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ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

7th January 2022

EXPLORATION COMMENCES FOR 2022

Highlights

  • Major diamond drill programme to commence next week at the Saints Nickel Project to upgrade and potentially extend the current high-grade Mineral Resources of 1.02Mt @ 2.0% Ni for 21,400kt of contained nickel1
  • Drilling at the Ragless Range Zinc Prospect at the Arden project in South Australia has resumed, with one hole completed and the second hole at 338m of a planned 400m depth
  • Ground dipole-dipole induced polarisation (IP) survey over the Nepean North Prospect to resume shortly, with 12 of 19 lines completed and preliminary results identifying strong bedrock chargeability anomalies that represent potential drill targets
  • Well-fundedto complete planned aggressive exploration programmes and mine viability studies in 2022

Auroch Minerals Limited (ASX:AOU) (Auroch or the Company) is pleased to announce it has commenced its exploration activities for 2022.

Auroch Managing Director Aidan Platel commented:

"The Company has a very busy year ahead and so we are pleased that we could get activities underway so early in the new year. In addition to ongoing exploration activities at Nepean and Arden, our focus for this quarter is a major drill programme at Saints which is fundamental for the ongoing Scoping Study due to be completed at the end of March.

We are well-funded and in a great position to continue with our aggressive exploration programmes in parallel to our mine viability studies at Saints and Nepean as we push to create real shareholder value in 2022!"

Saints Nickel Project

At the Saints Nickel Project (Saints) in Western Australia (Auroch Minerals 100%), a major diamond drill programme will commence next week. The programme will comprise 3,700m of infill drilling at both the Saint Patricks and Saint Andrews prospects (Figure 1), with the aim to upgrade the classification of the current Saints Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 1.02Mt @ 2.0% Ni for 21,400kt of contained nickel1 from Inferred to Indicated category. Included in this programme are two additional large-diameterdrill-holes for metallurgical testwork samples . Both the new MRE and the metallurgical testwork results will provide important inputs for the Scoping Study currently underway at the Saints Nickel Project.

A second programme comprising a further 2,000m of drilling has been planned to follow the initial infill programme, and aims to test for strike and down-plunge extensions to the known nickel sulphide mineralisation at Saints.

Arden Zinc-Copper Project

At the Arden Zinc-Copper Project (Arden) in South Australia (Auroch Minerals 90%), diamond drilling has recommenced at the Ragless Range Zinc Prospect (Figure 2). RRDD009 was the first of four planned

1 JORC (2012) Inferred Resources, above a 1.0% Ni cut-off grade. Refer to ASX Announcement - AUROCH TO ACQUIRE HIGH-GRADE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN NICKEL PROJECTS https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190528/pdf/445dz31g15d0kx.pdf.

Auroch Minerals Ltd ABN 91 148 966 545

Suite 10, 38 Colin St, West Perth WA 6005 Phone: +61 8 6383 7817 Fax: +61 8 6245 9853

Email: admin@aurochminerals.com www.aurochminerals.com

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ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

7th January 2022

diamond holes drilled to test the southern extent of a large gravity target and anomalous geochemistry identified by previous drilling and surface sampling.

Drilling was delayed due to heavy rainfalls and initial progress was slow due to challenging ground conditions which resulted in RRDD009 being abandoned at 60m when the rod string becoming bogged and sheared off in fractured limestone. A second vertical drill-hole (RRDD010) was then collared next to the first hole and drilled to 267.5m. The hole drilled mostly through the Wirrapowie Limestone unit with minor iron-rich banding at 203m and 225m. The source of the gravity anomaly does not appear to be explained by results from RRDD010; however, the hole could not be pushed deeper due to poor ground conditions.

