Voyageur Minerals Ltd. estimated a NI 43-101-compliant resource at its Frances Creek barite project in British Columbia, and has started due diligence on the manufacturing of barium contrast suspension products.

The project hosts an indicated resource of 166,210.20 tonnes at 37.75% barium sulfate for 62,745 tonnes of contained barite. The inferred resource stands at 195,578.10 tonnes at 35.40% barium sulfate for 69,229.80 tonnes of contained barite.

Voyageur said July 5 it is in discussions with pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Heath Canada consulting firms as it looks to export barite to the North American markets.

In March, the company inked a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Innovation Metals Corp. to access the latter's proprietary processing technology for the production of high-purity barium sulfate, or barite.