Mr. Ross Orr reports

BACTECH ENVIRONMENTAL ESTABLISHES SUSTAINABLE BOND FRAMEWORK TO FINANCE ECUADOR BIOLEACH PROJECT

Bactech Environmental Corp. has launched a new sustainable bond framework for the issuance of green and social bond offerings.

Quoting from Moody's public release of today (July 24): "We have assigned an SQS2 sustainability quality score (very good) to Bactech Environmental Corp.'s sustainable bond framework dated July, 2023, which will finance two green eligible categories and two social eligible categories. The framework is aligned with the four core components of the International Capital Market Association's (ICMA) green bond principles (GBP) 2021 (with June, 2022, Appendix 1) and social bond principles (SBP) 2023. The framework demonstrates a significant contribution to sustainability." Contact the company for a copy of the full report.

Proceeds from such offerings will finance Bactech's bioleaching facility construction and program development in Tenguel, Ecuador, for the liberation of gold and silver from concentrates containing high levels of arsenic and will be allocated to support four eligible project investment areas, including pollution prevention and control; sustainable water and waste water management; socio-economic advancement and empowerment; and generation of decent and inclusive employment.

"The sustainable bond framework is an important and powerful financial instrument that will help Bactech open doors and access a global pool of sustainable investors interested in financing environmental and social projects," said Ross Orr, president and chief executive officer of Bactech Environmental. "This framework will help kick-start our near-term bioleach facility financing opportunities, while showcasing the sustainable benefits and socio-economic contributions that Bactech can make at the community level -- from water conservation and helping prevent acid mine drainage, to creating local opportunities for work, training, development and the start of a new green metal industry. I would also like to commend Sequestr for managing the SPO process quickly and efficiently on our behalf."

Further details on investment opportunities in the focus categories, in addition to the processes for project selection and progress reporting, are outlined in the sustainable bond framework and Moody's SPO.

About the Tenguel-Ponce Enriquez bioleaching project

Bactech is planning to build a new owner-operated bioleaching facility in Tenguel, Ecuador, in a region where arsenic is associated with sulphide gold ore (arsenopyrite). The company's plan is to build a 50-tonne-per-day (tpd) bioleach plant capable of treating high gold/arsenic material. A 50 tpd plant, processing feed of 1.75 ounces of gold per tonne, similar to feeds available to the company from local miners, would produce approximately 31,000 ounces per year. Plant designs are modular and can be expanded without affecting continuing production. The total concentrate market in the Ponce Enriquez area is estimated to be between 200 and 250 tonnes per day, allowing for increased throughput potential with a larger plant. Bactech has signed an agreement with the government to build a phase 2 plant that would see the addition of 150 to 200 tpd of capacity capable of producing in excess of 100,000 ounces per annum.

Key economic highlights, assuming a base gold price at $1,600 per ounce:

• Pretax NPV (net present value with 5-per-cent discount rate) of $60.7-million;
• Pretax IRR (internal rate of return) of 57.9 per cent;
• Annual gold production of 30,900 ounces;
• Capital cost of $17-million;
• Bioleach operating cost of $212 per tonne;
• Pretax earnings prior to employee bonus of $10.9-million annually;
• Estimated local employee bonus pool of $1.64-million.

In total, there are over 100 small mines operating in the area. Bactech continues to investigate the prospects of establishing additional modern bioleaching facilities across other areas of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Where possible, the company will partner with national and local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and others to assist with the financing of these projects and ensure that they meet the company's high expectations not only for environmental standards, but also for the highest standards in all ESG (environmental, social, governance) considerations.

About Bactech Environmental Corp.

Bactech Environmental is a company that specializes in environmental technology. It uses a process called bioleaching to recover metals like gold, silver, cobalt, nickel and copper, while also safely removing harmful contaminants like arsenic. This process is ecofriendly and uses naturally occurring bacteria that are safe for both humans and the environment. By using its proprietary method of bioleaching, Bactech is able to neutralize toxic concentrates and tailings while also creating profitable opportunities.

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