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Future Metals NL Capital/Financing Update 2021

Jul 6, 2021

10485_rns_2021-07-06_1bdaa143-9edd-49a9-9405-08ec9217bf9e.pdf

Capital/Financing Update

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ASX Release
7 July 2021
ASX: FME
Directors
Greg Bandy; Chairman
Justin Tremain, Corporate Director
Allan Mulligan, Technical Director
Aaron Bertolatti, Finance Director
Robert Mosig, Non-Exec Director
Investment Highlights
 100% ownership of the Panton
PGM Project in Western Australia
 Panton JORC Mineral Resource
Estimate (‘MRE’ )
o 14.32Mt @ 5.20g/t PGM &
Gold, plus 0.27% Ni
o 2.4Moz contained PGM’s &
Gold
o Palladium dominant (~50% of
contained ounces) with full
suite of PGMs, gold and base
metals
 Resource outcrops |
Mineralisation from surface
 Granted Mining Leases
 Metallurgical test work of >80%
PGM recoveries to ultra high
grade PGM concentrate (crush,
grind and flotation)
 10,000m step-out drilling
program
Contact Details
Future Metals NL
Level 1, 35 Richardson Street
West Perth, WA, 6005
T: +61 8 9480 0414
E: [email protected]
W: https://future-metals.com.au/
@_FutureMetals
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Independent Metallurgical Review Confirms >80% PGM Recovery to High Grade PGM Flotation Concentrate

Highlights

  • Highly regarded specialist PGM metallurgical consultant appointed to review historical flotation test work on the Panton PGM Project

  • Review confirms metallurgical recoveries for the high-grade Panton PGM mineralisation with 81.4% 3PGM (platinum, palladium and gold) recovery to a low mass pull (2.5%) concentrate grading 271g/t 3PGM

  • Commercially attractive PGM concentrate obtained from conventional crush, grind and rougher flotation with appropriate reagent regime

  • Potential to further upgrade concentrate to produce a premium, ultrahigh grade PGM concentrate via reagent optimisation and cleaner flotation

  • Additional variability test work across the four zones that make up the Panton JORC Mineral Resource and test work to optimise grind size and reagent used to be undertaken over the coming months

  • Program of Works approved for a 10,000 metre diamond core stepout drilling program

  • Contract secured with contractor Terra Drilling with mobilisation to site expected end of July/early August

  • Current consulting geologist, Mr Shane Hibbird, appointed as Exploration Manager

Future Metals NL (‘Future Metals’ or the ‘Company’, ASX: FME) is pleased to provide an update on an independent metallurgical review undertaken on the Panton PGM Project located in Western Australia. The Panton PGM Project has a JORC Resource of 14.32Mt @ 5.20g/t for 2.4Moz PGM and Gold (refer Appendix One).

Future Metals’ Director, Justin Tremain commented: “The ability to produce a commercially attractive, high-grade PGM concentrate with >80% PGM recovery is critical to the commercial success of the Panton PGM Project. The metallurgical review undertaken, by an independent and highly experienced PGM metallurgist, indicates a high-grade, low mass pull concentrate is achievable utilising conventional grinding and flotation, through the utilisation of an appropriate reagent regime.”

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The Company recently appointed Dr Evan Kirby of Metallurgical Management Services Pty Ltd (‘MMS’) to undertake a review of historical flotation test work conducted on the Panton ore by previous owners Platinum Australia Ltd (‘Platinum Australia’) and Panoramic Resources Ltd (‘Panoramic’). MMS has extensive experience within the PGM industry and provided metallurgical services to several PGM producers in South Africa and the USA.

A series of test work campaigns was carried out in 2015 by ALS Laboratories on behalf of Panoramic to investigate the potential to produce a high-grade PGM concentrate at a >80% 3PGM recovery.

MMS has concluded:

“The 2015 test work achieved a technical breakthrough and the results demonstrated that high performance flotation on the Panton ore was possible. It was shown that a combination of fine grinding, conditioning with sodium dithionate as a reducing agent, and use of nitrogen gas for flotation were essential to the process.”

