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Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to freeze foreign aid over the weekend included pulling millions of dollars-worth of U.S. funding for ‘condoms in Gaza,’ a White House official told Fox News Digital. 

The revelation came as the official explained that a separate memo from the Office of Management and Budget will temporarily pause grants, loans and federal assistance programs pending a review into whether the funding coincides with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, such as those related to ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the Green New Deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) ‘that undermine the national interest.’ 

‘If the activity is not in conflict with the President’s priorities, it will continue with no issues,’ the White House official told Fox News Digital. ‘This is similar to how HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] stopped the flow of grant money to the WHO [World Health Organization] after President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the organization. Or how the State Department halted several million dollars going to condoms in Gaza this past weekend.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department on Tuesday seeking additional information. 

In her first-ever briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the OBM found ‘that there was about to be $50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza.’

‘That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money. So that’s what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars,’ Leavitt told reporters. She said DOGE and OBM also found $37 million was about to be sent to the WHO before Trump’s executive order breaking ties with the global health body.

The Jerusalem Post reported in 2020 that scores of condoms were being used to create IED-carrying balloons that winds would carry into southern Israel, raising alarm on schoolyards, farmlands and highways. 

At the time, the Post reported that the improvised explosive devices – floated into Israel via inflated contraceptives – burned thousands of hectares of land and caused ‘millions of shekels of damage.’ It’s not clear if the practice continues. 

Just two days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, which involved Hamas terrorists brutally raping some of the approximately 1,200 people killed in southern Israel and hundreds of others brought back into Gaza as hostages, a global NGO known as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) released a statement regarding the resulting war and escalating violence. 

The NGO claimed that any blockade of aid shipments into Gaza would infringe on their ‘enormous gains made in life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare in this region.’ 

‘Palestinians are systematically denied sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights,’ the executive director of a corresponding NGO, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA), said at the time. ‘Our health system has been repeatedly targeted and depleted by the Israeli occupation, and the more it disintegrates, the more it will hinder the full realization of these rights for women and girls.’

On Sunday, Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for review. 

The move came in response to Trump’s executive order, ‘Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,’ issued last week directing a sweeping 90-day pause on most U.S. foreign assistance disbursed through the State Department.

The State Department said Sunday that Rubio was initiating a review of ‘all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.’

‘President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative. The Secretary is proud to protect America’s investment with a deliberate and judicious review of how we spend foreign assistance dollars overseas,’ a State Department spokesperson said Sunday. 

‘The mandate from the American people was clear – we must refocus on American national interests,’ the statement added. ‘The Department and USAID take their role as stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously. The implementation of this Executive Order and the Secretary’s direction furthers that mission. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, ‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’’ 

Rubio had specifically exempted only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign assistance.

On Monday, at least 56 senior USAID officials were placed on leave pending an investigation into alleged efforts to thwart Trump’s orders, the Associated Press reported, citing a current official and a former official at USAID. 

An internal USAID notice sent late Monday and obtained by the AP said new acting administrator Jason Gray had identified ‘several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.’ ‘As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,’ Gray wrote.

The senior agency officials put on leave were experienced employees who had served in multiple administrations, including Trump’s, the former USAID official said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rome prosecutors have opened an investigation against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and two government ministers for repatriating a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the Italian premier announced on Tuesday.

Meloni revealed the investigation over allegedly aiding and abetting Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, in a video posted on social media. She said her justice and interior ministers and an under-secretary are also targeted in the investigation.

Meloni’s government has been under fire from the opposition, human rights groups and the ICC itself for releasing al-Masri on a technicality after he was arrested in the northern city of Turin on a warrant from the international court.

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned his agents of ‘changes’ to come under his leadership in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 

‘There will be changes during my tenure as director,’ the new leader of America’s top spy agency wrote in an agency-wide workforce message. Ratcliffe is currently reviewing all top staff and planning to put his own fingerprints on the senior level of the agency, Fox News Digital has learned. 

‘We will collect intelligence in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult. We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products,’ Ratcliffe went on in his email. 

‘And we will conduct covert action at the direction of the President, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do.’ 

As agents conduct work in what Ratcliffe defined as the ‘most challenging national security environment in our nation’s history,’ he promised the CIA would be the ‘ultimate meritocracy.’

‘Our shared mission will bind us together.’