In order to overcome the programme delays, a second diamond rig was sourced and commenced drilling vertical hole RRDD011 in the centre of the gravity anomaly (Figures 2 & 3). Drilling has progressed well, with RRDD011 currently at 338m in limestone. The hole is being extended to 400m to try and intersect the prospective lower contact of the Wirrapowie Limestone with either the Woodendina Dolomite or the Parachilna Sandstone. Pending results of this drill-hole an additional angled hole may be drilled on the central section targeting the gravity anomaly closer to previous drill hole RRDD007 which intersected 12.8m @ 4.96% Zn from 53m including 3.65m @ 15.47% Zn from 62.15m 2 (Figures 2 & 3).

Nepean Nickel Project

At the Nepean Nickel Project (Nepean) in Western Australia (Auroch Minerals 80%), a ground dipole- dipole IP survey over the Nepean North Prospect will resume shortly. The IP survey is being completed on a 200m by 100m grid with twelve of nineteen lines now completed.

Results from the survey to-date have been positive with strong chargeability features identified below the weathering profile on every line surveyed (Figure 4). One of the anomalies is over 1.3km in strike length and is potentially associated with a dolerite/gabbro east of the Nepean ultramafic unit, thus representing an attractive target for orogenic gold mineralisation. A second chargeability anomaly was identified over three survey lines on the eastern basal contact of a prospective ultramafic unit (Figure 4) and thus presents a nickel sulphide target for follow-updrill testing.

The IP survey crew will return to site shortly to complete the final seven lines of the survey. Detailed inversion models are currently being run and the results will be used to plan follow-up exploration drilling.

Assay results have been received for the second drill-hole NPDD013 at the Nepean Deeps Prospect. The 12.5m of disseminated and matrix to semi-massive sulphides intersected from 576.8m were pyrrhotite dominant, and although both pentlandite (nickel sulphide) and chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) were observed in the semi-massive to matrix sulphides, the assays have confirmed no significant intersections3, suggesting the tenor of the nickel sulphides was much lower than that observed within the historic Nepean mine area.

The sulphides were intersected within a 76.15m intersection of ultramafics from 534.65 - 610.80m down-hole, which is interpreted to be the underexplored Sill 1 ultramafic directly west of the mine sequence, and were interpreted to be the cause of the down-hole electromagnetic (DHEM) conductor 1A/1B, the uppermost of three DHEM targets identified by the first Nepean Deeps drill-hole NPDD008.

  1. Refer to ASX Announcement - INFILL SAMPLING EXTENDS MINERALISATION AT RAGLESS RANGE - ARDEN ZN PROJECThttps://www.investi.com.au/api/announcements/aou/408f546e-9fa.pdf
  2. Significant intersection is defined as at ≥1m width @ ≥0.5%Ni

Auroch Minerals Ltd ABN 91 148 966 545

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Two diamond holes NPDD014 and NPDD015 were completed in December to test regional DHEM conductors at the Little Eagle and Spoonbill Prospects at Nepean (Figure 5). Assays for both holes are pending; however, no nickel sulphides were observed in the drill core.

Figure 1 - Long section of the Saints Nickel Project showing the current nickel sulphide resource (1%Ni cut-off)

and the footwall channel positions at Saint Patricks and Saint Andrews

Auroch Minerals Ltd ABN 91 148 966 545

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Figure 2 - Residual Bouguer gravity linear image at the Ragless Range Prospect extending over 2km in hinge

zone of Ragless Range syncline. RRDD010 is completed and RRDD011 is currently being drilled

Auroch Minerals Ltd ABN 91 148 966 545

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Figure 3 - Schematic cross section of Residual Bouguer gravity anomaly incorporating structural interpretation at the central Ragless Range prospect (location shown in Figure 2) including planned and current drillholes and previous significant intersection in RRDD007

Figure 4 - Ground IP survey line locations at Nepean North with current bedrock chargeability anomalies

shown and potential gold and nickel targets

Auroch Minerals Ltd ABN 91 148 966 545

Suite 10, 38 Colin St, West Perth WA 6005 Phone: +61 8 6383 7817 Fax: +61 8 6245 9853

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Lodestar Minerals Limited published this content on 06 January 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 06 January 2022 23:37:01 UTC.