Appia Rare Earths & Uranium

Overview

The global transition to clean energy technologies is placing increased attention on the critical minerals essential to manufacturing emerging technologies. These critical minerals include rare earth elements (REEs), which are required to produce permanent magnets and catalytic components in clean technologies.

Canada hosts significant REE deposits that have become central to the country’s plan to build a domestic and global supply chain to support the energy transition. The country hosts globally significant REE deposits, with over 15.1 million tonnes of rare earth oxides (REOs) estimated as of 2022.

To support Canada’s net-zero ambitions, the Government of Saskatchewan is spearheading the construction of North America’s first integrated and commercial REE processing plant. Home to some of the world’s most prolific mining assets, Saskatchewan is ideally positioned to become a hub for minerals processing and aid the development of a sustainable domestic supply chain for critical minerals. Mining and exploration companies in this region stand to benefit from an accessible facility to process raw materials into usable components for manufacturers.

The presence of monazite-rich REE mineralization zones (Figure 1) at the Alces Lake property creates a significant opportunity for Appia, especially as additional monazite occurrences continue to be discovered in the area. Rare earth elements are not technically rare as they’re found in many rock types and geological environments, even trace amounts in most soil. However, it’s difficult to find deposits with high grades and in volumes sufficient enough to be mined economically, while also present in a mineral phase that can be efficiently processed.

Monazite comprises 50 to 60 percent total rare earth oxides (TREO), with 23 to 25 percent of these oxides designated as critical minerals by Canada and other countries. To put those numbers in context, monazite deposits contain up to 50 percent more critical REEs than bastnaesite deposits, another economically justifiable type of REE deposit. Additionally, the Alces Lake monazites contain economic-grade gallium as a by-product.

In addition to Alces Lake, the company operates four other 100-percent-owned properties throughout the prolific uranium-rich Athabasca Basin (Figure 2). Loranger, North Wollaston and Eastside projects each contain the potential for significant amounts of uranium and REEs. Uranium has recently grown in demand as nuclear energy surges in popularity, increasing demand for the heavy metal. The company also has 100 percent ownership of the Elliot Lake uranium and REE property in Ontario.

Appia is led by a management team in the natural resource industry, leveraging decades of specialized expertise to guide the company through the exploration and development of its properties.

Company Highlights

• Appia Rare Earths and Uranium is a mining exploration and development company with rare earth elements (REE) and uranium assets strategically positioned in the mineral rich regions of Saskatchewan and Ontario, Canada, as well as the Goias State of Brazil.
• The company’s flagship Alces Lake property in the Athabasca Basin contains high-grade monazite occurrences, which are known to contain a higher concentration of REEs than other types of deposits.
• Appia operates four additional properties in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, each containing substantial amounts of REEs and uranium with significant economic potential.
• The company's assets are positioned to significantly benefit from the planned REE processing facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
• A seasoned management team with extensive experience in the natural resource industry guides Appia in the exploration and development of its promising assets.

Key Projects

Athabasca Basin Projects

Appia has 100-percent ownership of five properties within Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin, known for its rich mineral deposits. Combined, the company holds 110,997 hectares in the region.

Alces Lake

The company’s flagship asset covers 35,682 hectares and is prized for its significant monazite occurrences, known to have a high concentration of REEs, thorium and uranium. The project has coarse-grained monazite mineralization, which is easier to process than some other known REE occurrences/deposits. These mineralized zones at Alces Lake occur at or near surface level, typically within 10 meters to deeper levels, and comprising multiple zones over a large area (Figure 3).

