POW Power Metal Resources Plc

08 August 2024

Power Metal Resources PLC

("Power Metal" or the "Company")

GSAe Update

Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW, OTCQB:POWMF), the London listed exploration company with a global project portfolio, is pleased to provide an update on its 75% owned subsidiary GSA Environmental Ltd ("GSAe").

GSAe is a highly skilled engineering and technology provider and process licensor with over 25 years of global project experience in the remediation and reprocessing of a wide range of industrial waste. Its world leading technology enables the economic extraction of critical and strategic metals from 'secondary sources' such as power station ash, refinery residues, titanium dioxide ("TiO₂") waste and spent catalysts. GSAe's ongoing research into new processes is expected to lead to expansion into other products including mining waste and tailings dumps.

Sean Wade, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources plc, commented: 

"It is pleasing to see the exciting updates and workstreams across the GSAe portfolio. The essential work being undertaken by the team provides vital  technology in the global drive towards a greener future, and progresses the potential for GSAe to add significant revenue contribution to the Power Metal portfolio. With excellent projects in the pipeline and an expected increase in contract awards, GSAe is at an exciting stage of its development.

"I look forward to providing further updates from this array of projects."

GSAe Project Summary

The team at GSAe has been busy developing new business, as well as following up on recent project work, to provide solutions to remediate multiple industrial waste streams and historic landfill sites.

A summary of current projects:

·    GSAe is working with a state owned company in Saudi Arabia on an an initial study to process fly ash primarily for the extraction of vanadium and nickel. This work involves detailed bench scale analysis at the laboratory in Lincoln, combined with initial process flow and plant design drawings, and premininary  financial calculations for plant construction and operations. As part of this commission, GSAe is also testing samples from historic fly ash landfill sites to provide initial solutions for the processing and extraction of critical metals, and resultant cleaning of such sites.

With the positive results of this study and the local and regional support that has been expressed to date, GSAe is hopeful that this work will lead to the next phase of a much more detailed design, with construction and commissioning work for potentially two or three plants in the coming 12 to 18 months.

·    An initial scoping study level report has been produced for a major UK and European Recycling Group to install a dual purpose 20,000 tonne per annum ("tpa") processing plant in the UK. Work has included bench scale and pilot scale test work, initial plant design and estimates  for Capex and Opex, and resultant profit margins for a plant able to treat two different waste streams for the extraction of critical metals and resultant non-hazardous materials.

GSAe is currently awaiting an update from the client for confirmation to move to the next stage of work, which would entail full plant design combined with final process optimisation criteria and project development, leading to the installation of the plant. This is expected in the coming weeks.

·    Further to extensive historical studies and research, GSAe is awaiting an outline scope of work from a major UK TiO₂ producer to commence work on providing a solution for the treatment of the waste streams to negate the need for material to go to landfill.

·    Initial analysis of red mud and phosphogypsum for a major mining company in Saudi Arabia has recently been completed to provide a solution for the extraction of critical metals and also options for finding alternate uses for the bulk of the remaining material. A follow-up work programme is in discussion to take research and development of solutions to the next level.

·    Recycling of industrial catalysts used in the petrochemical industry is a continued issue and, with GSAe's experience in this field, discussions are ongoing with two parties to provide a solution on how to extract critical metals from them and render  the resulting material benign.

GSAe has secured nearly US$850,000 in grant funding from the UK government to further develop the rare earth separation, purification and commercialisation process from TiO₂ waste. GSAe is working in collaboration with the University of Lincoln to merge the selective leaching and precipitation process with the University's Molecular Imprinted Polymer technology purity enhancement.

The process for recovering valuable metals has, to date, been demonstrated at 20-litre scale and is currently being scaled up to a 200-litre system through the government grant, with the system now ordered and awaiting installation at the Lincoln laboratory in Q3 2024. The process has also undergone preliminary engineering to assess operating and capital costs for both a 10,000 tpa and a nominal 150,000 tpa residue waste treatment facility, with encouraging initial results.

GSAe is due to add an office suite to the facilities in the Boole Technical Park, reflecting the increase in personnel and to enable more laboratory based work to be carried out.

The team will have a booth at the UK Metals Expo conference in Birmingham on the 11^th and 12^th of September, which is an opportunity to showcase the skillset of the company and to target potential further contacts and contracts for both UK and global development and recycling projects.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

For further information please visit https://www.powermetalresources.com/ or contact:

NOTES TO EDITORS

Power Metal Resources plc - Background

Power Metal Resources plc (AIM:POW, OTCQB:POWMF) is a London-listed metals exploration company which finances and manages global resource projects and is seeking large scale metal discoveries.

The Company has a principal focus on opportunities offering district scale potential across a global portfolio including precious, base and strategic metal exploration in North America, Africa, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Project interests range from early-stage greenfield exploration to later-stage prospects currently subject to drill programmes.

Power Metal will develop projects internally or through strategic joint ventures until a project becomes ready for disposal through outright sale or separate listing on a recognised stock exchange thereby crystallising the value generated from our internal exploration and development work.

Value generated through disposals will be deployed internally to drive the Company's growth or may be returned to shareholders through share buy backs, dividends or in-specie distributions of assets.