Highly Strategic & Prospective Lithium, Ree & Manganese Tenements Acquired

Reach Resources Limited (ASX: RR1 & RR1O) (“Reach” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that binding terms sheets have been signed with two separate and non-related parties for the acquisition of four tenements highly prospective for lithium, REE and/or manganese in the Gascoyne Mineral Field, WA (Figures 1 & 2). Three of the four tenements share a boundary with existing Reach tenure which significantly increases the Company’s ability to explore entire mineral strike lengths and provides greater contiguous area for potential future development.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Four (4) tenements are being acquired for low cash consideration plus shares, and are highly prospective with known lithium, rare earth element (REE) and manganese mineralisation
  
• Lithium tenement (Morrissey Hill project) has widespread outcropping pegmatites, and is directly adjoining, and contains the same geology as, Red Dirt Metals’ (ASX: RDT) Yinnetharra Lithium Project (Figure 1)

Figure 1: Acquisition 1 - Morrissey Hill Lithium project and the Camel Hill REE project

• REE and Manganese tenements bordered by FMG Pilbara (ASX:FMG), Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB), and existing Reach tenure in the Gascoyne region (see Figure 2)
• Upon completion, Reach will command a significant land holding in the highly prospective Gascoyne region, providing scale, contiguity and excellent exposure

ACQUISITIONS:

➢Acquisition 1: Two tenements - Prospective for Lithium: Morrissey Hill (E09/2375) and Rare Earth Elements (REE): Camel Hill (E09/2388). Both in the Gascoyne Mineral Field, WA (Figure 1)

• Lithium tenement E09/2375 (Morrissey Hill) adjoins Red Dirt Metals’ Yinnetharra Lithium Project. RDT recently announced¹ initial assay results from drill intersections including 55.6 m @ 1.12% Li2O incl. 15 m @ 1.52% Li2O from 95 m.
  
• Morrissey Hill historical high-grade lithium, tantalum, rubidium, cesium, niobium results from rock-chip samples include:
  • 1.32% Li2O, 3.62% Ta2O5, 1,936 ppm Rb, 2,276 ppm Cs, and 1.55% Nb2O5
• Geology within E09/2375 is consistent with Red Dirt Metals’ “Goldilocks Zone” theory for occurrence of lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites. Numerous outcropping pegmatites have already been mapped within E09/2375.
• In addition, results show a 5-km long lithium soil anomaly (>100 ppm Li) untested by drilling.
• REE tenement E09/2388 (Camel Hill) has historical rock-chip samples with total rare earth oxide (TREO) results of up to 1,357 ppm
• A ~3.5-km long REE soil anomaly (>500 ppm REE) untested by drilling.
• Recorded REE anomalies correspond with thorium radiometric highs.

➢Acquisition 2: Two tenements: White Castles (E09/2539 & E09/2542) prospective for manganese and REE in the Gascoyne Mineral Field, WA

• High-grade rock-chip results up to 18% MnO².
  
• Multiple surface manganese outcrops over 50 km of continuous strike.
• Little to no exploration undertaken since 2010.
• Neighbours include FMG to the east, FRB to the north west and Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) to the south west.
• The tenements lie within 5 km of recent anomalous REE results from Reach’s Skyline project (ASX Release 7 November 2022).

➢The Company has received firm commitments for $2,000,000 in new equity to fund both acquisitions, pay off all debt (non-cash via share issue), conduct exploration activities and provide additional working capital

Firm commitments have been received from sophisticated and professional investors to raise $2M in cash, via a two tranche Placement to fund the acquisitions (low cash consideration plus share consideration – see section “Acquisition Summary and Terms” for full details), accelerate exploration on new and existing tenements with a focus on lithium, REE and manganese, and to provide additional working capital.

Figure 2: Acquisition 2 - White Castles Manganese project

Commenting on the acquisitions, Reach CEO Jeremy Bower said:

“We have intentionally added lithium and manganese to our critical mineral portfolio due to the exponential demand for these minerals from the electrical revolution taking over the globe. When exploring for lithium, you want three key factors: the right geology to produce evolved LCT pegmatites, visible or known lithium mineralisation and the presence of pathfinder elements such as cesium, tantalum, rubidium – Morrissey Hill has all three.

Additionally, we have a direct comparison next door at Red Dirt’s Yinnetharra project. Yinnetharra has the same geology as Morrissey Hill and recent drill results by RDT have intersected good lithium grades. This gives us a great deal of confidence as we plan an aggressive exploration program at Morrissey Hill to begin in early March.”

Further, the acquisition of the White Castles Manganese project is a strategic play for Reach providing additional critical minerals diversification. There is no substitute for manganese in the steel making process, which provides a large demand for the metal itself. However, the importance of manganese is also growing exponentially within the battery sector for use in electric vehicles. Manganese is an important component in the cathodes of the two most commonly produced types of electric vehicle (EV) batteries available today, including Li-Ion.

There is a growing push from EV and battery cathode manufacturers to increase manganese content to improve battery and electric vehicle cost competitiveness, while maintaining energy density. Manganese is therefore a strategic commodity to add to the Reach asset portfolio.

It is an exciting time for the Company, and we can’t wait to update shareholders as our exploration across all tenements ramps up over the coming months.”

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