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RNS Number : 7566W  Critical Mineral Resources PLC  27 August 2025

Critical Mineral Resources PLC

Agadir Melloul Project

 

Critical Mineral Resources PLC ('CMR') is pleased to announce details of the
Agadir Melloul sedimentary copper project in Central Morocco, the acquisition
of three additional permits in the same district, exclusivity on a further six
permits, together with the terms of its definitive joint venture agreement.
CMR and the Joint Venture partner now have a dominant position in the Agadir
Melloul district.

In recent days, over fifty drill pads have been prepared, a testament to our
team on the ground and the project's favourable topography. Diamond core
drilling will begin very shortly.

 

Highlights:

CMR is earning into 60% of the Agadir Melloul sedimentary copper project,
previously referred to as the SHC Project, which CMR believes will develop
into a significant new Moroccan sediment-hosted copper and silver discovery.

·    The board and management team is reiterating its Initial Exploration
Target of 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of contained copper at a 1.2% copper
equivalent grade

The Joint Venture partner has completed sufficient exploration and technical
work on the project to fast-track development and move straight into
confirmatory drilling and feasibility studies. Key information:

·    Trench results include copper and silver grades of 27m at 2.9% and 25
g/t; 12m at 1.9% and 61g/t; 10m at 1.5% and 12 g/t; 7m at 3.1% and 45 g/t; and
5m at 2.2% and 32 g/t

·    Surface and near surface mineralisation over a 1.5km strike length
has been trenched and modelled by a leading Moroccan resource geologist,
underpinning an initial 750 to 1,000 tonne per day open pit mine development
plan (the 'Initial Mine')

·    First phase metallurgical test-work results include 80% copper and
61% silver recoveries resulting in concentrate containing 26% copper and 72g/t
silver

·    Water pumps within the project boundaries demonstrate local
availability of water

Agadir Melloul is a geological analogue of the 130 million tonne Tizert
Project, 55km to the west. The main shared geological characteristics are:

·    Sediment hosted copper and silver systems

·    Mineralisation found at and near the contact between the Precambrian
basement and Infracambrian (c.550mya) sedimentary rocks

·    Mineralisation, dominated by chalcopyrite, chalcocite, bornite and
malachite, predominantly found in limestone, dolomite and conglomerate
sediments

In addition to the three permits transferred into the SPV by the Joint Venture
partner ("CMC Permits"), in recent weeks the SPV has acquired three new
permits as well as securing exclusivity on a further six which are now
undergoing technical due diligence. In summary:

·    Trenching and the initial copper-silver discovery made on the CMC
Permits

·    The Project's land package now consists of six permits, providing CMR
and its Joint Venture partner with a dominant position in the Agadir Melloul
district

·    This six permit footprint is expected to increase in the short term,
in part due to the six permits under exclusivity, with permitted ground likely
to exceed 150km(2), of which >100km(2) contains sedimentary rocks and the
target Adoudounian unit

 

Charlie Long, CMR's CEO commented:

"It is extremely pleasing to announce details of this game changing
transaction, which moves CMR from rock-kicking explorer to project developer
with an awesome asset. It has taken two years and a huge amount of work since
we first visited Agadir Melloul to get to this point. And despite having
visited many excellent projects, some of which we optioned and explored,
Agadir Melloul has always been our priority target.

Together with our strategic investor, we believe the existing sampling data,
derived mostly from trenching, underpins the initial mine project of a 750 to
1,000 tonnes per day flotation plant, and significantly derisks our
investment. While the potential for a much larger discovery, which we are
calling the strategic resource strategy, provides for a very exciting and
potentially very high return investment case for both current and future
shareholders.

Once drilling commences during the next week or two, assay results will be
quick to follow and Agadir Melloul news flow shall be maintained in the months
and years to come".

 

Russell Tucker commented:

"In recent weeks the team has secured exclusivity over six permits in the
Agadir-Melloul district, transactions we have been working towards since Q3
2024. We also very recently completed the purchase of three further permits in
the area and, as a result, now have six important permits and district
control. We firmly believe that Agadir-Melloul will be a significant
sedimentary copper discovery. Indeed, through trenching at Zone 1 the first
discovery has already been made, and as such the CMR investment case is not
simply exploration but rather resource definition and mine development.

