Tirex Resources appoints former deputy prime minister of Canada as special advisor

Tirex Resources (CVE:TXX) has appointed the former deputy prime minister of Canada, the Hounourable Sheila Copps, to the position of special advisor to the Albania-focused company. 

Copps, the first woman ever named to the post of deputy prime minister of Canada, also served as Canada's minister of environment. 

"Canadians have long respected Ms. Copps for her role as Deputy Prime Minister of our nation, but also for having ushered in some of the most stringent environmental regulations in the world during her tenure as Minister of Environment," Tirex CEO Bryan Slusarchuk said in a statement released late Thursday.

"As Albania moves towards European Union integration, an increasing emphasis will be put on companies' operations as they pertain to environment, health, safety and community. Ms. Copps will act as a key advisor to Tirex to ensure the company continues to act as a leader in these areas."

Copps, who was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada, is credited with introducing the concept of ecological integrity, and also spearheaded the UNESCO convention on cultural diversity. 

Tirex recently engaged an engineering firm in Albania to carry out a survey of the boundaries of its mining licenses. The Vancouver-based explorer announced contracting Lorenco & Co., civil engineers in Tirana, Albania for the survey, which begins at two high priority license areas that are known to host large individual deposits with expansion potential. The two areas, Tuci-East Tuci and Qaf Bari, are among several licenses granted earlier this year by the Albanian government, giving the Albania-focused Tirex a district of properties.

The company’s plans for six specific areas of the Mirdita Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) district were approved during the mining licensing process, through which its exploration licenses were transitioned to 25 year mining licenses after an investment of more than US$25 million.  Initially, the company is to target 500 tonnes per day of production, with plans to ramp up to 2,000 tonnes per day of production after two years. 

"Tirex has operated to a best practices approach in terms of environment, health, safety and community since starting work in Albania six years ago," said Tirex president Fred Tejada. "With Ms. Copps advising on these matters and with continued support in these areas from the EBRD, we are targeting a continued leadership role in this new era of Albanian mineral exploration and development."