A source familiar with Ratcliffe’s thinking said, ‘This was a message to Agency’s workforce that the John Brennan era, the Gina Haspel era, the eras of promoting leftwing political agendas or subverting the President — those days are over.’ 

Haspel was President Donald Trump’s CIA director from 2018 to 2021 – while Ratcliffe was Trump’s director of national intelligence. Brennan headed up the agency under former President Barack Obama.  

‘I’m sure it’ll rub some of the political activists burrowed in there the wrong way, but there are a lot of red-blooded, mission-focused agency officers reading this and cheering him on,’ the source added.

Ratcliffe is also looking for ways to streamline the agency’s many tech-focused offices – the directorate of digital innovation; directorate of science and technology; transnational and technology mission center; office of the chief technology officer; and directorate of analysis, which has been developing AI-powered tools – to stake out clear lines of authority and tasks. 

‘Nobody comes to CIA to be somebody. Our successes remain hidden. Even our medals are presented behind closed doors, our sacrifices memorialized by stars on a marble wall. But each one of those stars represents somebody who wanted to do something, regardless of whether history would know their name,’ Ratcliffe continued. 

‘That’s what makes this place special. That’s what we must preserve.’

Ratcliffe was confirmed by the Senate last Thursday in a 74-25 vote. 

Under its new director, the CIA released a new assessment of the COVID-19 origin which favors a lab origin with ‘low confidence.’ 

The review was ordered by former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan toward the end of Biden’s time in office. 

The agency has maintained for years it did not have enough intelligence to conclude whether COVID-19 originated in a lab or a wet market in Wuhan, China.

Ratcliffe recently told Breitbart News he no longer wanted the CIA to sit ‘on the sidelines’ of the debate over the origins of Covid-19. He has long said he believes the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

‘I had the opportunity on my first day to make public an assessment that actually took place in the Biden administration, so it can’t be accused of being political,’ he told ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.  

‘And the CIA has assessed that the most likely cause of this pandemic that has wrought so much devastation around the world was because of a lab-related incident in Wuhan, so we’ll continue to investigate that moving forward.’ 

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Dr. Dorothy Fink, acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that the agency would begin reevaluating its current practices to ensure they are not utilizing federal dollars to promote non-medically necessary abortions.

HHS’s Office of Civil Rights has been tasked with investigating whether the agency’s programs, regulations and guidance are following federal guidelines under the Hyde Amendment, according to a Monday announcement from Fink. The review, Fink noted, will be conducted via guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

‘The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office for Civil Rights, is tasked with enforcement of many of our nation’s laws that protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious exercise,’ Fink said in the announcement. ‘It shall be a priority of the Department to strengthen enforcement of these laws.’ 

The announcement from Fink is in line with President Donald Trump’s Jan. 24 executive order calling on all executive agencies to enforce laws under the Hyde Amendment, which prevents the use of federal funds for non-medically necessary, elective abortions. Trump’s Jan. 24 executive order also rescinded two executive orders implemented by President Joe Biden that sought to loosen restrictions on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. 

‘Congress has enacted the Hyde Amendment and a series of additional laws to protect taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion,’ stated a ‘fact sheet’ published Saturday by the White House. ‘Contrary to this longstanding commonsense policy, the previous administration embedded federal funding of elective abortion in a wide variety of government programs.’

Notably, Fink’s announcement about the agency-wide review came amid an external communications freeze implemented by the Trump administration. While essential agency functions have been permitted to continue under the freeze, these functions are not supposed to be promoted until it is over, according to a memo reportedly sent to officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from NIH acting Director Matthew Memoli.

Fox News Digital reached out to Fink and HHS to inquire about why this announcement about reevaluating its practices to ensure they align with the Hyde Amendment was permitted amid the communications freeze, but did not hear back in time for publication. 

In addition to announcing HHS’ plans to reevaluate programs under the Hyde Amendment, Fink’s announcement also praised the Trump administration’s decision to immediately rejoin the international Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women’s Health and Strengthening the Family. 

According to a memo from the State Department, the declaration seeks to ‘secure meaningful health and development gains for women,’ ‘protect life at all stages,’ ‘defend the family as the fundamental unit of society,’ and ‘work together across the United Nations system to realize these values.’ Fink said in her Monday announcement that HHS’s Office of Global Affairs intends to support the U.S.’ efforts as part of this coalition.