CMR's strategic input during the last nine months has resulted in a much
larger project footprint, therefore maximising the ultimate scale of the
resource. Now our job is to build the resource and an open pit mine, and to
continue drilling out the district as we pursue a strategically important
discovery. In my opinion both the initial mine development and the strategic
resource strategy will add considerable value for CMR shareholders."

 

Joint Venture Agreement

As previously announced, CMR has entered into a definitive joint venture
agreement ("JVA") with Coppernicus Mining Company SARL AU ("CMC", "Joint
Venture partner"). Pursuant to the JVA a new special purpose vehicle ("SPV")
called AgaMel Minerals SARL has been incorporated to hold the three CMC
Permits and to both apply for and purchase all Additional Permits including
three recent acquisitions.

CMR now holds an initial interest of 10% in the SPV and the earn-in structure
allows CMR to acquire up to a 60% interest in the SPV. CMR also holds an
initial interest of 50% in three of the Additional Permits and this ownership
will also increase to 60% once the JVA terms have been satisfied.

Other key terms of the JVA include:

·    Initial consideration of US$100,000 has been made to acquire a 10%
interest in the SPV;

·    CMR will acquire an additional 10% of the SPV by funding the purchase
of targeted Additional Permits;

·    Work programme to include acquiring or procuring a diamond drill rig
and to complete an initial 10,000 metre drill programme to delineate a
measured and indicated resource and produce an NI 43-101 or JORC resource
estimate;

·    Following completion of a feasibility study, an EIA and a
construction decision, CMR will acquire an additional 10% interest in the SPV
(taking its ownership to 30%);

·    CMR's interest in the SPV will increase by a further 20% to 50% by
funding construction of a 750 to 1,000 tonnes per day mine;

·    CMR's interest in the SPV will increase by a final 10% after making
an optional payment of US$1,200,000, thereby taking CMR's interest in the SPV
to 60%;

·    The management committee of the SPV will consist of four directors
with two being nominated by each of CMR and CMC;

·    CMR to invest a minimum of US$900,000 or 9,000,000 MAD into the SPV;

·    The SPV currently owns 6 permits including 3 permits where CMR has a
contractual 50% ownership. CMR has an initial 10% in the remaining 3 permits
in line with its ownership of the SPV into which it is earning 60%.

 

Moroccan team

The development of Agadir Melloul is being driven by CMR's Moroccan team, led
by our COO Noureddine Sabraoui, our very experienced Joint Venture partner and
supported by mostly Moroccan technical and geological services providers such
as Afrilab in Marrakesh, one of the leading assay and metallurgical testwork
laboratories in Africa.

Location and infrastructure

The Agadir Melloul Project is located 240km east of Agadir and within the
Agadir-Ida-Ou-Tanane Prefecture. Sealed roads and grid power run through the
property providing essential infrastructure. The landscape is varied but it is
generally a very favourable drilling environment, particularly at Zones 1 and
2 which benefit from large areas of flat and gently undulating rocky terrain.

Fig 1. Location map

 

Trench Results

Trenching has delivered consistent copper and silver grades. CMR anticipates
grades will likely vary across the project, however the initial area explored
by the Joint Venture partner produced the following results, demonstrating
surface and shallow mineralisation. Please note that the shorter trenches
(e.g. TAM12) are due to overburden.

 

Table 1. Trench results

 Sample  Copper (%)  Silver (g/t)  Length (m)
 TAM01   2.89        25.3          27
 TAM02   1.87        61.0          12
 TAM03   1.48        12.1          10
 TAM04   0.96        37.0          7
 TAM05   1.22        35.3          9
 TAM06   1.03        23.1          14
 TAM07   1.01        10.7          6
 TAM08   1.47        17.4          5
 TAM09   2.22        31.8          5
 TAM10   3.14        44.9          7
 TAM11   2.18        30.0          4
 TAM12   0.70        27.0          4

 

Mineralisation and exploration potential

The decision to invest in Agadir Melloul is primarily based on trenching,
mapping and geochem work undertaken by the Joint Venture partner, supported by
CMR field work, technical and legal due diligence.

