QPM ENERGY LIMITED — Capital/Financing Update 2021

Apr 15, 2021

ASX RELEASE 16 April 2021

Battery Spec Nickel Sulfate Produced from Pilot Plant MHP

Highlights

• Bench scale testwork complete producing battery chemical nickel sulfate from nickelcobalt MHP produced in pilot plant
• Conventional flowsheet used, the same that is currently utilised in the industry to produce nickel sulfate from MHP
• Assay results meet target specification of various spec sheets provided by potential offtakers

Queensland Pacific Metals Ltd (ASX:QPM) ("QPM" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed bench scale testwork to produce nickel sulfate from nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate ("MHP") produced from its pilot plant operations.

Testwork

MHP is currently the preferred intermediate nickel product to refine into nickel sulfate for batteries. The process is a conventional commercial flowsheet that is widely employed in industry. Existing nickel sulfate refineries utilise the same process on nickel metal (after dissolution in sulfuric acid and purification) as they cannot source sufficient MHP, which is a cheaper nickel input.

From its discussions with various offtakers and general industry knowledge of its Owner's team, QPM is aware of target nickel sulfate specifications required by battery manufacturers. QPM engaged The Simulus Group ("Simulus") to undertake bench scale testwork with the goal of producing nickel sulfate that meets the range of specifications known to QPM.

Utilising a conventional industry flowsheet which involves re-leach, solvent extraction, impurity removal and crystallization, Simulus successfully produced nickel sulfate.

Figure 1: Nickel sulfate crystals produced from QPM pilot plant MHP

Queensland Pacific Metals Limited (A.C.N: 125 368 658) A: Level 17, 307 Queen St Brisbane QLD 4000 www.qpmetals.com.au

	Al	Ca	Co	Fe	K	Mg
	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm	ppm
QPM Target	<5	<7	<30	<3		<20
Assay Result	<1.2	<1	5.56	0.61	14	2.53

Assay results of the product are provided in the table below:

	Mn	Na	Ni	P	S	Zn
	ppm	ppm	%	ppm	%	ppm
QPM Target	<10	<20	>22			<3
Assay Result	<0.4	<0.3	23.5	6	12.7	<1

Figure 2: Assay results of nickel sulfate produced

The assay results were better than QPM's targets for all elements. Based on industry specifications received by QPM, the results satisfy the strictest battery specifications. This is an important milestone for QPM as the Company has now produced battery spec nickel sulfate from a bulk sample of representative nickel ore sourced from its New Caledonian ore supply partners.

QPM will now undertake pilot scale testwork for the production of nickel sulfate from its remaining MHP. QPM also continues to work with CSIRO on the assessment of an alternative refining flowsheet that may result in potential process savings.

QPM Managing Director Stephen Grocott commented,

"We have now completed the full process from a raw ore source to a final battery chemical product. The Australian Government is trying to develop the nation's capability for advanced manufacturing and the TECH Project is the perfect example of a project that would fit this bill."

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board.

For more information, please contact:

Stephen Grocott John Downie Managing Director Executive Director info@qpmetals.com.au info@qpmetals.com.au +61 (0) 409 417 326 +61 (0) 408 329 262

Luke Forrestal Media Enquiries Luke.forrestal@mcpartners.com.au +61 (0) 411 479144 +61 (0) 409 417 326

Competent Persons Statement

Information in this announcement relating to the processing and metallurgy is based on technical data compiled by Mr Boyd Willis, an Independent Consultant trading as Boyd Willis Hydromet Consulting (BWHC). Mr Willis is a Fellow and Chartered Professional of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr Willis has sufficient experience which is relevant to metal recovery from the style of mineralisation and type of deposits in New Caledonia where the ore will be sourced (from third parties pursuant to an ore supply agreement) and to the activity which they are undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person under the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. This includes over 25 years of experience in metal recovery from Laterite ores. Mr Willis consents to the inclusion of the technical data in the form and context in which it appears.

