CoTec and Battery Mineral Resources Enter Strategic Partnership to Unlock Additional Copper Production and Growth Opportunities at Punitaqui

CoTec Holdings: HyProMag USA PFS Outlines 4x U.S. Magnet Capacity

Investor Insight

CoTec Holdings combines proprietary processing technologies with undervalued and legacy resource assets to create high-margin opportunities across rare earths, iron and copper sectors. With three execution-stage projects and a significant discount to attributable NAV, CoTec provides differentiated exposure to strategic minerals tied to electrification, AI infrastructure and supply-chain security.

Company Highlights

• Technology-Driven Value Creation: Deploys proprietary, low-carbon processing technologies to extract value from waste, tailings and marginal deposits that traditional mining overlooks.
• Execution-Stage Projects: Advancing three core assets — HyProMag USA rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing, the Lac Jeannine iron tailings project, and MagIron iron ore feedstock, concentrator and pelletizer — with clear development pathways.
• Expanding Rare Earth Footprint: HyProMag USA advances its scalable US hub-and-spoke rare earth magnet recycling and manufacturing roll-out using the Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (“HPMS”) technology, with Inserma HDD pre-processing machines on site in South Carolina and Nevada, supporting feedstock preparation and future commissioning.
• Strategic Copper Focus: Established a new subsidiary, CoTec Copper, to accelerate targeted investment in copper tailings and copper sulfide deposits globally, leveraging CoTec’s core technologies to unlock value.
• Iron Ore & Green Steel: Advancing iron tailings reprocessing at Lac Jeannine and supporting the restart of the MagIron pellet project to supply high-grade feedstock for low-carbon steel production.
• Strong Insider Support: Management and insiders own a majority of shares, reinforcing alignment with long-term value creation.
• Experienced Leadership: Board and executives bring deep mining, technology and capital markets experience from leading global organizations.

Key Technologies and Assets

HyProMag USA Project

HyProMag USA is CoTec’s flagship rare earth recycling platform and a cornerstone of its strategy to localize critical mineral supply chains. The project deploys Hydrogen Processing of Magnetic Scrap technology to recover neodymium iron boron magnets from end-of-life electronics and industrial equipment through a simplified hydrogen-based process that bypasses traditional chemical separation and smelting. This short-loop approach dramatically reduces energy use, water consumption and emissions while lowering operating complexity and cost.

The company’s phased development plan is targeting commissioning of its initial finished neodymium-iron-boron magnet production equipment in Texas in 2027. Up to 20 tonnes of magnet blocks supplied by HyProMag Group in the United Kingdom and Germany will be shaped and finished at HyProMag USA's operations for U.S. customers. Integrated Texas Hub's Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap section targeted for Q2 2028.

Watch an overview of HyProMag USA here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0d7rKdwu_s

Highlights

• CoTec holds a 60.3 percent economic interest.
• Bankable Feasibility Study supports a single hub after-tax NPV of US$797 million at forecast prices or US$416 million at current prices with recent updated economics published June 22, 2026
• Capex estimated at US$152 million per hub.
• First revenue targeted for Q2 2028.
• Expansion concept envisions three hubs producing 4,656 tonnes annually with potential NPV of up to US$2.2 billion.
• Inserma pre-processing machines have arrived at South Carolina and Nevada facilities to support feedstock preparation and scale-up of the hub-and-spoke rollout.
• Integrated Texas Hub's Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap section targeted for Q2 2028.

Lac Jeannine Iron Project

The Lac Jeannine project is an advanced tailings reprocessing initiative designed to transform legacy mining waste into high-purity iron concentrate for steelmaking. By leveraging existing infrastructure and modern processing technologies, the project aims to unlock value from previously discarded material while simultaneously advancing environmental reclamation. This approach aligns economic return with environmental remediation and supports domestic iron supply.

Metallurgical test work has demonstrated the project's ability to produce a high-purity iron concentrate grading in excess of the standard 67 percent. CEO Julian Treger said that this is a validation resource’s quality and the effectiveness of the company’s processing strategy. “(It also supports) our vision of transforming a historic environmental liability into a strategic asset capable of supporting the global transition to lower-carbon steel production."

Highlights

• Inferred resource of about 71 Mt at 6.8 percent iron.
• After-tax NPV7 of US$91.9 million and IRR of 29.6 percent from the recently reported Mineral Resource Estimate announced on Jun. 16, 2026
• Initial capex estimated at US$65 million.
• 15-year mine life
• A 41 percent increase in the resource according to the 2026 PEA, with a global increase in total iron grade from 6.7 to 6.8 percent.

MagIron Project

MagIron represents a restart-ready brownfield iron ore deposit, concentrator and pelletizer project in Minnesota and Indianna, that benefits from an estimated $660m in historical capital investment, targeting the production of direct-reduction grade pellets for low-carbon steelmaking. The project benefits from extensive existing infrastructure and prior capital investment, allowing rapid recommissioning compared with greenfield developments. Its strategic positioning targets rising demand for domestically sourced feedstock for electric arc furnaces and decarbonized steel production.

Senior leadership changes have been made to support the ongoing development of MagIron, especially regarding restarting its iron ore concentrator in Minnesota and pellet plant in Indiana.

