LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: LME | OTC: LMEFF | FSE: 5YD) is moving forward with environmental and permitting activities at its 100%-owned Ishkōday Gold and Polymetallic Project in Northwestern Ontario, the company announced on September 18, 2026. The work supports two complementary initiatives at the historical Sturgeon River Mine: recovery and remediation of a surface waste rock stockpile, and a proposed Advanced Exploration Project to dewater and rehabilitate the flooded mine shaft and underground workings.
The company has submitted an application for a Recovery of Minerals Permit to Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, including a Recovery and Remediation Plan under section 152.1 of the Mining Act and Ontario Regulation 463/24. The stockpile, a legacy of historic mining, contains mineralized material that LAURION seeks to recover through removal and off-site processing, followed by remediation. The recovery is not expected to require new infrastructure, mining, or underground development.
Separately, LAURION is preparing a Permit to Take Water application for dewatering the historical shaft, which extends approximately 642 metres below surface and has 15 underground levels. The mine has been flooded since operations ceased in 1942, with an estimated 114,000 cubic metres of static water. The proposed Advanced Exploration Project would involve removing the shaft cap, rehabilitating the collar, installing a temporary exploration headframe, and controlled dewatering to allow safe underground access for exploration drilling and sampling. No commercial production or ore processing is proposed. The PTTW submission is targeted for Q4 2026, with a detailed hydrogeological impact assessment to be completed.
Over the past five years, LAURION has commissioned independent environmental baseline studies, including terrestrial ecology and species-at-risk surveys, aquatic and benthic studies, groundwater and surface water monitoring, shaft water characterization, and a Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment. These studies provide a foundation for regulatory review and will inform environmental management and monitoring measures.
“Five years of rigorous, independent environmental baseline work is not a small undertaking, and I am proud of the diligence our team and consultants have brought to this work,” said Cynthia Le Sueur-Aquin, President and CEO. “This stockpile represents decades-old mining waste sitting on surface today. Recovering potentially economic residual mineralization within the stockpile, and doing so responsibly, is exactly the kind of value-additive, environmentally sound project our shareholders should expect from LAURION.”
She added that historical records indicate gold-bearing structures on multiple underground levels that were not fully explored before mining ceased. “Subject to regulatory approvals, the proposed dewatering program is expected to provide safe underground access for geological mapping, sampling and evaluation,” she said. “It is also anticipated that the program will facilitate the rehabilitation of a long-standing legacy mine hazard under regulatory oversight.”
LAURION has engaged with Indigenous communities through an Indigenous Joint Steering Committee, with project-specific consultation involving Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek First Nation, Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation, and Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek First Nation. Public notice and meetings will be part of the Closure Plan process.
“Blue Heron has been pleased to support LAURION with the environmental baseline studies and permitting work required to advance the Ishkōday Project,” said Linda Byron, Director at Blue Heron Environmental. “We are excited to see the Company take this important next step.”
Additional regulatory requirements, including an Advanced Exploration Closure Plan and environmental approvals for mine water treatment, air and noise emissions, are targeted for early 2027. The technical contents of the release were reviewed by Dr. Trevor Boyd, Ph.D., P.Geo., a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. For more information, visit www.LAURION.ca.