Significantly improved flotation results were achieved following the test work campaigns utilising a primary grind of P80 38 micron with sodium dithionite used as a reducing agent, and with a rapid 14 minutes of flotation time. Test 1279 returned the following flotation results:

PGM Concentrate
Head Grade
(3PGE)
Concentrate
Mass Pull
Flotation
Recovery (3PGE)
Concentrate Grade
(3PGE)
Flotation Time
8.22g/t 2.46% 81.4% 271.7g/t 14 min

Table One | Test 1279 Flotation Results

Past Panton Metallurgical Test Work

Platinum Australia completed a feasibility study on the Panton PGM Project in in 2003. The feasibility study was based on a concentrator flowsheet utilising two stages of milling and flotation to recover a low-grade PGM concentrate. This float procedure achieved about 80% 3PGM recovery to a concentrate grade of about 20g/t 3PGM. The “base case” feasibility test work flowsheet involved a P80 primary grind to 170 micron and then rougher flotation for 35 minutes. This was followed by grinding to P80 38 micron and 25 minutes of scavenger flotation. A finer secondary grind to P80 25 micron was shown to achieve improved recovery. Given the float produced only a low-grade concentrate, the resultant concentrate was then to be treated by the ‘Panton Process’ which employed low-temperature calcining followed by hot cyanide leaching and then precipitation and ion exchange to produce separate base metals and PGM concentrates. This downstream processing resulted in additional operating and capital costs along with increased technical risk.

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The original 2003 feasibility study process design was based on the performance shown below:

PGM Concentrate
Head Grade
(3PGE)
Concentrate
Mass Pull
Flotation
Recovery (3PGE)
Concentrate Grade
(3PGE)
Flotation Time
6.0g/t 24% 87% 21.6g/t 60 min

Table Two | Platinum Australia Feasibility Study Flotation Parameters

Following the acquisition of the Panton PGM Project in 2012, Panoramic undertook additional flotation test work to evaluate the effects of grind, float cell impeller speed, nitrogen flotation, depressants, sulfidisation and use of a strong reducing agent. This work was carried out by ALS Laboratories in 2015.

The 2015 metallurgical program commenced with flotation conditions designed to replicate the Platinum Australia feasibility study flowsheet (being Test 1193), followed by a total of 33 float tests spread over a series of test work campaigns. The initial flotation of Test 1193 returned a 3PGM recovery of 80.3% to a 69.9g/t PGM concentrate. Whilst there was no attempt at optimising flotation conditions, there was a clear progression of learning from the most promising results of each campaign. By the fourth campaign of test work, there was a dramatic improvement in flotation kinetics.

Results of the test run 1279 in the fourth test work campaign are shown Table One. Actual recovery was 81.4% to a concentrate grade of 271.7 g/t 3E in a total flotation time of 14 minutes. There was also a dramatic improvement to flotation kinetics as shown in Figure One.

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Figure One | Flotation Kinetics

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The main reason for the improved flotation performance was the conditioning with reducing agent, sodium dithionate to a redox potential of -400 mV relative to a platinum electrode, followed by nitrogen flotation. The reductive treatment appears to have reversed some surface alteration of the valuable mineral particles rendering them more easily recovered by froth flotation. Subsequent flotation with nitrogen gas has prevented re-alteration and preserved the floatability of the particles.

Forward Program

Whilst the 2015 test work achieved dramatic improvements in the flotation performance, there was no attempt to optimize the flotation response, or to investigate the roles played by the other reagents used (the activator, copper sulfate, plus collectors and promoters).

Additional test work will be required to investigate which other flotation reagents are important and optimise the reagent regime. The work will also include testing for variability throughout the Panton Mineral Resource and understanding how different ore characteristics relate to selectivity. Results will deliver a robust understanding of the process and allow it to be scaled up and implemented in a full-scale processing plant.

The Company will undertake this further metallurgical test work during the second half of calendar 2021 under the supervision of MMS.

New Drilling Program

The Company has secured a contract with experienced drilling contractor Terra Drilling for a 10,000m diamond drilling program. Rig mobilisation is expected to occur early August 2021. The drilling program is designed to test for extensions to the current JORC Mineral Resource and provide samples to undertake the planned metallurgical test work outlined above.

The program will be managed by Mr Shane Hibbird who has accepted the role of Exploration Manager with the company.

This announcement has been approved for release by the Board of Future Metals NL

For further information, please contact:

Justin Tremain Director

Future Metals Ltd

T: +61 8 9480 0414 E: [email protected]

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Competent Person’s Statement:

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Mr Shane Hibbird, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Hibbird is a consultant of the Company and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves” (JORC Code). Mr Hibbird consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based upon his information in the form and context in which it appears.

References may have been made in this announcement to certain past ASX announcements, including references regarding exploration results. For full details, refer to the referenced ASX announcement on the said date. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in these earlier market announcements.

The information in this Presentation which relates to Mineral Resources was stated in the Company’s Prospectus dated 18 May 2021. The Company confirms that is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the Prospectus relating to Mineral Resources, and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Resource Estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed.

The information in this report that relates to Metallurgical Results is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Dr Evan Kirby, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Dr Kirby is a full-time employee of Metallurgical Management Services (MMS) a specialist metallurgical consultancy and an independent consultant of the Company. Dr Kirby has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves” (JORC Code). Dr Kirby consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based upon his information in the form and context in which it appears.

