BBX Minerals Limited provided shareholders with the following details with respect to its bioleaching activities. A total of 200 kg of material from four drill holes is being sent to EcoBiome Metals, LLC (EcoBiome) for further pilot plant testing and optimisation. The goal is to conduct additional tests now that several enhancements have been made following the first pilot plant test announced on 27 February 2023.

The process will be supervised by BBX's technical manager, Edmar Medeiros, who will be working directly with EcoBiome's team at their facility. The positive results from the initial pilot plant test work demonstrate the suitability of this bioleaching process. The expectation is that each test will produce more improved results, until the Company is satisfied that it has fully established the ideal conditions and extraction process.

It is expected that the process will be fully optimised by no later than Quarter 3 2023. Subsequent to the improvement process being carried out at EcoBiome's facility in the United States, BBX intends to build its own pilot plant near its existing laboratory in Catalão, Brazil. The Company has initiated the necessary regulatory steps to enable the shipment of the microbes into the country.

It is estimated that setup will commence in late Quarter 2 2023. The pilot plant in Brazil will initially be used to test an existing 13 tonne sample from the Ema project. While operating the newly installed pilot plant will contribute to the continuous improvement of the process recoveries, operating efficiency, and cost profile, its main purpose will be to produce metal that can be analysed, determining the best markets for BBX to sell products into.

While the pilot plant and bioleaching process are optimised, the Company will initiate bioleaching testing of drill holes in a controlled environment. This will include initially drill holes from the Três Estados MRE, and subsequently drill holes from the Ema project. The work will commence in Quarter 2 2023 and is expected to be completed within Quarter 4 2023.

Analysis from the bio leach reactors will be a continuous part of development and future operations. The intention is to biologically assess each drill hole to compare results with those from the nickel fusion assays. On 14 November 2022, the Company announced that it had completed initial test work using a surface bulk sample of mafic intrusive from the Ema project (EMB-007).

This experiment utilised Cultured Gold microbial formula to demonstrate and prove the ability to extract and recover 5E precious metals from an unprocessed sample. EcoBiome proprietary and patent pending Gold DRIVETM was utilised to promote the recovery of 5E 1 precious metals. Test results show a significant increase in reported precious metals following bioleaching process.

On 19 December 2022, BBX announced results from bioleaching test work using a 5 kg sample taken from a homogenised 50.4 kg composite from the TED-015, comprised of hematite altered mafic intrusive from 28m to 64m, typical of the altered gabbro within the Adelar MRE envelope. This experiment utilised Cultured Gold microbial formula to demonstrate and prove the ability to extract and recover 5E precious metals from an unprocessed ore sample. EcoBiome Metals proprietary and patent pending Gold DRIVETM was utilised to promote the recovery of 5E precious metals.

All tests were conducted for 96 hours at 30% pulp density. Test results show a significant increase in 5E precious metals following the bioleaching process, compared with previously reported assays for the same drill hole. On 27 February 2023, the Company announced results from initial pilot plant testing, utilising a 45 kg sample taken from a homogenised 50.4 kg composite from TED-015, comprised of hematite altered mafic intrusive from 28 m to 64 m, typical of the altered gabbro within the Adelar MRE envelope.

A dedicated pilot plant was designed and commissioned by EcoBiome at its facility in The Woodlands, Texas, USA. The objective of this pilot plant test was to simulate a potential production circuit. The 45 kg sample was reacted with the EcoBiome proprietary technology and EcoBiome Metals Cultured Platinum Group Metals (PGM) microbes.

The material was then processed through a Knelson concentrator, followed by filtration and finally electrowinning. Samples were subsequently assayed for gold, platinum, palladium, iridium, and rhodium by ICP-MS by an independent analytical test laboratory in Arizona, USA. The pilot plant was designed to operate continuously to simulate an industrial process, utilising five reactors in series.

Positive results were achieved by the first pilot plant run and expectations are that every successive run will be optimised to produce progressively more improved results.