ANNEXURE – JORC TABLES

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
Samplingtechniques	•Nature and quality of sampling (e.g. cutchannels, random chips, or specificspecialised industry standardmeasurement tools appropriate to theminerals under investigation, such asdown hole gamma sondes, or handheldXRF instruments, etc). These examplesshould not be taken as limiting thebroad meaning of sampling.•Include reference to measures taken toensure sample representivity and theappropriate calibration of anymeasurement tools or systems used.•Aspects of the determination ofmineralisation that are Material to thePublic Report.•In cases where 'industry standard' workhas been done this would be relativelysimple (eg 'reverse circulation drillingwas used to obtain 1 m samples fromwhich 3 kg was pulverised to produce a30 g charge for fire assay'). In othercases more explanation may berequired, such as where there is coarsegold that has inherent samplingproblems. Unusual commodities ormineralisation types (eg submarinenodules) may warrant disclosure ofdetailed information.	•The leach ore bulk sample used toproduce the MHP was sourced directlyfrom the mine face by laterite supplierSMT in New Caledonia.•The bulk sample direct from the mineface was loaded using a small backhoeinto individually sampled 1 tonne bulkbags, containerised (with security seal)and shipped directly from New Caledoniato SGS Minerals Metallurgy in Malaga,Western Australia•The 80 off 1 tonne bulk bags making upthe bulk sample, monitored by a QPMrepresentative, was indicative of thespecification required under the termsoutlined an ore supply MoU betweenQPM, SMT and SMGM.
Drillingtechniques	•Drill type (e.g. core, reverse circulation,open-hole hammer, rotary air blast,auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details(e.g. core diameter, triple or standardtube, depth of diamond tails, facesampling bit or other type, whether coreis oriented and if so, by what method,etc).	•No exploration drilling was undertaken

1.1 Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
Drill samplerecovery	•Method of recording and assessing coreand chip sample recoveries and resultsassessed.•Measures taken to maximise samplerecovery and ensure representativenature of the samples.•Whether a relationship exists betweensample recovery and grade and whethersample bias may have occurred due topreferential loss/gain of fine/coarsematerial.	•No exploration drilling was undertaken
Logging	•Whether core and chip samples havebeen geologically and geotechnicallylogged to a level of detail to supportappropriate Mineral Resourceestimation, mining studies andmetallurgical studies.•Whether logging is qualitative orquantitative in nature. Core (or costean,channel, etc) photography.•The total length and percentage of therelevant intersections logged.	•No exploration drilling or logging wasundertaken
Subsamplingtechniquesand samplepreparation	•If core, whether cut or sawn andwhether quarter, half or all core taken.•If non-core, whether riffled, tubesampled, rotary split, etc and whethersampled wet or dry.•For all sample types, the nature, qualityand appropriateness of the samplepreparation technique.•Quality control procedures adopted forall sub-sampling stages to maximiserepresentivity of samples.•Measures taken to ensure that thesampling is representative of the in situmaterial collected, including for instanceresults for field duplicate/second-halfsampling.•Whether sample sizes are appropriate tothe grain size of the material beingsampled.	•No exploration drilling or logging wasappropriate, required or undertaken.•The bulk sample was supplied to SGS onthe 29/05/20 and was classified as beingtype SMT by QPM.•It was received from the mine site as amoist, lumpy material ranging fromextremely weathered rock to hard clayand silt consistency.•Prior to delivery to SGS, the bulk samplewas inspected in accordance withAustralian Quarantine requirements.•The bulk sample bulk bags wereindividual auger sampled. The samplewas dried and assayed to confirm thegrade. The bulk bags were individuallydecanted into large stainless steel traysand dried, screened to -100mm toremove large rocks and milled to 100%passing 1.4mm The dried and milledbulk sample was blended and loaded into200L sealed drums. The bulk samplequantity was selected to be appropriatefor the pilot plant campaignrequirements.
Quality ofassay data	•The nature, quality and appropriatenessof the assaying and laboratory	•ALS carried out the assay of the MHP in

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
andlaboratorytests	procedures used and whether thetechnique is considered partial or total.•For geophysical tools, spectrometers,handheld XRF instruments, etc, theparameters used in determining theanalysis including instrument make andmodel, reading times, calibrationsfactors applied and their derivation, etc.•Nature of quality control proceduresadopted (e.g. standards, blanks,duplicates, external laboratory checks)and whether acceptable levels ofaccuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precisionhave been established.	accordance with ISO standards•Independently, Simulus also carried outassay of the MHP in accordance with ISOstandards to verify the results
Verificationof samplingandassaying	•The verification of significantintersections by either independent oralternative company personnel.•The use of twinned holes.•Documentation of primary data, dataentry procedures, data verification, datastorage (physical and electronic)protocols.•Discuss any adjustment to assay data.	•No exploration drilling or sampling wasundertaken
Location ofdata points	•Accuracy and quality of surveys used tolocate drill holes (collar and down-holesurveys), trenches, mine workings andother locations used in Mineral Resourceestimation.•Specification of the grid system used.•Quality and adequacy of topographiccontrol.	•No exploration drilling was undertaken
Dataspacinganddistribution	•Data spacing for reporting ofExploration Results.•Whether the data spacing anddistribution is sufficient to establish thedegree of geological and gradecontinuity appropriate for the MineralResource and Ore Reserve estimationprocedure(s) and classifications applied.•Whether sample compositing has beenapplied.	•No exploration drilling was undertaken.
Orientationof data inrelation togeologicalstructure	•Whether the orientation of samplingachieves unbiased sampling of possiblestructures and the extent to which this isknown, considering the deposit type.•If the relationship between the drillingorientation and the orientation of keymineralised structures is considered tohave introduced a sampling bias, thisshould be assessed and reported ifmaterial.	•No exploration drilling was undertaken.