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The White House has issued a memo that temporarily suspends federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs for executive departments pending an assessment of the funding. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported the memo, saying it was sent out by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) around 5 p.m. on Monday. 

A White House official told Fox News Digital that the memo was initially ‘misreported’ and does not constitute a funding freeze on federal financial assistance across the board. The official said the pause is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities that may be impacted by President Donald Trump’s executive orders, such as ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the Green New Deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that the White House suspect undermine national interest. 

The memo exempts any program that provides direct benefits to Americans from the review process. That includes Social Security, Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the official said. 

‘This is a good government measure to ensure that taxpayer money is being spent in accordance with law and the President’s policies,’ the official said in defense of the memo. ‘The Biden Administration forced their extreme ideological views into every corner of government and weaponized the government against the American people. They were taking actions up until the last hours trying to tie the hands of President Trump from delivering for the American people.’ 

The White House official told Fox News Digital that the pause is not yet in effect and ‘was designed to give agencies lead time to begin determining which programs are not affected and which programs will need to be reviewed for conformity with the President’s executive orders.’ The official further explained that the directive includes a ‘safety valve’ that the pause ‘shall only occur as consistent with law, which will allow agencies to review spending in conformity with applicable laws.’ 

‘If the activity is not in conflict with the President’s priorities, it will continue with no issues,’ the White House official told Fox News Digital. ‘This is similar to how HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] stopped the flow of grant money to the WHO [World Health Organization] after President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the organization. Or how the State Department halted several million dollars going to condoms in Gaza this past weekend.’  

The memo, which takes effect Tuesday at 5 p.m., said agencies ‘must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal,’ according to the Journal. 

The memo reportedly said the federal government spent more than $3 trillion on federal assistance, including grants and loans, in the 2024 fiscal year and that the pause allows ‘time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.’

Each agency must ‘complete a comprehensive analysis of all their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders,’ the memo continued, according to the Journal, adding that the pause must be applied ‘to the extent permissible under applicable law.’ 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned the memo, telling the Journal that pausing the funding puts ‘billions upon billions of community grants and financial support that help millions of people across the country’ at risk. 

‘It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities, state disaster assistance, local law enforcement, aid to the elderly, and food for those in need,’ Schumer said, adding that Congress approved the funding for the federal assistance programs.

However, the White House official denied that the memo would result in any devastating effects on programs, explaining to Fox News Digital that the OMB explicitly instructed agencies to identify programs with immediate deadlines so that ‘exceptions can be granted without any program impact.’ It does not constitute a permeant stop of the funds. 

The pause ‘could be as short as a day if an agency determines that the funds at issue do not conflict with the Administration’s policies,’ the official said. ‘To act as faithful stewards of taxpayer money, new administrations must review federal programs to ensure that they are being executed in accordance with the law and the new President’s policies. If the pause will have an adverse impact, the memo expressly provides that agencies can seek exemptions on a case-by-case basis.’

The memo included a footnote that said Medicare, Social Security benefits and assistance provided directly to individuals were exempt from the pause, but its otherwise broad language caused confusion Monday night among some federal employees, as administrators requested advice from their internal counsel regarding which programs the pause applied to and how the departments should respond, one source told the Journal. 

The memo included a Feb. 10 deadline for agencies to submit a thorough summary of all paused programs, projects and activities to the Office of Management and Budget.

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China’s influence on the Panama Canal poses ‘acute risks to U.S. national security,’ Sen. Ted Cruz is warning Tuesday, alleging the Chinese Communist Party has taken a ‘militaristic interest’ in the vital global shipping passage. 

The Texas Republican told lawmakers during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing that President Donald Trump recently has highlighted two key issues — ‘the danger of China exploiting or blocking passage through the canal’ and ‘the exorbitant costs for transit.’  

‘Chinese companies are right now building a bridge across the canal at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade. And Chinese companies control container ports at either end. The partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning and the ports give China ready observation posts to time that action,’ said Cruz, who is the chairman of the committee. 

‘This situation I believe poses acute risks to U.S. national security,’ he added. 

‘Meanwhile, the high fees for canal transit disproportionately affect Americans because U.S. cargo accounts for nearly three quarters for canal transits. U.S. Navy vessels pay additional fees that apply only to warships. Canal profits regularly exceed $3 billion dollars,’ Cruz continued. ‘This money comes from both American taxpayers and consumers in the form of higher costs for goods.’ 

Cruz’s comments come as newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.  

