REG - Halo Minerals PLC - Appointment of Specialised Consultants
02/04/2026 07:00
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RNS Number : 1592Z Halo Minerals PLC 02 April 2026
2 April 2026
Halo Minerals PLC
("Halo Minerals" or the "Company")
Appointment of Specialised Consultants and Commencement of Bio-accessibility
Study at the Playa Verde Project, Chile
Halo Minerals PLC (AIM: HALO), the copper development company focused on
extracting critical minerals from legacy mining waste, is pleased to announce
it has contracted specialised environmental consultancy firm MSTECK SpA and
engaged a team led by Ms. María Carolina Parodi Dávila. The team will
conduct a comprehensive bio-accessibility and human health risk assessment
study at Halo's Playa Verde Project (the "Project") site in Chañaral, Chile.
The Company has also engaged an energy & infrastructure consultant to
review, optimise and delineate power requirements and access for the Project's
mining and processing operations as set out in the Project's existing
definitive feasibility study ("DFS").
Highlights
- Engagement of environmental consultancy team to support assessment of the
Playa Verde Project's compliance with the conditions of the Project's approved
Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA").
- Engagement of energy & infrastructure engineer to optimise energy
needs and support the Company to contract the power needed for the mining and
mineral processing activities identified in the Project's existing DFS.
Andrew Dennan, CEO of Halo Minerals, commented:
"The appointment of these highly qualified teams and consultants along with
the commencement of the bio-accessibility study represents an important
milestone for the Playa Verde Project. This work is essential to satisfying
the environmental conditions set by the Chilean authorities and demonstrates
Halo's commitment and strategy to the responsible development of its projects.
We look forward to reporting progress as the study advances."
Background and Scope of Environmental Consultants Engagement
The bio-accessibility study is being undertaken to support the Project's
compliance with the conditions set by the Comité de Ministros (Committee of
Ministers) in connection with the October 2025 approval of the EIA for the
Playa Verde Project. This study is also to design the future programme to
report and continue to comply with those conditions once the Project has
entered into the production phase. The study will assess total and
bio-accessible concentrations of certain heavy metals and metalloids present
in the mineralised sands at Playa Verde beach and the adjacent urban airport
sector in the commune of Chañaral.
The objective of the study is to support and verify that the planned
development and operation of the Playa Verde Project will not generate
exposure levels that pose a risk to the health of the local population in
accordance with the EIA approval.
Phase 1 of the study is now being initiated which will focus on fieldwork
which is expected to include:
· systematic collection of approximately 160 soil samples across the
beach and airport sectors, preparation of composite samples by soil sampling
in trial sub-sector;
· in-situ geochemical characterisation using portable X-ray
fluorescence ("PXRF"); and
· delivery of granulometric curves and Quantitative Evaluation of
Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN) mineralogical analysis
result of a representative composite sample from the beach sector.
Thereafter, the study is expected to move to Phase 2 which will include
laboratory analysis of total and bio-accessible concentrations of the six
target analytes using the Unified Bio-accessibility Method ("UBM"). This phase
will also include granulometric and master size analysis, geostatistical
validation, and geospatial chemical analysis of soil samples.
Environmental Consultancy Team
The study will be directed by Ms. María Carolina Parodi Dávila, MSc in
Environmental Science, Head of the Soil and Environment Laboratory at the
Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana ("UTEM") in Santiago, Chile.
Project management will be provided by MSTECK S.p.A., a Chilean company
specialising in quality assurance, safety, hygiene, and environmental
management, which will oversee the engagement of accredited third-party
laboratories and field support contractors. Fieldwork support will be provided
by AHK-ASMIN, part of the Alfred H. Knight group, with over 140 years of
experience in mineral inspection and analysis.
Engagement of Power & Infrastructure Engineer
The Company has also engaged Mr Jorge Barrientos, a Chilean based Energy &
Infrastructure engineer. Mr Barrientos will assist the Company in optimising
the expected energy consumption needs in relation to both the powering of the
mineral processing plant and single wheeled suction dredge, which are
identified as the key components to be able to mine and process the tailings
in the Playa Verde Project DFS. As part of the optimisation of the existing
DFS the Company will work with Mr Barrientos to identify areas of potential
energy consumption savings as well as to secure the required supply of
electricity from the Chilean national grid. The outputs of this study are
expected to be completed in conjunction with other definitive feasibility
optimisation workstreams which the Company expects to initiate shortly.
Further announcements will be made in due course.
The Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of this
announcement.
Enquiries:
Halo Minerals PLC Via Tavistock below
Andrew Dennan, Chief Executive Officer
Frank Jackson, Chief Financial Officer
Information@HaloMinerals.co.uk
www.halominerals.co.uk
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD) +44 20 7213 0880
Liam Murray
Ludovico Lazzaretti
James Western
Global Investment Strategy (Broker) +44 20 7048 9045
Christopher Kipling
Tavistock (Public Relations) +44 20 7920 3150
Nick Elwes
Josephine Clerkin
Gareth Tredway
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or
anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in
nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such
as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified
staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction,
uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding
the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the
Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of
unexpected events. Actual results achieved may vary from the information
provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors.
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