18 February 2025
Katoro Gold PLC
('Katoro' or the 'Company')
Update on 31 Explore Ltd Portfolio
Pearl Lithium Project claims expanded to encompass
multiple prospective targets interpreted through LiDAR
Katoro Gold PLC (AIM: KAT), the strategic energy and precious minerals exploration and development company, is pleased to share an update relating to the Company's recently proposed 100% acquisition of 31 Explore Ltd ("31 Explore") and its entire critical minerals claims portfolio in Ontario, Canada following the Conditional Equity Financing and Strategic Expansion announcement of 10 February 20251. The announced placing is conditional on approval on various resolutions to be put to Shareholders at a Katoro General Meeting to be 28 February 20252.
31 Explore has, in consultation with Katoro, staked additional claims contiguous to the Pearl Lithium Project ('Pearl' or the 'Project') resulting in an expansion to the west to encompass recently interpreted geological features which are prospective for mineralisation of critical minerals. The existing heads of terms agreement between the parties is unaffected by this additional staking.
HIGHLIGHTS
· Expansion of the Pearl Lithium Project from 880 hectares (8.8km2) to 1,475 hectares;
· New interpretation over unmapped areas reveals exploration opportunity;
· Follows technical and strategic collaboration between Katoro and 31 Explore; and
· No change to acquisition consideration.
Patrick Cullen, Chief Executive Officer of Katoro, commented:
"The claim package expansion at Pearl is the result of the ongoing technical and strategic collaboration between Katoro and 31 Explore. The heads of terms of agreement between the parties remains unchanged and there will be no impact on the previously announced consideration.
31 Explore have completed this staking in consultation with Katoro to maximise the exploration opportunity at Pearl rather than wait and risk these claims being staked by others.
Mapping of the district by the Ontario Geological Survey in the 1960s shows pegmatites are present, but the mapping only extended as far as the northern margin of the Project; more recently acquired geochemical and remotely sensed data underscores the technical merits of the initial staking and further investigation and interpretation supports this expansion.
I look forward to communicating further detailed information relating to Pearl and the other projects in the portfolio as we proceed past the upcoming General Meeting and into the Spring field season."
PEARL LITHIUM PROJECT
The original Pearl Lithium Project was made up of 43 Single Cell Mining Claims ("claims") covering a total area of 880 hectares. This has now been expanded to the west for a total of 72 claims with an area of 1,475 hectares. The claim boundaries and expanded area are shown below in Figure 1. along with other information supporting the exploration opportunity, namely mapped pegmatites, anomalous lithium values in lake sediment samples and inferred pegmatites following interpretation of available LiDAR data3.
Figure 1. Claim boundaries, background data and interpretation
The Project is situated on the north of the large (60km2) Bluffy Lake batholith, where partial mapping by the Ontario Geological Survey identified five pegmatite outcrops in 19674. The majority of the Project area remains unmapped and no sampling of the pegmatites was reported.
The regional location of Pearl is a noted lithium district, within the English River Sub-province, and around 6km south of the boundary with the Uchi sub-province. Such major terrane boundaries are controlled by deep seated structures that divide pieces of Archean crust and can focus the locations of fertile peraluminous granites; these granites are amicable to the generation of lithium-caesium-tantalum ("LCT") pegmatites, such as present at Green Technology Metal's Root Project5 which hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 14.6Mt @ 1.21% Li2O, 74km to the east of Pearl along the sub-province boundary trend.
The Ontario Geological Survey has sampled and assayed lake sediments in and around the Pearl area4 for a suite of elements. Three lakes in the centre and east of Pearl were identified by 31 Explore as being anomalous and highly anomalous for elements associated with LCT pegmatites, in comparison to over 3,000 lake sediment samples across the wider region6. The recently expanded portion of the Project does not host any lakes and thus contains no lake sediment data.
A recent technical review by Katoro and 31 Explore of LiDAR data3 available through the Ontario GeoHub indicates geological features which are consistent with pegmatites which are prospective for lithium-bearing mineralisation.
REFERENCES
1: Katoro Gold PLC, 10 February 2025, RNS: Conditional Equity Financing and Strategic Expansion, <https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/katoro_gold/news/rns/story/w97o21x>.
2: Katoro Gold PLC, 11 February 2025, RNS: Notice of GM, <https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/katoro_gold/news/rns/story/w18pl3x>.
3: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, accessed 14 February 2025, Forest Resources Inventory leaf-on LiDAR, Ontario GeoHub
4: Fenwick, K.G., 1967, Whitemud Lake area (Fredart-Whitemud lakes area), District of Kenora (Patricia Portion), Ontario Geological Survey, NTS Number: 52K15.
5: Green Technology Minerals, 2025, Root Project, accessed 14 February 2025 <https://www.greentm.com.au/root-project/>.
6: Ontario Geological Survey, 2001, Lake Sediment Analytical Data for the Sioux Lookout-Bamaji Lake Area: Operation Treasure Hunt, MRD088; Ontario Geological Survey, 2002, Lake Sediment Geochemical Data from the Perrault Falls Survey Area, Northwestern Ontario: Operation Treasure Hunt, MRD106.
QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM QMR, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Qualified Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which is providing independent technical review to Katoro Gold PLC.
GLOSSARY
Pegmatite - igneous rock with a very coarse, irregular texture that forms during the final stage of a magma's crystallisation.
LiDAR - Light Detection and Ranging is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) commonly used to generate precise, three-dimensional information of the elevation of the Earth's surface.
Batholith - a type of igneous rock that forms when magma rises into the earth's crust but does not erupt onto the surface.
Terrane boundary - is a geologic fault or suture zone that separates distinct crustal blocks or terranes with different geologic histories, often marking past tectonic collisions and ancient mountain belts. They act as major weaknesses in the earth's crust which allows for the movement of magma from deep within the earth.
Fertile peraluminous granite - is a silica-rich, aluminium-saturated intrusive rock with more aluminium than other granites, and often enriched and associated with mineralisation that includes rare-metal, tin-tungsten deposits and lithium-bearing pegmatites
This announcement contains inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) no. 596/2014.
**ENDS**
Enquiries:
| Patrick Cullen | info@katorogold.com | Katoro Gold PLC | Chief Executive Officer |
| James Biddle Roland Cornish | +44 (0) 207 628 3396 | Beaumont Cornish Limited | Nominated Adviser |
| Nick Emerson Sam Lomanto | +44 (0) 1483 413 500 | SI Capital Ltd | Corporate Broker |
| Jason Robertson | +44 (0) 207 374 2212 | First Equity Limited | Joint Corporate Broker |
Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter referred to in it.
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