Mr. Geoff Callow reports

ECORA RESOURCES PLC ANNOUNCES PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Ecora Resources PLC has issued a portfolio update following recent updates from the operators of key projects in Ecora's royalty and stream portfolio.

Corporate

On Dec. 4, 2024, FTSE Russell announced that Ecora Resources will be included in the FTSE U.K. SmallCap Index and the FTSE U.K. All-Share Index. The change is expected to be applied after the close of business on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, and will be effective on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.

Producing royalties

Voisey's Bay (operator: Vale)

On Dec. 3, 2024, Vale Base Metals announced the completion of the Voisey's Bay mine expansion project. Ecora has a stream agreement which entitles it to receive 22.82 per cent of all cobalt production from the Voisey's Bay mine.

The expansion project transitioned Voisey's Bay operations from open-pit to underground mining. This project involved the development of two underground mines -- Reid Brook and Eastern Deeps -- which will deliver concentrate for processing at Vale's Long Harbour processing plant, one of the lowest-emission nickel processing plants in the world. The project will produce 2,600 tonnes per annum of cobalt on average over the life of the mine.

Ecora has received 196 tonnes (14 deliveries) of cobalt year to date (first half of 2024: 56 tonnes (four deliveries)) and expects to receive a further 14 tonnes (one delivery) before the end of the year. In 2025, the group expects to receive between 280 and 392 tonnes of cobalt (20 to 28 deliveries) as production from the underground mine continues to ramp up, with guidance to be updated with the group's Q4 trading update.

Mantos Blancos (operator: Capstone Copper Corp.)

On Oct. 31, 2024, Capstone Copper issued its Q3 results, which included an update on the Mantos Blancos mine. Ecora holds a 1.525-per-cent net smelter return royalty over Mantos Blancos. In July, a successful two-week planned shutdown was completed, which included the installation of a new holding tank and additional pumps in the tailings area in order to address deficiencies identified as preventing the sustained achievement of the 20,000-tonne-per-day throughput capacity from the sulphide operations.

Following a ramp-up in August, ore throughput achieved 18,062 tonnes per day through to the end of Q3, with the plant meeting or exceeding the nameplate capacity of 20,000 tonnes per day on 23 operating days. The overall variability of the milling process has been significantly reduced and higher throughput is expected in Q4 and beyond.

Capstone continues to highlight the potential for a phase II expansion at Mantos Blancos with a feasibility study, looking at increasing mill throughput to 27,000 tonnes per day, expected by the end of 2025.

Capstone is also evaluating the opportunity to reprocess tailings through existing and underutilized SX-EW (solvent extraction/electrowinning) capacity that could increase copper production by approximately 25,000 tonnes per annum for 15 years with no additional mining or crushing costs.

Maracas Menchen (operator: Largo Inc.)

On Nov. 26, 2024, Largo announced that it has filed its National Instrument 43-101 technical report for the updated life-of-mine plan (LOMP) and prefeasibility study (PFS) for its vanadium-titanium operation in Brazil. Ecora has a 2-per-cent net smelter return royalty on all mineral products from the area of the mine to which the royalty interest relates.

The highlights of the LOMP and PFS include a 13-year increase in the reserve-based mine life (out to 2054) and a 67-per-cent increase in mineral reserves.

Development royalties

Piaui (operator: Brazilian Nickel Ltd.)

On Dec. 9, 2024, Brazilian Nickel announced that it had received a letter of interest from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) that expressed DFC's interest in providing the Piaui nickel project (PNP) with a loan facility of up to $550-million (U.S.), representing almost 40 per cent of the PNP's overall financing package. Ecora holds a 1.65-per-cent gross revenue royalty over the PNP.

Nifty (operator: Cyprium Metals Ltd.)

On Nov. 27, 2024, Cyprium Metals published a PFS for the Nifty copper mine complex, over which Ecora has a 1.5-per-cent realized value royalty.

The PFS outlines two stand-alone brownfield processing plants with two distinct sources of ore that can be processed to produce copper products:

• The initial cathode project includes the refurbishment of an existing SX-EW plant to a nameplate annual copper cathode production capacity of approximately 6,000 tonnes per annum. The PFS estimates the initial cathode project will produce an annual average of 6,000 tonnes of copper over four years.
• The copper concentrate project contemplates the restart of mining activities, with an existing concentrator plant to be refurbished and expanded to a nameplate annual ore feed capacity of 4.5 million tonnes per annum. The copper concentrate project is forecast to produce an annual average of 38,700 tonnes of copper during the initial 10 years of production and an annual average of 35,100 tonnes of copper over an estimated 20-year reserve-based mine life.

Amapa (operator: Cadence Minerals PLC)

On Dec. 3, 2024, Cadence Minerals announced an updated PFS on the Amapa iron ore project. Ecora holds a 1-per-cent gross revenue royalty on Amapa.

Highlights of the PFS include a 73-per-cent increase in the after-tax net present value to $1.97-billion (U.S.), with estimated gross revenue of $9-billion (U.S.) over a 15-year mine life. The design of the processing plant has been revised to target production of 67.5 per cent DR-grade (direct reduction) iron ore concentrate at an average rate of 5.5 million metric tonnes per annum.

About Ecora Resources PLC

Ecora Resources is a leading royalty company focused on supporting the supply of commodities essential to creating a sustainable future.

Ecora's vision is to be globally recognized as the royalty company of choice synonymous with commodities that support a sustainable future by continuing to grow and diversify its royalty portfolio in line with the company's strategy. Ecora will achieve this through building a diversified portfolio of scale over high-quality assets that drives low-volatility earnings growth and shareholder returns.

The mining sector has an essential role to play in the energy transition, with commodities such as copper, nickel and cobalt -- key materials for manufacturing batteries and electric vehicles. Copper also plays a critical role in the electricity grids. All these commodities are mined and there are not enough mines in operation today to supply the volume required to achieve the energy transition.

Ecora's strategy is to acquire royalties and streams over low-cost operations and projects with strong management teams, in well-established mining jurisdictions. The company's portfolio has been reweighted to provide material exposure to this commodity basket and the company has successfully transitioned from a coal-oriented royalty business in 2014 to one that by 2026 will be materially coal-free and comprise over-90-per-cent exposure to commodities that support a sustainable future. The fundamental demand outlook for these commodities over the next decade is very strong, which should significantly increase the value of Ecora's royalty portfolio.

Ecora's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange (under the symbol ECOR) and trade on the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: ECRAF).

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