Trump said during his inauguration speech last week that ‘China is operating the Panama Canal’ and ‘we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.’ 

Panama is denying the Chinese influence, with President José Raúl Mulino saying that ‘There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,’ according to the Associated Press.

However, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Louis Sola testified Tuesday that ‘Since 2015, Chinese companies have increased their presence and influence throughout Panama. 

‘Panama became a member of the Belt and Road Initiative and ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Chinese companies have been able to pursue billions of dollars and development contracts in Panama, many of which were projects directly on or adjacent to the Panama Canal,’ he told lawmakers. ‘Many were no bid contracts, labor laws were waived, and the Panama and Panamanian people are still waiting to see how they’ve been benefited. 

‘It is all more concerning that many of these companies are state-owned and in some cases even designated as linked to the People’s Liberation Army,’ Sola added. ‘We must address the significant growing presence and influence of China throughout the Americas and in Panama specifically.’ 

Cruz also said during the hearing that the Chinese Communist Party has taken a ‘militaristic interest in the canal’ and that ‘Panama has emerged as a bad actor.’ 

‘Panama has for years flagged dozens of vessels in the Iranian ghost fleet, which brought Iran tens of billions of dollars in oil profits to fund terror across the world,’ Cruz said. 

‘We cannot turn a blind eye if Panama exploits an asset of vital commercial and military importance, and we cannot stay idle while China is on the march in our hemisphere,’ he concluded. 

Fox News’ Nick Kalman and Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

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The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went on a memo blitz Monday, sending at least three letters to federal agency leaders on directives stretching from return to office instructions to pausing federal grants, copies of the memos obtained by Fox News Digital show. 

President Donald Trump’s administration already has issued a handful of directives aimed at federal agency heads since he took office Jan. 20, including ordering agency chiefs to shutter diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices, which was followed by another memo to begin terminating DEI chiefs. 

On Monday, the OMB, an executive office that evaluates agency programs and handles the president’s budget, and OPM, an independent agency that serves as the federal government’s human resources department, issued memos on Monday to further move federal agencies in line with the president’s vision of government. 

Return to office plans 

A joint OMB and OPM memo sent Monday regarding return to office plans outlined that agency heads have until Feb. 7 to provide a plan on returning staff schedules to full-time in-person work. 

Agencies must ‘prepare plans to expeditiously implement’ the memo and submit their plans ‘for review and approval by no later than Friday, February 7th at 5:00pm EST,’ the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, states. 

The directive, addressed to ‘heads of executive departments and agencies,’ detailed that agency chiefs must craft plans that include details such as how they will ‘revise telework agreements for all eligible employees,’ as well as ‘provide timelines for the return of all eligible employees to in-person work as expeditiously as possible, including the date that the agency will be in full compliance,’ and ‘describe agency’s process for determining exceptions based on disability, qualifying medical condition, and or other compelling reason.’

Trump reflects on return to office: Showed

Both the acting director of OMB, Matthew J. Vaeth, and OPM acting director, Charles Ezell, issued the memo. 

The directive comes after Trump railed against federal employees working from home years after the pandemic and social distancing mandates ended. On his first day in office, Trump issued a presidential action calling on federal agencies to terminate remote work. 

Executive branch department and agency heads ‘shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,’ the Jan. 20 presidential action read. 

Pausing federal grants and loans in effort to end ‘wokeness’ 

The OMB issued another memo on Monday that pauses all federal grants and loans, out of an effort to end ”wokeness’ and the weaponization of government,’ and to promote ‘efficiency in government.’ 

‘Federal agencies must temporarily pauseall activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,’ the memo, obtained by Fox Digital reads. 

The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

The memo explained that out of the $10 trillion spent by the federal government in fiscal year 2024, $3 trillion was allocated to ‘federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans.’

Trump is bringing ‘head-snapping’ change to Washington: Jesse Watters

‘Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,’ the memo states. ‘Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again.’ 

The memo was sent to all heads of executive departments and agencies by Vaeth. 

‘The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,’ it adds. 

Agency chiefs are required to submit ‘detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to this pause’ to the OMB by Feb. 10 for review. 

New federal employee classification 

Agency leaders were directed in another memo sent Monday by OPM to review government positions that could be moved to the Trump administration’s new ‘schedule policy/career’ federal employee classification. 