Project Highlights:

• Significant New Monazite Discovery: Appia recently announced a new massive monazite discovery returning up to 36 weight total percent of total rare earth oxides (TREO), with a total of 13 new monazite occurrences identified. This discovery is part of the 2022 prospecting and drilling program that drilled a total meterage of 17,481 meters. Additional notable results include:
  • 3.34 weight total percent TREO returned from a mineralized biotite shear zone at the West Limb anomaly
  • 4.34 weight total percent TREO returned from visible monazite in a shear zone at a previously unexplored and un-named radiometric prospect south of the Magnet Ridge zone
  • 2.03 weight total percent TREO returned from visible monazite discovered in the Western Anomaly
• World-class Total Rare Earth Oxide Deposits: Results from the 2021 drill program and recently completed 2022 program demonstrate the world-class potential of Alces Lake. The asset contains critical REEs necessary for permanent magnets, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
• Close Proximity to REE Processing Facility: The project is near the Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) new REE processing facility, which is expected to be fully operational in 2024. Existing pilot facilities have already been shown to optimize the monazite processing flow and have even processed monazite from Alces Lake.
• Completed NI 43-101 Technical Report: Appia completed its National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) technical report dated May 30, 2023, with an effective date of January 31, 2023, for the Alces Lake property.
• 2023 Drill Program at the Magnet Ridge Zone. The company completed the first phase of its 2023 drill program at the Magnet Ridge Zone to further test the extent of the mineralization to the southeast of the Alces Lake project.

Loranger

Loranger covers 26,409 hectares and is located 10 kilometers away from the all-season provincial highway 905. Appia recently carried out airborne EM surveys and ground prospecting to follow up on completed drilling campaigns, which discovered uranium mineralization up to 0.066 weight total percent.

North Wollaston

Covering 11,372 hectares, the North Wollaston project includes uranium, molybdenum and REE mineralization. The project is near robust infrastructure and all-season highways, powerlines and airstrips. The company has conducted airborne EM, magnetic and radiometric surveys, and ground prospecting for new drilling targets.

Eastside

Appia’s 4,933-hectare Eastside project includes uranium, copper, PGE and molybdenum mineralization. The property is located 50 kilometers from the company’s Loranger property. Field reconnaissance and prospecting were carried out and will be continued in 2023.

Otherside:

This land package, totaling 27,291 contiguous hectares within the north-central Athabasca Basin, lies along and adjacent to the extension of the ENE-WSW-trending Grease River Shear Zone, which hosts the Fond du Lac unconformity uranium mineralization. The property has been historically explored by regional airborne geophysics, boulder prospecting, and lake sediment geochemical surveys which define numerous anomalous U target areas.

Elliot Lake Project

The company’s Northern Ontario uranium and REE asset comprises 101 staked mineral claims approximately three kilometers away from the town of Elliot Lake. The Elliot Lake project is 30 kilometers north of the Trans-Canada highway and has access to strong local infrastructure.

Project Highlights:

• Late-stage Exploration Asset: The project has an exploration history dating back to 1949. The asset was acquired by Appia in 2014 and has since undergone multiple rounds of drill holes, surface samplings, and geophysical surveying using modern technologies and techniques.
• Significant Resource Estimate: The Elliot Lake project has a prolific NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate, including:
  • 14.43 million tons grading 0.55 pounds uranium oxide/ton and 3.30 pounds TREE/ton, for a total of 8 million pounds uranium oxide and 47.7 million pounds TREE Indicated
  • 42.45 million tons grading 0.47 pounds uranium oxide/ton and 3.14 pounds TREE/ton, for a total of 20.1 million pounds uranium oxide and 133.2 million pounds
  • TREE Inferred in the Teasdale Zone plus 30.31 million tons grading 0.91 pounds uranium oxide/ton, for a total of 27.6 million pounds uranium oxide.
• Quartz-Pebble Mineralizations with Consistent Grading: Elliot Lake’s mineralizations host uranium and REEs within quartz-pebble conglomerate beds with consistent grades in thickness. Uranium deposits are primarily brannerite and uraninite, types that are readily leachable.

PCH Project - Brazil

In June 2023, Appia signed a definitive agreement with 3S LTDA, Beko Invest, Antonio Vitor Junior and AZ125 Mineracao to acquire up to a 70-percent interest in the PCH Ionic Clay REE Project located in the Tocantins structural province of the Brasília Fold Belt, Goiás State, Brazil.

