Canadian Premium Sand Inc. Announces Agreement to Purchase Land for its Solar Glass Manufacturing Facility

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Premium Sand Inc. (“CPS” or the “Company”) (TSXV: CPS) is pleased to announce it has entered into an Option to Purchase Agreement (the “Option Agreement”) with the City of Selkirk for the acquisition of land zoned for heavy industrial purposes located northwest of the intersection of Manitoba Highways 4 and 9A (the “Site”).

The Option Agreement secures an attractive land parcel, consisting of approximately 121 acres, with attributes that are ideal for the development of the Company’s patterned solar glass manufacturing facility (the “Facility”). See here for a rendering of the Facility.

The Site offers numerous benefits to CPS’s business model including:

• Proximity to a 115kV power line located less than 2km from the Site, enabling access to renewable hydro-electric energy from Manitoba Hydro;
• Pipeline access to the City of Selkirk’s wastewater plant, enabling the use of high-quality recycled water required for plant operations;
• Proximity to natural gas distribution infrastructure that is adjacent to the Site’s south boundary, enabling efficient pipeline access;
• Access to a Class 1 rail line located on the Site’s south boundary, enabling a low-cost rail spur connection;
• Access to Winnipeg’s logistics hub, enabling efficient inbound and outbound deliveries with both rail and truck options;
• Availability of a diverse and experienced labour pool to support up to 600 construction jobs and 300 manufacturing jobs for the first phase of the Facility; and
• Future growth opportunities with sufficient land to accommodate up to 4 phases of capacity expansion.
  

“This is a key milestone in our development of North America’s first vertically integrated, patterned solar glass manufacturing facility,” says Glenn Leroux, President and CEO of CPS. “The City of Selkirk is a great community for this project. Selkirk has a clear and disciplined vision of sustainable development and CPS wants to be in a community that aligns with these values. The land parcel is perfect for our purposes and positions us to be the lowest cost and lowest carbon supplier of solar glass for the North American market. With the recent passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, the demand growth for solar glass is expected to accelerate rapidly and we have already seen expansion announcements from large solar panel manufacturers. As we continue to advance conversations with customers, we are well positioned with a first-mover advantage to cement CPS as the supplier of choice in North America.”

City of Selkirk Mayor, Larry Johannson comments, “We’re pleased to be working with Canadian Premium Sand, a company that could have located its plant anywhere in North America but chose Selkirk. It’s an incredible vote of confidence in our city and it will bring hundreds of jobs here. It puts us on the map for the new green economy and will have a positive impact on Selkirk for generations. We are a city that is committed to sustainable economic development and CPS’s vision aligns with ours.”

Deputy Premier and Minister of Economic Development Cliff Cullen stated, “We are very excited that this project has achieved this significant milestone. This project embodies the inherent advantage Manitoba has as a global investment destination as the world pursues decarbonization. Manitoba’s abundant mineral resources and low-cost green, renewable energy to process those minerals into finished products, are increasingly attracting the attention of global businesses and investors.”

The exercise of the Option will result in a binding purchase agreement between the City of Selkirk and CPS. The exercise of the Option is conditional on:

• Legal subdivision of the Site by the Province of Manitoba, and
• Receipt of permits and approvals by CPS for the construction and operation of its planned solar glass manufacturing facility.

About Canadian Premium Sand Inc.

The Company is developing manufacturing capacity for ultra high-clarity patterned solar glass through a Company-owned facility to be located in Selkirk, Manitoba that utilizes the high-purity, low-iron silica sand from its wholly owned Wanipigow quarry leases and renewable Manitoba hydroelectricity. The Company is a reporting issuer in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Its shares trade on the TSXV under the symbol "CPS".

Neither the 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.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements relating to, without limitation, expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs, including information as to the future events, results of operations and the Company’s future performance (both operational and financial) and business prospects. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “expects”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “plans”, “seeks”, “projects” or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results “may” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's beliefs, estimates and opinions regarding its future growth, results of operations, future performance (both operational and financial), and business prospects and opportunities at the time such statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or circumstances should change. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions made by the Company that are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements pertaining, but not limited, to: the benefits of the Option and the Site for the Facility; the benefits of the Facility; future development and construction plans; industry conditions pertaining to the solar glass manufacturing industry; the ability of and manner by which the Company expects to meet its capital needs; and the Company's objectives, strategies and competitive strengths. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous current assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described in the forward-looking statements.

A number of factors, risks and uncertainties could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated and described herein including, among others: the effects of competition and pricing pressures; effects of fluctuations in the price of glass products and raw materials input costs; risks related to indebtedness and liquidity, including the Company's capital requirements; risks related to interest rate fluctuations and foreign exchange rate fluctuations; changes in general economic, financial, market and business conditions in the markets in which the Company operates; the Company's ability to obtain, maintain and renew required permits, licenses and approvals from regulatory authorities; the stringent requirements of and potential changes to applicable legislation, regulations and standards; the ability of the Company to comply with unexpected costs of government regulations; liabilities resulting from the Company's operations; the results of litigation or regulatory proceedings that may be brought against the Company; uninsured and underinsured losses; risks related to the transportation of the Company's products, including potential rail line interruptions or a reduction in rail car availability; the geographic and customer concentration of the Company; the ability of the Company to retain and attract qualified management and staff in the markets in which the Company operates; labor disputes and work stoppages and risks related to employee health and safety; general risks associated with the glass manufacturing and sand quarry industries, loss of markets, consumer and business spending and borrowing trends; limited, unfavorable, or a lack of access to capital markets; uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of products; processing problems; the use and suitability of the Company's accounting estimates and judgments; and the other risk factors outlined in CPS’s most recent Management’s Discussion and Analysis which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in its forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will materialize or prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as may be required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements or information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Any financial outlook and future-oriented financial information contained in this press release regarding prospective financial performance, financial position, cash flows or EBITDA projections are based on assumptions about future events, including economic conditions and proposed courses of action based on management’s assessment of the relevant information that is currently available. Projected operational information contains forward-looking information and is based on a number of material assumptions and factors, as are set out above. These projections may also be considered to contain future oriented financial information or a financial outlook. The actual results of the Company's operations for any period will likely vary from the amounts set forth in these projections and such variations may be material. Actual results will vary from projected results. Readers are cautioned that any such financial outlook and future-oriented financial information contained herein should not be used for purposes other than those for which it is disclosed herein. The forward-looking information and statements contained in this document speak only as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required pursuant to applicable laws.