Mr. Zach Flood reports

KENORLAND MINERALS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL METALLURGICAL TEST RESULTS AT THE FROTET PROJECT

Kenorland Minerals Ltd. has released the results of additional metallurgical testing of the Regnault gold system on the Frotet project, located in Northern Quebec and held under joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. (SMMCL).

Metallurgical study highlights include:

• Optimized recoveries of up to 93.3 per cent gold and 90.5 per cent silver for whole ore leaching.

Results of the additional metallurgical study

A preliminary metallurgical study at Regnault was initiated in July, 2022, with the completion of drill hole 22RDD149 (29.20 metres at 16.61 grams per tonne Au, including 9.85 m at 44.89 g/t Au*). The objective was to characterize the amenability of cyanide extraction of Au and Ag. Results of the study, summarized in a press release dated Jan. 18, 2023, indicated promising Au-Ag recoveries, and identified additional steps to further maximize recovery. The follow-up study investigated the effects of gravity separation prior to cyanide leaching, flotation prior to cyanide leaching, finer grinding and the use of an activator to increase reaction kinetics during cyanide leaching (*see press release dated Nov. 14, 2022).

When comparing the different flowsheet options investigated for the Regnault-style ore, the highest recoveries were realized with optimized whole ore leaching, with 93.3 per cent Au and 90.5 per cent Ag recovered. Combined gravity separation and cyanide leaching was 90 per cent for Au and 90.6 per cent for Ag. Flotation testing, when combined with gravity separation and cyanide leaching, was lower than whole ore leaching, at 83.7 per cent Au and 82.1 per cent Ag. Compared with the whole ore leaching process the amount of cyanide contact material that would be reduced by flotation is 5.8 per cent and cyanide consumption is reduced by 65 per cent. These results indicate that the Regnault-style ore is amenable to conventional cyanide leaching with recoveries of up to 93.3 per cent Au and 90.5 per cent Ag.

Details of the metallurgical study

Material from the original program (27.1 m of NQ half drill core from 22RDD149) was used for the additional testing. Samples were crushed to under 1.7 millimetres and thoroughly mixed. One-kilogram samples were split for head assay and various metallurgical testing. The composite head grade was 15.9 g/t Au and 24 g/t Ag. Mineral liberation analysis (MLA) identified gold-silver-telluride, electrum and native gold as the main gold- and silver-bearing mineral species.

The effects of grinding size on whole ore leaching from the preliminary study showed the highest Au recoveries (up to 89.9 per cent) when decreasing grind size from baseline 100 micrometres to 75 micrometres. Testing from the follow-up study reduced grind size to 50 micrometres, increasing recoveries up to 91.8 per cent for Au and 76.3 per cent for Ag.

Whole ore leaching targeting 100-micrometre grind size with the addition of extraction accelerators lead nitrate, sodium citrate and slaked lime were investigated to improve reaction kinetics. Compared with baseline conditions, the addition of sodium citrate increased Au recovery to 88.4 per cent while the other reagents did not increase Au recoveries. Th addition of any of the three accelerators resulted in increased Ag recovery, ranging from 71.9 to 85 per cent.

Parameters of the whole ore leaching process that showed the most promise for maximizing recoveries were combined. Testing targeted 50 micrometres in P80 grind size, leaching duration of 72 hours, one gram/litre NaCN (sodium cyanide) concentration, increased pH of 12.5, dissolved oxygen content of 33 to 38 milligrams/L and addition of sodium citrate as an accelerator. This resulted in recoveries of 93.3 per cent Au and 90.5 per cent Ag, a marked increase when compared with initial study baseline conditions of 85 to 88.7 per cent Au and 63.2 to 69.8 per cent Ag.

Gravity separation was investigated for the possibility of treating in a separate process. A one kg sample split was ground to target grain sizes of 100 micrometres, 200 micrometres and 300 micrometres in P80. The product was diluted and fed to a Knelson concentrator. Recoveries in the gravity concentrate were highest with the 100 micrometres in P80 fraction at 30.2 per cent for Au and 21.3 per cent for Ag with a 1.4-per-cent mass recovery. The gravity concentrate was then subjected to intensive cyanide leaching, where Au and Ag recoveries were 95.5 per cent and 91.7 per cent on a per-unit basis of the concentrate. The gravity tailing was also subjected to cyanide leaching, where recoveries of up to 86 per cent Au and 88.4 per cent Ag were realized. The combined effects of the gravity separation, intensive cyanide leaching of the concentrate and baseline leaching of the gravity tailing resulted in recoveries of 90. per cent Au and 90.6 per cent Ag.

For flotation testing, grinding of a one kg split to target 75 micrometres and 50 micrometres in P80 was placed in a Denver flotation machine and preconditioned. Flotation time was split over three, seven, 15 and 35 minutes, and the effect of higher pH and addition of thiophosphate-type collector was investigated. Recoveries from the 50-micrometre feed size were highest at 83.1 per cent Au and 83.9 per cent Ag with rougher concentrate mass recovery at 7.5 per cent, recovery plateauing at 35 minutes flotation time. Recoveries improved marginally under higher pH conditions, while the addition of thiophosphate-type collector did not appreciably improve recovery. The combined effect of gravity concentrate leaching, gravity tailing flotation and subsequent leaching was calculated at total recoveries of 83.7 per cent for Au and 82.1 per cent for Ag.

About the Frotet project

The Frotet project was first identified by Kenorland in 2017 after completing a regional prospectivity study over the Abitibi and Frotet-Evans greenstone belts of Quebec. The initial 55,921-hectare property was acquired through map staking in March, 2017, and optioned to SMMCL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd., in April, 2018. Two years of property-wide systematic till sampling led to a maiden drill program in 2020 which resulted in a significant grassroots discovery at the prospect now named Regnault. The project is currently under a joint venture agreement between SMMCL and Kenorland Minerals, with interests being held at 80 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. Under the joint venture, exploration is financed pro rata and Kenorland is presently the operator of the project. Any party which does not contribute and is diluted below a 10-per-cent interest, converts its interest to a 2-per-cent uncapped net smelter royalty.

Qualified person

Cedric Mayer, MSc, PGeo (OGQ No. 02385), qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Kenorland Minerals Ltd.

Kenorland Minerals is a mineral exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia and based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Kenorland's focus is early- to advanced-stage exploration in North America. The company currently holds five projects in Quebec where work is being completed under joint venture and earn-in agreements from third parties. The Frotet project and Chicobi project are held under joint venture with Sumitomo, the O'Sullivan project is optioned to Sumitomo, the Chebistuan project is optioned to Newmont Corp., and the Hunter project is held under option to Centerra Gold Inc. In Alaska, the company holds the advanced-stage Tanacross porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum project, optioned to Antofagasta, as well as a 70-per-cent interest in the Healy project, held under joint venture with Newmont.

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