Highlights

• CoTec owns approximately 17 percent.
• Definitive Feasibility Study shows after-tax NPV of about US$1.60 billion and IRR about 27.6 percent.
• Average annual production is about 2.6 Mt DR-grade pellets.
• Life of mine is about 32 years.
• Payback period is about 3 years and 7 months.
• Raised additional capital at a pre-money valuation of US$550 million from existing shareholders

CoTec Copper

CoTec Copper is a dedicated subsidiary created to accelerate the company’s exposure to copper, one of the most strategically important electrification metals. The unit focuses on acquiring and advancing copper tailings projects and sulphide deposits, particularly in historically productive mining jurisdictions where modern processing technologies can unlock additional value from previously uneconomic material. It leverages CoTec’s existing technology portfolio to enhance recoveries and lower operating costs.

Highlights

• Targets assets in Tier 1 mining regions across the United States, Australia and Africa.
• Focuses on both tailings reprocessing and sulphide copper deposits.
• Designed as a scalable growth platform to expand CoTec’s copper exposure.

Binding Solutions

Binding Solutions provides a cold agglomeration technology that converts ultrafine mineral waste into ISO-compliant pellets or briquettes suitable for industrial use, particularly in green steel production. Unlike traditional pelletizing processes that rely on high-temperature furnaces, this approach operates at low temperatures, drastically reducing energy consumption and emissions while enabling monetization of low-grade or waste materials.

Highlights

• Uses about 95 percent less energy than conventional pelletizing.
• Generates about 98 percent fewer emissions.
• Applicable to iron and other mineral fines.

Ceibo

Ceibo’s oxidative heap-leaching technology is designed to improve copper recovery from sulphide ores such as chalcopyrite, which account for the majority of global copper reserves but are traditionally difficult and costly to process. The process enhances recovery rates while lowering environmental impact and capital intensity, potentially transforming the economics of many existing copper assets.

Highlights

• Potential recovery improvement from about 31 percent via traditional leaching/concentration to approximately 70-80 percent.
• Targets refractory sulphide deposits often considered uneconomic.
• CoTec holds a minority equity interest and a seat on the technical advisory board.
• Completed Series B C$30M financing led by Energy Impact Partners to fund the scaling of the technology.

WaveCracker

WaveCracker is a microwave-assisted mineral processing technology being advanced in collaboration with McGill University. The system uses targeted microwave energy to weaken mineral structures before conventional processing, improving metal liberation, reducing reagent consumption and lowering overall processing costs.

Highlights

• Focused initially on copper sulphide applications.
• Designed to accelerate leaching and recovery kinetics.
• Builds on more than 30 years of microwave mineral processing research.

Salter Cyclones

Salter Cyclones technology uses multi-gravity separators to recover ultra-fine minerals from tailings streams that traditional processing methods cannot efficiently capture. By enabling recovery of metals from waste material, the system creates new revenue streams while reducing environmental liabilities associated with tailings storage.

Highlights

• Applicable to iron, manganese and other fine mineral commodities.
• Exclusive global rights for iron applications and regional exclusivity for manganese during the initial agreement period.
• Converts waste into high-grade concentrates suitable for market.

Management Team

Julian Treger - Chief Executive Officer and Director

Julian Treger previously served as the CEO of Anglo Pacific Group before establishing Audley Capital Partners. At Audley, Treger directed the team through acquisitions totaling $570 million and achieved a realized Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 38 percent. Treger continues to serve as the chairman of Audley Capital and holds both a BA and an MBA from Harvard.

Abraham Jonker - Chief Financial Officer

Abraham Jonker has 30 years of experience in mining finance. He previously served as the Lead Independent Director at Mandalay Resources and has been instrumental in leading over $750 million in equity and debt raises. Jonker is a Chartered Accountant in the UK, Canada, and South Africa and holds a Master's in Tax from Rand Afrikaans University.

John Singleton - Chief Operating Officer

John Singleton possesses over 25 years of experience in mining. His career began at De Beers, and he has since held senior leadership roles at Centamin and Rio Tinto. Singleton is a Fellow of the Royal Geological Society and holds degrees from Imperial College London and the University of Bristol.

John McGagh - Technology Consultant

John McGagh has more than 35 years of experience in digital transformation across various industries. He served as the head of innovation at Rio Tinto and is currently the chief digital officer at Snowy Hydro. McGagh is an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology Science and Engineering.

Eugene Hercun - VP Finance & Investor Relations

Eugene Hercun is a CPA, CA, with 15 years of varied experience in mining finance. He has led metal sales negotiations for more than $200 million annually and holds Level 1 of the CFA designation.

Board of Directors

Lucio Genovese, Independent Chairman

Lucio Genovese currently serves as the CEO of Nage Capital and as the chairman of Ferrexpo plc. He previously held senior roles at Glencore, including CEO of the CIS region. Genovese is a Chartered Accountant with degrees in Commerce and Accounting from the University of Witwatersrand.

Tom Albanese, Non - Executive Director

Tom Albanese is the former CEO of Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources. He serves as lead independent director of Nevada Copper and as a director at Franco-Nevada Corporation. Albanese holds Master's and Bachelor's degrees from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Robert (Bob) Harward - Non-Executive Director

Robert Harward is a retired US Navy Vice Admiral (SEAL) and former deputy commander of US Central Command. He served on the US National Security Council and held senior strategy roles at Lockheed Martin and Shield AI.

Erez Ichilov - Non-executive Director

Erez Ichilov previously served as managing director at Traxys Projects, where he led investments in companies such as Nouveau Monde Graphite, Talon Metals, and Li-Cycle. Ichilov holds LLB and MBA degrees.

Sharon Fay - Non-executive Director

Sharon Fay previously served as head of equities and head of responsibility at AllianceBernstein. She built the firm's Corporate Responsibility and Responsible Investment teams. Fay is a Chartered Financial Analyst with a BA from Brown and an MBA from Harvard.