Based on this data, it is the Board's view that a ten million tonne resource
grading circa 1.2% copper equivalent would be a worst-case scenario, a view
shared by our strategic investor and underpins our 15 to 20 million tonne
Initial Exploration Target grading 1.2% copper equivalent.

Larger scale target

Several features of Agadir Melloul suggest potential for the discovery of a
much larger resource than the Initial Exploration Target. Within the six
permits currently owned by the SPV, mapping and sampling by the geological
team has demonstrated a total of 12km of strike length, of which an estimated
75% is showing copper and silver mineralisation.

As a sediment hosted copper system, there is excellent potential for
mineralisation to be widespread. The 12km of strike extension is expected to
increase as CMR completes certain acquisitions, plus there is an expectation
that copper-silver mineralisation  extends laterally, connecting the outcrops
on the eastern and western flanks, albeit with varying grade, thickness and
continuity.

On the western flank of the deposit, in Zones 1 and 2, copper mineralisation
is predominately hosted by limestone and dolomite, often in contact with
basement. In Zones 3 and 4, copper mineralisation is also found hosted in
limestones and dolomitic limestones on or near the contact with the basement.
The straight-line distance from Zone 1 North (the trenched area with good
surface mineralisation) to Zone 3 is approximately 10km to the southeast, and
to Zone 4 is 5km to the northeast.

Fig 2. Initial portfolio - excluding permits under exclusivity

* down payment made to secure permit; transfer expected to complete within 4
weeks

 

District Scale Footprint

The project currently consists of six permits and the SPV has recently signed
exclusivity agreements over a further six permits ("Additional Permits").
These twelve permits cover approximately 80% of the target limestone in the
central area of the district, giving CMR and our Joint Venture partner a
dominant position in the district and maximising the probability of delivering
a successful large scale copper resource ('Strategic Resource Strategy').

 

Development work completed

In addition to mapping, trenching, channel sampling and district wide
prospecting work, the following works have been undertaken.

1. Metallurgical test work: flotation test work was undertaken by Afrilab in
Marrackech and of 10 conditions, the best particle size was 80% at 120
micrometres (d80 : 120 mm), an intermediate particle size commonly used to
maximise copper recoveries. Recoveries were 80.1% for copper and 61.25% for
silver, producing a 26.97% copper concentrate containing 72g/t silver.

2. Mining licence application: during Q2 2025 the Joint Venture partner
submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment and Feasibility Study in
compliance with Moroccan Law No. 33-13 and Law No. 49-17. This covers the open
pit mining at Zone 1 North.

3. Initial resource: the Joint Venture partner engaged an independent resource
geologist who calculated a resource to international and Moroccan standards at
Zone 1 North, which underpins a 750 to 1,000 tonnes per day mining operation.
Although a modest sized resource, the tonnage is a direct function of the
limited amount of trenching undertaken, and covers an area of 0.2km(2), a very
small fraction of the overall project area.

 

Fig 3. Zone 1 North resource model

Note: resource model calculated by leading Moroccan resource geologist to an
international standard. CMR has chosen not
to report the tonnage and grade of the resource given that it has not been
reviewed by a JORC, SAMREC or NI 43-101
committee.

 

 

- END -

 

 Critical Mineral Resources PLC           info@cmrplc.com

 Charles Long, Chief Executive Officer
 Novum Securities                         +44 (0) 20 7399 9425

 Jon Belliss

 

 

Notes To Editors

Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) PLC is focused on developing a
sediment-hosted copper and silver project in Morocco. The macro strategy is to
produce critical minerals for the global economy, including those essential
for electrification and the clean energy revolution. Many of these
commodities, including copper, are widely recognised as being at the start of
a supply and demand supercycle.

CMR identified Morocco as an ideal mining-friendly jurisdiction that meets its
acquisition and operational criteria. The country is perfectly located to
supply raw materials to Europe and possesses excellent prospective geology,
good infrastructure and attractive permitting, tax and royalty conditions. In
2023, CMR acquired an 80% stake in leading Moroccan exploration and geological
services company Atlantic Research Minerals SARL. In 2025, CMR signed a
definitive joint venture agreement to earn-in to 60% of the Agadir Melloul
sediment hosted copper and silver project.

The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CMRS.L). More information
regarding the company can be found at www.cmrplc.com (http://www.cmrplc.com)

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