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
Samplesecurity	•The measures taken to ensure samplesecurity.	•The bulk sample was collected, securedand sent in sealed containers via aregistered transport company (QUBE), anddelivered directly to the SGS laboratory.
Audits orreviews	•The results of any audits or reviews ofsampling techniques and data.	•Simulus also carried out assay of nickelsulfate in accordance with ISO standards toverify the results

1.2 Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
Mineraltenement andland tenurestatus	•Type, reference name/number,location and ownership includingagreements or material issues withthird parties such as joint ventures,partnerships, overriding royalties,native title interests, historical sites,wilderness or national park andenvironmental settings.•The security of the tenure held at thetime of reporting along with anyknown impediments to obtaining alicence to operate in the area.	•Not Applicable•The bulk Sample was sourced from thirdparty supplier SMT in New Caledonia.
Explorationdone by otherparties	•Acknowledgment and appraisal ofexploration by other parties.	•Not Applicable
Geology	•Deposit type, geological setting andstyle of mineralisation.	•Not Applicable.
Drill holeInformation	•A summary of all information materialto the understanding of the explorationresults including a tabulation of thefollowing information for all Materialdrill holes:easting and northing of the drillohole collarelevation or RL (Reduced Level –oelevation above sea level in metres)of the drill hole collardip and azimuth of the holeodown hole length and interceptionodepthhole length.o•If the exclusion of this information isjustified on the basis that theinformation is not Material and thisexclusion does not detract from theunderstanding of the report, theCompetent Person should clearlyexplain why this is the case.	•No exploration drilling or sampling wasundertaken.

(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
Dataaggregationmethods	•In reporting Exploration Results,weighting averaging techniques,maximum and/or minimum gradetruncations (e.g. cutting of highgrades) and cut-off grades are usuallyMaterial and should be stated.•Where aggregate interceptsincorporate short lengths of high graderesults and longer lengths of low graderesults, the procedure used for suchaggregation should be stated andsome typical examples of suchaggregations should be shown indetail.•The assumptions used for anyreporting of metal equivalent valuesshould be clearly stated.	•No exploration drilling or samplingwas undertaken.•Metal equivalents were not used orreported.
Relationshipbetweenmineralisationwidths andinterceptlengths	•These relationships are particularlyimportant in the reporting ofExploration Results.•If the geometry of the mineralisationwith respect to the drill hole angle isknown, its nature should be reported.•If it is not known and only the downhole lengths are reported, there shouldbe a clear statement to this effect (e.g.'down hole length, true width notknown').	•No exploration drilling was completed.
Diagrams	•Appropriate maps and sections (withscales) and tabulations of interceptsshould be included for any significantdiscovery being reported These shouldinclude, but not be limited to a planview of drill hole collar locations andappropriate sectional views.	•No exploration drilling was completed.
Balancedreporting	•Where comprehensive reporting of allExploration Results is not practicable,representative reporting of both lowand high grades and/or widths shouldbe practiced to avoid misleadingreporting of Exploration Results.	•No exploration results have beenreported sampling was carried out on insitu laterite.
Othersubstantiveexplorationdata	•Other exploration data, if meaningfuland material, should be reportedincluding (but not limited to):geological observations; geophysicalsurvey results; geochemical surveyresults; bulk samples – size andmethod of treatment; metallurgicaltest results; bulk density, groundwater,geotechnical and rock characteristics;potential deleterious or contaminatingsubstances.	•Exploration drilling was not carried out.

Criteria	JORC Code explanation	Commentary
Further work	•The nature and scale of plannedfurther work (e.g. tests for lateralextensions or depth extensions orlarge-scale step-out drilling).•Diagrams clearly highlighting the areasof possible extensions, including themain geological interpretations andfuture drilling areas, provided thisinformation is not commerciallysensitive.	•No drilling or exploration work is planned.