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Major Strategic Investment in Lions Bay Capital

In brief · summary, not quotable

Metals One invests C$750,000 for 19.1% stake in Lions Bay Capital, gaining exposure to South African gold processing plant.

  • Investment amount C$750,000
  • Stake acquired 19.1%
  • Common shares 7,500,000 Units
  • First tranche settled 3,525,000 Units
  • Gold processing plant capacity approximately 5,000 tonnes of auriferous concentrate per month
  • Power generation capacity around 12 MW of continuous power
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Metals One (AIM: MET1), a minerals exploration and development company with key interests in uranium and gold projects, is pleased to announce it is making an investment of C$750,000 in Lions Bay Capital Inc. ("Lions Bay") (TSX-V: LBI), a Canada-listed mining finance and investment company focused on unlocking the potential of resource assets with a strategic emphasis on gold and copper. The investment is being made by way of a subscription for a total of 7,500,000 common shares ("Units") resulting in Metals One owning 19.1% of Lions Bay. The first tranche of 3,525,000 Units has settled, with the remaining 3,975,000 Units in the second tranche expected to settle shortly, upon TSX-V approval.

Lions Bay's primary objective, subject to funding, is bringing a South African gold processing plant with supporting energy infrastructure into production by Q4 2026, positioning it to generate near-term cash flow. Lions Bay has an option until November 2025 to acquire the cogeneration plant for US$1.4 million. The plant was shut down in 2021 after less than 18 months of operation. It cost circa US$20 million to commission and supplied steam and power to an adjacent chemical complex where operations are suspended.

Lions Bay intends to refurbish and modify the plant, which is able to roast approximately 5,000 tonnes of auriferous concentrate per month, providing an alternative processing solution to exporting gold-bearing concentrate to Asian smelters. Roasting involves combusting the ore concentrate in the presence of oxygen, exposing the gold to conventional extraction. The power infrastructure is designed to generate around 12 MW of continuous power.

A Competent Persons Report (CPR) was commissioned last week and is expected to be completed in October 2025. Lions Bay expects to negotiate feed supply once the CPR has been completed and has identified small, licensed gold mines that would benefit from a South African processing solution.

Longer-term, Lions Bay intends to leverage its ownership of the modified plant and the revenue to acquire gold mines in the Barberton region of South Africa to feed the plant. This area hosts numerous deposits containing millions of ounces of gold in pyrite. This refractory ore typically requires roasting to liberate the gold in sulphides (pyrite) before it can be smelted.

Metals One is positioning itself to capture the upside of Lions Bay's potential gold acquisitions and its existing portfolio of projects/investments which also include:

Fidelity Minerals (TSXV:FMN) (Lions Bay: 45.22%) - a company which has assembled a portfolio of high development potential copper-gold porphyry projects in Peru and Canada.

Epic Minerals - (Lions Bay: 50%) - a company which has built a portfolio of high-grade tin and copper-gold exploration projects in Queensland, Australia.

KALiNA Power (ASX:KPO) - (Lions Bay: 3.07%) a company dedicated to delivering cost effective power projects that incorporate technologies that generate constant baseload electricity with a low carbon footprint.

Bosveld Gold Debt Loan - Lions Bay Capital has a loan to GNT Mining which owns the Bosveld gold mine in South Africa. The Bosveld gold mine has a 60,000 tpa CIP gold treatment plant and is currently operating as a toll treatment facility.

Greensands Australia (Lions Bay: 42%) - a company which has developed a world-first technology to "activate" glauconite to develop organic fertiliser under an International Patent Application.

Led by a team with a track record of value creation, Lions Bay is guided by Executive Chairman John Byrne, the architect and former Executive Chairman of Western Canadian Coal, which had an initial market capitalisation of C$50m when he started, and was sold for over C$3 billion in 2010.

Note: All Units will be subject to statutory hold periods expiring 29 December 2025. In the year to 31 May 2024, Lions Bay reported a loss before tax of C$2,990,000 on nil revenue and reported net assets of C$3,584,000.

Craig Moulton, Chair of Metals One, commented:

"We believe the Lions Bay's gold processing plant in South Africa offers exceptionally attractive economics. The near-term cash flow opportunity complements our earlier stage critical metals exploration projects, balancing Metals One's asset base. With a market capitalisation of under C$4 million and a portfolio of other projects, we regard this as a highly opportunistic investment."

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