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office focused on federal employees who hold sway over policy decisions, as part of an effort to ‘maintain professionalism and accountability within the civil service,’ which Trump’s order said was ‘sorely lacking.’ 

The executive order created a new ‘schedule policy/career’ federal employee classification, which will work to remove civil protections from federal employees in ‘policy-influencing’ positions, making the individuals more vulnerable for termination. 

Trump’s executive order creates a new classification ‘for positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy- advocating character (policy-influencing positions) and filled by individuals not normally subject to replacement or change as a result of a Presidential transition. Such career positions will be rescheduled into Schedule Policy/Career,’ the memo stated. 

The memo states that agency leaders have until April 20 to craft a plan on positions that would shift to the new classification. The 90-day period for review began on Jan. 20, when Trump signed the executive order. 

‘Agencies have 90 days to conduct a preliminary review of positions and submit petitions, with an additional 120 days to finalize their review and submit any remaining petitions,’ the memo reads. ‘Agencies may, and are encouraged to, submit such petitions on a rolling basis.’ 

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: Dozens of top former intelligence officials are urging members of the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, saying she will ‘begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies,’ Fox News Digital has learned. 

Former White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, Navy SEAL veteran and member of the intelligence community Erik Prince and more than four dozen other former intelligence officials penned a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., on Monday, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. 

‘We, the undersigned former intelligence and national security officials, urge members of the United States Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to serve as President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence,’ they wrote. ‘Her service as DNI will begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies, which has been to the great detriment of the freedom and security of the United States and its citizens.’ 

The officials said Gabbard’s experience ‘more than qualifies her for this important position.’ 

Gabbard is a military officer with more than 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments. She also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years and served on numerous national security committees. 

The officials said Gabbard was ‘an outspoken champion for America’s warriors and for our cherished constitutional freedoms.’ 

‘In both these roles, she experienced first-hand how intelligence, when used as intended, provides critical support to America’s military and political leaders,’ they wrote. ‘When intelligence was abused, Lt. Col. Gabbard spoke up and insisted on safeguards.’

The officials said that ‘in contrast to the many former senior intelligence officials who politicized their profession and disgraced themselves by running misinformation operations to undermine the President of the United States—such as by signing the infamous Biden laptop ‘Russian disinformation’ letter or appearing on partisan programs to knowingly mislead the public with false claims of inside knowledge and access to classified information—Lt. Col. Gabbard stood up for truth, integrity, and following the facts.’ 

The officials said those are ‘precisely the values necessary for the leader of the intelligence community.’ 

‘As former collectors, analysts, consumers, and enablers of intelligence, we support Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard to lead the IC,’ they wrote. ‘She has the integrity, and moral courage, to restore objectivity and professionalism to the nation’s intelligence agencies.’ 

The letter comes as Gabbard has come under scrutiny from some senators who have been critical of her intelligence experience. 

But allies of Gabbard have defended her record, and said it is critical that someone with ‘fresh eyes’ and ‘without bias’ lead the intelligence community. They also have argued that Gabbard knows, firsthand, the consequences of inaccurate intelligence, given her service in the War on Terror. 

‘She has seen the true cost of war,’ a source close to Gabbard’s confirmation process told Fox News Digital. 

‘It is a strength, not a weakness, that she doesn’t have direct prior intel agency experience,’ the source continued. ‘She has been a consumer during her time deployed overseas — but not having direct agency background is a strength as she will come in with clear eyes and no bias to the intel community which needs to regain the trust of the American people and not be used as a political tool weaponized against them.’ 

Gabbard’s confirmation hearing with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is scheduled to take place Thursday morning. 

Trump has argued that Gabbard will bring a ‘fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights and securing Peace through Strength.’ 

The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters. 

Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves since 2021, after previously serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for about 17 years. She was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after she entered the 2020 White House race. 

Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent before becoming a member of the GOP in 2024 and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign. 

Gabbard has received the support of dozens of national security officials, and in December received endorsements from more than 250 veterans, including high-profile names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn and former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.

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A transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatments has launched the first lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that puts an end to medical transgender treatments for federal prisoners.

Trump’s executive order, titled ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,’ prohibits federal funds from being ‘expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.’ The order also declares there are only ‘two-sexes.’

The unnamed inmate, who goes by ‘Maria Moe’ in court documents and is represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, has been on medical hormones since they were a teenager and has not been housed in a men’s facility since their conviction. 

