BATTERY MINERAL RESOURCES INITIATES NEW DRILLING PROGRAM AND ANNOUNCES ENCOURAGING DRILL RESULTS FROM ITS PUNITAQUI COPPER MINE IN CHILE

Vancouver, British Columbia | July 02, 2024 05:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time

Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) ("Battery" or “BMR” or the "Company") is pleased to announce encouraging drill core assay results from the new 2024 underground exploration and in-fill drill program at the Punitaqui mine complex (“Punitaqui”) in Chile.

The Company announced on May 13th, 2024, that it had resumed mill operations and production of copper concentrates at Punitaqui. Coincident with these activities, exploration drilling has resumed with an underground drilling campaign in the Sand Andres and Cinabrio mines.

Highlights

• Drillhole SAM-24-01: 4.3 meters (“m”) at 1.4% (“CuT”) total copper and 24 g/t grams per tonne (“Ag”) silver
• SAM-24-02: 4.0m grading 1.1% CuT & 7.8g/t Ag
• SAM-24-04: 3.5m at 1.0% CuT & 23.3g/t Ag
• SAM-24-05: 4.3m at 1.2% CuT & 19.2g/t Ag

• This initial underground San Andres drilling targeted a scheduled production area and totaled 282 meters of diamond core drilling in 5 drillholes (see Table 2 and Figure 1). Of the five holes drilled, three were designed to confirm the modelled geology, mineralization and copper grade within the planned extraction area (SAM-24-01, SAM-24-02 and SAM-24-05). The remaining two holes explored along the direction of the existing resources to the north and south to test for extensions of the mineralization (SAM-24-03 and SAM-24-04).
• The 2024 San Andres drill program is designed to confirm resources identified by previous drilling programs and expand these resources north and south along strike and at depth. All holes reached target depth and have intersected the targeted shale horizons that host the copper mineralization.
• This drilling confirmed copper grades and better delineated the extent of the mineralization in the upper and lower shale units within and adjacent to the planned extraction area.
• These drill results have been added to the three-dimensional geology and resource models which BMR’s mining engineers will use to update the current mine designs and optimize mining schedules.
• Currently, one contract underground diamond drill is operating on-site.
• The drill is currently operating in the Cinabrio underground where 14 drillholes totalling 426.5 meters have been completed. This campaign is focused on three planned production areas.
• Assay results for the Cinabrio drillholes are pending and drilling is continuing.

Battery CEO Martin Kostuik states; “With the same team that was hugely successful in our prior campaign, we are pleased to announce these new encouraging copper intercepts. This drilling confirmed the copper grades which exist in the current geological model and better delineated the extent of the mineralization. We believe these new results demonstrate our keen understanding of the geological controls of the copper mineralization and how a well planned and executed drilling program has the potential to provide the Company with additional copper resources. These potential new resources are important in that they could provide additional sources of feed to the mill without the need for extensive capital investment in mine development to access them. We look forward to providing further exciting updates for the 2024 Cinabrio – San Andres drill program in the coming weeks.”

On the heels of a very successful surface drill program of 33,000 meters, which culminated in BMR reporting resources of 6.172 million tonnes of Indicated at 1.14% CuT and 3.07 million tonnes of Inferred at 0.93% CuT (see press release August 16th, 2022), BMR initiated this new underground drill program. As a reference, the Punitqui mill is planned to consume approximately 1 million tonnes per annum.

During the current operational ramp-up period, the underground drilling program is focused on accessible targets within existing Inferred Resource to upgrade the resources to a higher resource category as well as targeting areas adjacent to Inferred Resource to potentially add new resources.

The 2024 drill plan allows for some flexibility in terms of timing and sequencing of target areas which permits the drilling to be shifted between the Cinabrio mine and the adjacent San Andres underground.

San Andres Mine

Sample assay results, reported herein, are from the first five underground drill holes completed on Level 448 at San Andres as part of the 2024 drilling program.

Drillhole SAM-24-01: was designed to test the San Andres “Targeted Stratigraphic Unit” (“TSU”) within the central part of a scheduled extraction area located above Level 448. The hole began in the upper part of the TSU and finished in the andesite above. The hole intersected the mineralized intervals in the upper shale unit between 0m – 27.8m, copper intercepts included 1.4m at 0.9% CuT & 24g/t Ag and 1.8m at 0.9% CuT & 15.6g/t Ag. The lower shale unit was intersected between 35m – 45m and produced a 4.3m at 1.4% CuT & 4.4g/t Ag result before terminating in andesite at 54m. These results confirm both the modelled geology and extent of the mineralization within the central part of the planned extraction area.

Drillhole SAM-24-02: tested the TSU unit within the northern part of the same scheduled extraction area. The hole started in the upper part of the TSU and finished in the andesite. The hole intersected a mineralized interval within the upper shale unit between 0m – 29.2m; 2.2m at 0.9% CuT & 23.7g/t Ag. The lower shale was cut downhole between 37.7m to 43.4m and intercepted 4.0m at 1.1% CuT and 7.8g/t Ag. These intercepts confirm the geological modelling of the shale units that host the copper mineralization as well as the extent and the grade of the mineralization within the modelled shales.

Drillhole SAM-24-03: was designed as a step-out hole to test targeted stratigraphic unit TSU to the north of the planned extraction area. Hole started in the upper part of the TSU and finished in the andesite. The hole tested the targeted shale horizons but intersected weakly anomalous copper mineralization in both the upper and lower shale units.

Drillhole SAM-24-04: was designed as a step-out hole and tested the targeted stratigraphic unit TSU south of the same scheduled extraction area. The hole started in the upper part of the TSU and finished in the andesite. The drill hole intersected mineralized intervals in the upper shale unit between 0m – 51m; 2.0m at 1.4% CuT & 41.5g/t Ag and 3.5m at 1.0% CuT and 23.3g/t Ag. The lower shale unit was intercepted between 37.7m to 43.4m downhole and produced 1.0m at 0.9% CuT and 9.5g/t Ag. The resulting intercepts may contribute to additional resources because the intercepts confirmed the modelled geology and copper grade and extended the copper mineralization.

Drillhole SAM-24-05: was designed to test San Andres TSU within the southern part of the scheduled extraction area. The hole began in the upper part of the TSU and finished in the footwall andesite. The hole intersected the mineralized intervals in the upper shale unit between 0m – 32.2m; 1.8m at 0.7% CuT & 19.5 g/t Ag and 2.4m at 0.6% CuT & 19.4g/t Ag and within the lower shale unit from 39.8m to 45.8m; 4.3m at 1.2% CuT & 19.2 g/t Ag. These intercepts have confirmed the modelled geology and better delineated the grade and extent of the copper mineralization.

Figure 1: San Andres Drilling Hole Location Plan- Level 448

Table 1: San Andres Level 448 Significant Drillhole Intercepts

Note: All Intercepts reported as estimated true widths intervals

Table 2: San Andres Drillhole Summary