Osisko Mining Corporation: Osisko Signs a Framework Agreement With the Quebec Government Regarding the Rehabilitation of the Or

Published in Business and Finance on Friday, January 23rd 2009 at 13:54 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-01-23 13:56:38 by Market Wire
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MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Jan. 23, 2009) - Osisko Mining Corporation ("Osisko") (TSX:OSK)(FRANKFURT:EWX) is pleased to announce that it has signed a framework agreement with the Ministere des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune ("MRNF") covering the closure and rehabilitation of the orphaned East Malartic mine site for which the MRNF became responsible in 2004. The framework agreement stipulates that each party will assume half the cost of rehabilitating the East Malartic site, for which the preliminary estimate amounts to $23 million.

"This agreement serves both the public interest and the interests of the Canadian Malartic project," commented Mr. Sean Roosen, President and CEO. "The Government of Quebec will be able to rehabilitate a major orphaned site while saving several million dollars. And we will be able to efficiently dispose of our own processing waste in a way that fully respects the environment."

"We are also pleased to contribute to the creation of a healthier environment for our fellow citizens in Malartic, and to remedy the negative impact left from decades of mining by past generations," added Mr. Roosen.

The East Malartic site

East Malartic was one of the three big gold mines in the history of Malartic. It was in production from 1936 to 1983. Following its closure, the plant on the site intermittently processed ore from other mines in the region until 2002. The MRNF inherited the site in 2004, when the last owner declared bankruptcy, and has since assumed the cost of its environmental monitoring.

Located southeast of the town of Malartic, the site consists of six waste disposal areas covering a total of 500 hectares, making it the one of the biggest "orphaned" sites in Quebec. A large portion of the confined and flooded tailings on the site is acid generating.

The agreement

The agreement between Osisko and the MRNF foresees the use of tailings from the future Canadian Malartic mine to rehabilitate the East Malartic site. Canadian Malartic tailings will be transported through pipes as thickened slurry and will cover the tailings on the East Malartic site.

This type of rehabilitation is possible thanks to the technology selected by Osisko in matters of ore and waste processing. The Canadian Malartic tailings will not be acid generating, as opposed to the tailings currently on site. They also will not be "leachable", meaning that they will not release contaminants into the environment over time.

The agreement covers a period of six years following the date of signing. Considering the likely schedule leading up to future mining operations at the Canadian Malartic mine, this term should be enough to cover the complete rehabilitation of the site. Nevertheless, the agreement could be extended, if warranted, to reach the agreement's objective. Because the MRNF is legally responsible for rehabilitating the site, it will assume control until the agreement ends. Afterwards, the site will be entirely transferred to Osisko, who will assume responsibility for its rehabilitation in accordance with laws and regulations. Rehabilitation will be an ongoing process so that by the end of mining activities, the tailings site will already be 65% restored.

The agreement also defines the means by which the East Malartic rehabilitation project will be managed, notably the formation of a management committee.

About Osisko

Osisko Mining Corporation is carrying out an aggressive definition drilling and exploration program on the Canadian Malartic deposit and surrounding properties in the Abitibi region. If the project becomes a reality, the development of the Canadian Malartic deposit will produce the second biggest gold mine in Canada in terms of gold output, and will represent a project conceived and mined using sustainable development principles.

Upon fruition, the Canadian Malartic project will create about 400 direct permanent jobs, of which 350 will be in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region; it will indirectly support 500 other jobs in Quebec. Osisko will spend just over one third of the $540 million required for mine construction and development in the Malartic and Abitibi-Temiscamingue region. Osisko will also put into effect a policy aimed at maximizing the purchase of local and regional goods and services, and maximizing the hiring of workers from the Malartic and Abitibi-Temiscamingue region. In addition, Osisko has already set up and financed the Fonds Essor Malartic Osisko (FEMO), a sustainable development fund designed to ensure that Osisko's activities in the area generate long-term benefits for Malartic.

Osisko's head office is in Montreal.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that the Corporation expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Corporation believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, including, without limitation that all technical, economical and financial conditions will be met in order to put the Canadian Malartic Project into commercial production, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include gold prices, access to skilled consultants, mining development and mill production personnel, results of exploration and development activities, the Corporation's limited experience with production and development stage mining operations, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, actual performance of facilities, equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations, commodity prices, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These factors are discussed in greater detail in the Corporation's most recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR, which also provides additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. The Corporation cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on the Corporation's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. The Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release.