PLS GROUP LIMITED — Regulatory Filings 2015

Jul 12, 2015

ACN 112-425-788

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ASX/Media Announcement

14[th] July 2015

TABBA TABBA TANTALUM PROJECT: WORKS APPROVAL RECEIVED

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Works Approval for the Tabba Tabba Tantalum Project in Western Australia issued by the Department of Environmental Regulation.

• This approval represents one of the key regulatory hurdles for the Project, with approval for the Mining Proposal, Mine Closure Plan and final Operating Licence expected to be granted shortly.

Australian strategic metals company Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) is pleased to report that the first of the key outstanding Government approvals required for the Tabba Tabba Tantalum Project in WA’s Pilbara region (see Figure 1) has now been received, with Works Approval granted by the Department of Environmental Regulation (“DER”).

The Works Approval accepts the project and its operation as environmentally acceptable, while detailing the standard legislative conditions imposed by regulators.

Approval for the Mine Plan and Mine Closure Plan for the Tabba Tabba Project, together with the final Operating Permit, is expected to be granted by the Department of Mines and Petroleum shortly, allowing operations to commence.

The Tabba Tabba Project contains a current Mineral Resource estimate comprising Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources totalling 666,200 pounds of contained Ta2O5 . Importantly, 80 per cent of this resource is in the higher confidence Measured and Indicated categories, which total over 526,000 pounds of contained Ta2O5 ( See ASX Release – “Resource Update Tabba Tabba, 19[th] January 2015”).

This resource significantly exceeds the original Mine Reserve used in the 2014 Definitive Feasibility Study (154,000t at 1,220ppm Ta2O5 for 455,000 pounds of contained Ta2O5) and bodes well for future additions to the reserve inventory and mine life, once production has commenced.

All production from the project is to be sold to Global Advanced Metals (Wodgina) (“GAM”) under an exclusive 5-year off-take agreement. GAM is the largest refiner of tantalite in the world, producing very high purity tantalite and tantalum products for specialty end-users.

Pilbara’s Executive Director, Mr Neil Biddle, said the receipt of the long-awaited Works Approval for the Tabba Tabba Project marked a key milestone in the Company’s history, paving the way for it to commence the transition from explorer to producer.

ACN 112-425-788

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“The Tabba Tabba Project represents an outstanding production asset, with low capital intensity, strong economics, and excellent potential to increase the resource base and mine life in the nearmine environment,” Mr Biddle said.

“The strong cash-flow generated by Tabba Tabba will provide a strong platform for us to continue to grow our strategic metals business in the Pilbara region, underpinning our fast-track development strategy for the much larger Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project, which is already well underway.”

As announced on 7 July 2015, Pilbara Minerals is currently engaged in negotiations to acquire a 100 per cent of the Tabba Tabba Project, which has been developed under a 50/50 joint venture with Valdrew Nominees Pty Ltd, trading as Nagrom & Co ( Nagrom ). Nagrom is a leading and longestablished WA-based metallurgical and gravity processing company.

Under the proposed arrangement being discussed with Nagrom, Pilbara will acquire an additional 50 per cent interest in the joint venture, enabling it to consolidate 100 per cent ownership of the project. Pilbara will advise the market once all contractual arrangements have been finalised. As the negotiations are continuing and binding documentation is not yet executed, the transaction is currently incomplete and there is a possibility that a transaction may not eventuate.

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Figure 1: Tabba Tabba Location Plan

ACN 112-425-788

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More Information:

What is Lithium?

Lithium (Li) is recovered from the mineral spodumene and lithium-rich brines. It is used in a range of products such as ceramics, glass, batteries and pharmaceuticals. Lithium use has expanded significantly in recent years due to increasing use in rechargeable batteries in portable electronic devices and in batteries and electric motors for hybrid and electric cars.

What is Tantalum?

The primary source of tantalum is from minerals such as tantalite, columbite, wodginite and microlite contained in pegmatite ore bodies. The largest deposits are located in Australia, Brazil and Africa. Tantalum’s major use is in the production of electronic components, especially for capacitors, with additional use in components for chemical plants, nuclear power plants, airplanes and missiles. It is also used as a substitute for platinum.

The tantalum market is boutique in size with around 1,300 tonnes required each year. However the market is rapidly growing due to capacitor use in wireless and handheld devices. PLS’s Tabba Tabba Project could supply approximately 7% of the annual market consumption over two years. There are two major buyers of tantalum raw product worldwide: HC Starck and Global Advanced Metals.

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Contact:

Investors/Corporate : Tony Leibowitz Chairman Mobile: +61 410 687 910

Media : Nicholas Read Read Corporate Tel: +61 (8) 9388 1474 Mobile: +61 419 929 046

Competent Person’s Statement

The Company confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the January 19[th] , 2015 Tabba Tabba Mineral Resource Estimate and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed when referring to its updated resource announcement made on 19[th] January 2015.