The PCH Project is located within the Tocantins Structural Province in the Brasília Fold Belt, more specifically, the Arenópolis Magmatic Arc. The project spance 17,551.07 hectares and is classified as an alkaline intrusive rock occurrence with highly anomalous REE and niobium mineralization. This mineralization is related to alkaline lithologies of the Fazenda Buriti Plutonic Complex and the hydrothermal and surface alteration products of this complex by supergene enrichment in a tropical climate. The positive results of the recent geochemical exploration work carried out to date indicates the potential for REEs within lateritic ionic adsorption clays and Niobium.

Appia has completed its due diligence testing of 269 samples by SGS labs near Belo Horizonte in Brazil, which then confirmed previously reported results, and prompted the company to proceed with the acquisition of a 70-percent-interest in the project.

Project Highlights:

• Highly Anomalous REE and Niobium Mineralization. The PCH Project is classified as an alkaline intrusive rock occurrence with highly anomalous REE and niobium mineralization related to alkaline lithologies of the Fazenda Buriti Plutonic Complex.
• Positive Exploration Work Results. Total REE grades in numerous auger holes drilled range up to 16,648 ppm (1.66 percent), with an average of 1,291 ppm total REE and importantly, the valuable rare earths used in magnet applications account for approximately 14 percent of total rare earths, with a maximum of 28.4 percent.
• Remarkable RC Drilling Results. Reverse circulation drilling of the first 17 drill holes in Target 4 resulted in a significant doubling in average depth of mineralized zones to 13 meters with overall weighted average grades of 1,566 parts per million (ppm) TREO, which is comparable to, or surpasses, other well-known international deposits. Following these results, Appeal completed a high-definition lidar and orthophoto survey covering 1,702.50 hectares, which includes the priority ionic clay Target IV project area.
• Proven Rare Earth Mineralization: Rare earth and niobium mineralization comprising both ionic clay development, arising from intensely weathered alkaline granites and from a carbonatite intrusion, has been defined in an area approximately 2 kilometers in diameter in Target 4, the most intensely investigated exploration target.
• Exploration Progress. Appia has successfully drilled 65 RC and 45 Auger holes to date reaching a combined depth of 1,120 meters. Reverse circulation drill program includes 300 holes at an average depth of +/- 12 meters. Data collected during this work campaign will be used to develop an initial mineral resource estimate on Target 4.

Management Team

Anastasios (Tom) Drivas - CEO and Director

Tom Drivas is a seasoned business entrepreneur with a career spanning more than 30 years, during which he has excelled in diverse industries. Notably, he has dedicated over two decades of his professional journey to the mineral resource industry. Additionally, he holds a directorship at Romios Gold Resources, a publicly traded company that he established in 1995.

Stephen Burega - President

Stephen has significant management and operations experience in the mining and natural resources sectors including corporate development and fundraising; joint venture structure and negotiations; and management of public markets. His deep emerging markets background along with a strong understanding of stakeholder management, social development and structured community engagement and programming also positions him well to lead Appia’s First Nations/Indigenous community engagement.

Frank van de Water - CFO, Secretary and Director

Frank van de Water has been involved with international mining, metals and resource companies in North and Latin Americas, Europe and Africa for over 40 years.

Dr. Irvine R. Annesley - VP of Exploration

Dr. Irvine R. Annesley is an emeritus professor in economic (mining and mineral exploration) geology at École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie, (Nancy, France), and adjunct professor in geology at the University of Saskatchewan. He has over 35 years of global exploration and applied research experience in uranium, gold and base metals, most recently with Athabasca uranium explorer JNR Resources.

Antonio Vitor – Country Manager, Brazil

Antonio Vitor is a senior executive holding a degree in administration from Unyahna in 2004. He successfully completed his MBA in 2021 and maintains an active membership with the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance. Vitor possesses specialized expertise in compliance certification pertaining to financing, earning his certification from LEC in 2021. With a versatile background, Vitor has a track record as a portfolio manager and valued board member. His professional journey encompasses significant positions, notably as a territory manager at Shell, as well as senior project planning and consulting roles at PwC and Petrobras.