corp., successfully financing, developing and putting into production the Aguas Tenidas Mine in Andalucia, Spain, which became  the region's largest employer.  During his tenure Mr. Brewster led negotiations for the purchase of the Condestable Mine in Peru by Iberian Minerals Corp., and as a final duty Mr. Brewster led a committee in reviewing the successful bid by Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd.  ( revenue in 2015 of 97 Bn) to acquire Iberian Minerals Corp., in an all cash takeover.   Mr. Brewster also sat on a committee, as a Director of Spider Resources Inc., which reviewed the successful all cash acquisition of Spider Resources Inc., by Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.  Mr. Brewster holds Bachelor of Science and Education Degrees from Acadia University and was approved as a Member of the Association of Geoscientists of Ontario.  

Noureddine  Mokaddem: Mr. Mokaddem is the President and a Director of Maya Gold and Silver, prior to which he has held senior positions in Morocco  mainly at ONA Group and OCP Group. Mr. Mokaddem has played, during his 33 years of experience, an important role in the development of several major mining operations and projects such as the Akka gold mine and the Guemessa polymetallic complex in Morocco and other projects in West and Central Africa . Mr. Mokaddem holds a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from the State School of Engineers in Mons, Belgium.  Additionally Mr. Mokaddem has attended several Training and Development courses related to the mining industry and mineral projects during his career.

Martin Wong: Mr. Wong is an independent director of Maya Gold and Silver who for the last five years has acted as an independent capital markets advisor to public companies. Prior to that Mr. Wong worked for Dundee Securities Corporation's Investment Banking group where he structured, developed and completed a range of capital market transactions including capital market equity issues and merger and acquisitions. Currently Mr. Wong is an advisor and managing partner at Milton Capital Partners Limited, a financial and capital market advisory firm. Mr. Wong holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Bishop's University and is a member of the Ordre Comptables Agrees du Quebec, Mr. Wong holds accreditation from UBC for Real Estate Financing and the Boeing Corporation for Airline Analysis and Financing.

David Franklin: Mr. Franklin is presently the CEO of About You Medical Supplies of Port Saint Lucie, Florida and holds positions on several public and private companies in the mining, technology and healthcare industries. Mr. Franklin has many years experience in the financial industry including six years at Sprott Asset Management. In 2011 Mr. Franklin was named CEO of Sprott Private Wealth, an IIROC member firm with over $3 billion in client assets, where he oversaw Sprott's wealth management services to high net- worth individuals and foundations. Mr. Franklin holds an Honors Degree in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and has a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation in Canada. 

Maurice Stekel: Mr Stekel has brought to numerous mining companies his significant expertise in accounting and finance as a founding and senior partner of Birnbaum, Prenick, Stekel & Co., Chartered Accountants. In addition to practicing as a recognized and successful accountant, over his career Mr. Stekel has held numerous directorships in public mining companies.  Most recently Maurice has brought his audit expertise to sit as a Director and Audit Committee Chair for several companies including Cadillac Ventures Inc., with development stage assets, Iberian Minerals Corp. with its operating Mine in Spain and the subject of a cash takeover transaction by Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., and Noront Resources Ltd., during the period of the significant "Ring of Fire" discovery in Northern Ontario.

Chief Reg Bellerose: Chief Bellerose has been re-elected for his sixth term a Chief of the Muskowekwan First Nation Encanto's partner in developing the potash resource on his Nation's Reserve, where he is committed to economic development, focusing on partnerships and joint ventures in the oil and gas, potash, power and most recently rail industries.  Chief Bellerose sits on various Boards throughout Saskatchewan including First Nation Power Authority, Saskatchewan Institute of Technologies and is Chair of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Board. Chief Bellerose holds a Masters in Project Management from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Arts in History in Political Science from Concordia University. 

Joe Varner: Mr. Varner has recently served as Director of Policy to Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, P.C., Q.C., M.P., from 2013-2014.  Mr. Varner served in the same capacity when Minister MacKay was Minister of National Defence from 2008-2013. During that time, he regularly accompanied the Minister to major international security conferences such as the NATO summits in Lisbon and Chicago and Halifax International Security Conference, the Munich Security Conference, and Senator John McCain's Sedona Forum as principal advisor. Professor Varner previously served as Senior Advisor on national security matters to the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada; the late Hon. John Lynch-Staunton, the first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada; to the late Hon. J. Michael Forrestall, Deputy Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence; and as a Special Advisor to the former Speaker of the Senate, Hon. Noel Kinsella. As an Associate Professor, Joe Varner taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in homeland security, national security, emergency and disaster management and intelligence studies at American Military University (AMU) and served as the Program Director for the Department of Homeland Security Studies. Joe Varner has a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in International Relations and a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science from Acadia University and currently is a Doctoral candidate in Strategic Security at Henley-Putnam University.

About Encanto:

Encanto Potash Corp. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed and traded Canadian resource company engaged in the development of potash properties in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada, the largest producing potash region in the world. Through a joint venture agreement with Muskowekwan Resources Ltd. on our flagship property, Encanto has a project land package which totals approximately 61,000 largely contiguous acres. A Pre-Feasibility Study dated February 28 2013 titled "Encanto Potash Corp. Technical Report Summarizing the Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Muskowekwan First Nations Home Reserve Project in South Eastern Saskatchewan, Canada" confirms the Proven & Probable KCI Reserves totaling 162 MMt grading 28% which supports primary and secondary mining for over 50 years at an assumed annual rate extraction rate of 2.8 million tonnes.

The Company has a 5% interest in the 55,000 acre Ochapowace/Chacachas property also located in Saskatchewan.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by James Walchuck, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101.

For additional information about Encanto Potash Corp., please visit the Company's website at www.encantopotash.com or review the Company's documents filed on www.sedar.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
          "Norman Brewster"
Per:                                                        
          Norman Brewster
         CEO and Director

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.

THE FOREGOING INFORMATION MAY CONTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY. FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO A NUMBER OF KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER FACTORS THAT MAY CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN OUR FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS. SUCH RISKS AND OTHER FACTORS INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS, THE ACTUAL RESULTS OF EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES, CHANGES IN WORLD COMMODITY MARKETS OR EQUITY MARKETS, THE RISKS OF THE MINING INDUSTRY INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, DELAYS IN OBTAINING GOVERNMENTAL APPROVALS, PERMITS OR FINANCING OR IN THE COMPLETION OF DEVELOPMENT OR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, TITLE DISPUTES, CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT AND CHANGES TO REGULATIONS AFFECTING THE MINING INDUSTRY, AND OTHER RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES DETAILED FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE COMPANY'S FILINGS WITH THE CANADIAN SECURITIES ADMINISTRATORS (AVAILABLE AT WWW.SEDAR.COM). FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE MADE BASED ON VARIOUS ASSUMPTIONS AND ON MANAGEMENT'S BELIEFS, ESTIMATES AND OPINIONS ON THE DATE THE STATEMENTS ARE MADE. SHOULD ONE OR MORE OF THESE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES MATERIALIZE, OR SHOULD UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS PROVE INCORRECT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. THE COMPANY UNDERTAKES NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS IF THESE ASSUMPTIONS, BELIEFS, ESTIMATES AND OPINIONS OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD CHANGE, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

SOURCE Encanto Potash Corp.