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About Panton PGM Project

The 100% owned Panton PGM project is located 60 kilometres north of the town of Halls Creek in the eastern Kimberly region of Western Australia, a tier one mining jurisdiction. The Project is located on three granted mining licences and situated just 1 kilometre off the Great North Highway which accesses the Port of Wyndham (refer Figure Two).

The Project has a JORC Mineral Resource estimate of 14.32Mt @ 4.89g/t PGM, 0.31g/t Au, 0.27% Ni (refer Appendix One).

The Panton mineralisation occurs within a layered, differentiated mafic-ultramafic intrusion referred to as the Panton intrusive which is a 10km long and 3km wide, southwest plunging synclinal intrusion. PGM mineralisation is hosted within two stratiform chromite reefs, the Top and Middle reefs, within the ultramafic sequence.

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Figure Two | Panton PGM Project Location

About Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)

PGMs are a group of six precious metals being Platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir), osmium (Os), rhodium (Rh), and ruthenium (Ru). Exceptionally rare, they have similar physical and chemical properties and tend to occur, in varying proportions, together in the same geological deposit. The usefulness of PGMs is determined by their unique and specific shared chemical and physical properties.

PGMs have many desirable properties and as such have a wide variety of applications. Most notably, they are used as auto-catalysts (pollution control devices for vehicles), but are also used in jewellery, electronics, hydrogen production / purification and in hydrogen fuel cells. The unique properties of PGMs help convert harmful exhaust pollutant emissions to harmless compounds, improving air quality and thereby enhancing health and wellbeing.

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Appendix One | Panton JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate

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Appendix Two | JORC Code (2012) Edition Table 1

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

Criteria JORC Code explanation JORC Code explanation Commentary Commentary
Sampling Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or Samples were bulk material previously sourced through trial
techniques specific specialised industry standard measurement tools mining conducted in 2006 by Platinum Australia Ltd.
appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole
gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These
examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of
Thirteen drums of hand-picked chromite-rich lump material
was delivered to ALS Metallurgy in Balcatta, WA. The total
gross mass was approximately 3300kg.
sampling.
Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample
representivity
and
the
appropriate
calibration
of
any
The contents of each drum were separately crushed to
nominally -35mm (jaw crusher CSS 25mm) and blended. Each
lot was then quartered using a rotary splitter and ¾ returned
measurement tools or systems used. to its drum and returned to storage.
Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to
the Public Report. In cases where ‘industry standard’ work has
The remaining ¼ of each was then crushed to -3.35 mm,
blended and a head sample split out for assay
been done this would be relatively simple (eg ‘reverse circulation
drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was
pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay’). In other cases
more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse
gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities
or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant
disclosure of detailed information.
Drilling Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
techniques air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, drilling.
triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit
or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method,
etc).
Drill sample Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
recovery recoveries and results assessed. drilling.

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Criteria JORC Code explanation JORC Code explanation Commentary Commentary
Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure
representative nature of the samples.
Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade
and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential
loss/gain of fine/coarse material.
Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate drilling.
Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical
studies.
Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or
costean, channel, etc) photography.
The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections
logged.
Sub-sampling If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
techniques and taken. drilling.
sample If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and
preparation whether sampled wet or dry.
For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the
sample preparation technique.
Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to
maximise representivity of samples.
Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of
the in-situ material collected, including for instance results for field
duplicate/second-half sampling.
Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the
material being sampled.
Quality of assay
The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
data and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is drilling.
laboratory tests considered partial or total.
For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments,
etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including
instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors
applied and their derivation, etc.
Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards,
blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether
acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have
been established.
Verification of The verification of significant intersections by either independent Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
sampling and or alternative company personnel. drilling.
assaying The use of twinned holes. Results of the metallurgical test work have been received by
Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data
verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.
the Company’s metallurgical consultant, Mr Evan Kirby of
Metallurgical Management Services Pty Ltd.
Discuss any adjustment to assay data. The calculated head grade of the sample is 8g/t PGM which is
higher than the JORC Resource estimate grade, however this
is not expected to affect the results, but further metallurgical
test work is required to confirm this.
Location of Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
data points and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other drilling.
locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.
Specification of the grid system used.
Quality and adequacy of topographic control.

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Criteria JORC Code explanation JORC Code explanation Commentary Commentary
Data spacing Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results. No exploration results have been reported in this
and Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish announcement.
distribution the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the
Bulk samples used for metallurgical test work are restricted to
Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and one area of trial mining and may not be representative all the
classifications applied. mineralised zones at Panton.
Whether sample compositing has been applied. Given the relatively small range in PGM grades across the
thirteen drums of material, a composite of all of them was
made by combining the remaining material from each. This
sample was identified as Panton Sill master composite.
Orientation of Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling
Metallurgical results were from a bulk mined sample and not
data in relation of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, drilling.
to geological considering the deposit type.
structure If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the
orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have
introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported
if material.
Sample security
The measures taken to ensure sample security. Samples collected in the field are brought back to the camp
and placed in a storage room, bagged and sealed ready for lab
collection. ALS Laborators in Western Australia
Audits or The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and
No external audit or review completed.
reviews data.

Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

Criteria JORC Code explanation JORC Code explanation Commentary Commentary
Mineral tenement Type, reference name/number, location and ownership The Panton PGM Project is located on three granted mining
and land tenure including agreements or material issues with third parties such licenses M80/103, M80/104 and M80/105 (‘MLs’). The MLs
status as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title are held 100% by Panton Sill Pty Ltd which is a 100% owned
interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and subsidiary of Future Metals.
environmental settings. The MLs were granted on 17 March 1986 and are currently
The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along valid until 16 March 2028.
with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate A 0.5% net smelter return royalty is payable to Elemental
in the area. Royalties Australia Pty Ltd in respect of any future
production of chrome, cobalt, copper, gold, iridium,
palladium, platinum, nickel, rhodium and ruthenium.
A 2.0% net smelter return royalty is payable to Maverix
Metals (Australia) Pty Ltd on any PGMs produced from the
MLs.
There are no impediments to working in the area.
Exploration done by Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. The Panton deposit was discovered by the Geological
other parties Survey of Western Australia from surface mapping
conducted in the early 1960s.
Pickland Mather and Co. drilled the first hole to test the
mafic-ultramafic complex in 1970, followed by Minsaco
Resources which drilled 30 diamond holes between 1976
and 1987.
In 1989, Pancontinental Mining Limited and Degussa
Exploration drilled a further 32 drill holes and defined a
non-JORC compliant resource.
Platinum Australia Ltd acquired the project in 2000 and
conducted the majority of the drilling, comprising 166 holes
for 34,410 metres, leading to the delineation of a maiden
JORC Mineral Resource Estimate.

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Criteria JORC Code explanation JORC Code explanation Commentary Commentary
Panoramic subsequently purchased the Panton PGM
Project from Platinum Australia Ltd in May 2012 and
conducted a wide range of metallurgical test work
programmes on the Panton ore.
Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation. The Panton intrusive is a layered, differentiated mafic to
ultramafic body that has been intruded into the sediments
of the Proterozoic Lamboo Complex in the Kimberley
Region of Western Australia. The Panton intrusive has
undergone several folding and faulting events that have
resulted in a south westerly plunging synclinal structure
some 10km long and 3km wide.
PGM mineralisation is associated with several thin
cumulate Chromitite reefs within the ultramafic sequence.
In all there are three chromite horizons, the Upper group
Chromitite (situated within the upper gabbroic sequence),
the Middle group Chromitite (situated in the upper portion
of the ultramafic cumulate sequence) and the Lower group
Chromitite (situated toward the base of the ultramafic
cumulate sequence). The top reef mineralised zone has
been mapped over approximately 12km.
Drill hole Information
A summary of all information material to the understanding of No exploration results have been reported in this
the exploration results including a tabulation of the following announcement.
information for all Material drill holes:
o
easting and northing of the drill hole collar
o
elevation or RL (Reduced Level – elevation above sea
level in metres) of the drill hole collar
o
dip and azimuth of the hole
o
down hole length and interception depth
o
hole length.
If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that
the information is not Material and this exclusion does not
detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent
Person should clearly explain why this is the case.
Data aggregation In
reporting
Exploration
Results,
weighting
averaging
No exploration results have been reported in this
methods techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg announcement.
cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material
and should be stated.
Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high
grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the
procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some
typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.
The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent
values should be clearly stated.
Relationship These relationships are particularly important in the reporting No exploration results have been reported in this
between of Exploration Results. announcement.
mineralisation widths
If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill
and intercept lengths hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.
If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported,
there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg ‘down hole
length, true width not known’).
Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of No exploration results have been reported in this
intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being announcement.
reported. These should include, but not be limited to a plan view
of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views.
Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not No exploration results have been reported in this
practicable, representative reporting of both low and high announcement.

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Criteria JORC Code explanation JORC Code explanation Commentary Commentary
grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading
reporting of Exploration Results.
Other substantive Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be No other exploration data is relevant with regards to the
exploration data reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; metallurgical test work program
geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk
samples – size and method of treatment; metallurgical test
results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock
characteristics;
potential
deleterious
or
contaminating
substances.
Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral Next stage of work will consist of additional mineralogical
extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling). and metallurgical test work and further resource drilling.
Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions,
including the main geological interpretations and future drilling
areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive.

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