Once Trump signed the executive order, Moe was transferred to a men’s prison facility, and BOP records changed the sex from ‘female’ to ‘male,’ the complaint says.

The lawsuit, first reported by Reuters, claims Trump’s executive order will lead to transgender women ‘who are incarcerated in federal prisons’ being ‘unlawfully transferred to men’s facilities and denied medically necessary healthcare.’

‘If Maria Moe is transferred to a men’s facility, she will not be safe,’ the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Sunday, claims. ‘She will be at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault. She may be subject to strip searches by male correctional officers.’

‘She may be forced to shower in full view of men who are incarcerated. And she will predictably experience worsening gender dysphoria,’ the complaint continued.

Moe is claiming Trump and the BOP are violating the Fifth and Eighth Amendments and claims they are ‘at imminent risk of losing access to the medical care she needs to treat her gender dysphoria.’

Prior to Trump’s reversal of BOP gender dysphoria policies, the BOP began funding transgender surgical procedures for transgender inmates in December 2022, with Donna Langan – formerly known as Peter Kevin Langan – becoming the first federal prisoner to undergo transition on the taxpayer dollar. Langan was convicted in 1997 for involvement in a series of armed bank robberies across the Midwest during the 1990s. Langan was a leader of the Aryan Republican Army, a White supremacist group that carried out these robberies to fund their activities, according to court documents.

Langan’s gender transition followed years of advocacy and legal action, including a landmark settlement in 2021, when the BOP agreed to provide gender transition surgery to Cristina Nichole Iglesias, who was convicted in 1994 for threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction against British officials.

In the past year, multiple lawsuits have been filed over the denial of gender transition treatments for incarcerated individuals. Autumn Cordellioné, a transgender woman serving 55 years in Indiana for the murder of their 11-month-old stepdaughter, sued the state for refusing to conduct transgender surgery.

In April 2024, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice sued Utah’s Department of Corrections, alleging it created unnecessary barriers to gender dysphoria treatment for inmates.

In September 2024, Reiyn Keohane, a transgender woman imprisoned in Florida, filed suit against the state’s Department of Corrections. Keohane alleged officials violated the Eighth Amendment for discontinuing hormone therapy and access to female clothing and grooming products, despite Keohane’s prior diagnosis and treatment for gender dysphoria.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Moe’s attorneys, the White House and BOP.

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Cygnus Metals Limited (ASX: CY5; TSXV: CYG) (‘Cygnus’ or the ‘Company’) refers to its announcement titled ‘Cygnus increases highly prospective, under-explored ground position by 50%’ released to ASX on 9 January 2025 (‘First Announcement’) and its announcement titled ‘Cygnus’ first drill hole returns up to 9.1% Cu outside Resource’ released to ASX on 23 January 2025 (‘Second Announcement’).

Clarifications regarding First Announcement

In discussions with the Company subsequent to the release of the First Announcement, the Australian Securities Exchange (‘ASX’) has requested the below:

  • Clarification regarding the assumptions used in the copper metal equivalents calculations provided by Cygnus on the NI 43-101 compliant Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chibougamau Project in the First Announcement; and
  • Further information regarding metallurgical test work completed to support the Company’s metallurgical recovery assumptions provided in this clarification announcement.

The Company wishes to provide further information on these assumptions and the metallurgical test work previously completed by Doré Copper Mining Corp (‘Doré’), but emphasises that the clarification does not affect the Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate or the Copper Equivalent (‘CuEq’) figures as set out in Appendix A of the First Announcement and as first disclosed by the Company on 15 October 2024.

Note 6 of Appendix A on page 6 of the First Announcement is replaced with the following (‘First Clarification’):

‘Metal equivalents for the foreign estimate have been calculated at a copper price of US$8,750/t, gold price of US$2,350/oz. Copper equivalent was calculated based on the formula CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + (Au(g/t) x 0.77258). Metallurgical recovery factors have been applied to the copper equivalents calculation, with copper metallurgical recovery assumed at 95% and gold metallurgical recovery assumed at 85% based upon historical production at the Chibougamau Processing Facility and more recent metallurgical test work. It is the Company’s view that all elements in the copper equivalent calculations have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.’

The Company confirms that the Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate and metal equivalents calculation do not contain any other metals, including silver. In fact, the inclusion of silver represents a further opportunity for the Company and will be reviewed in future work.

Other than the First Clarification above, there are no changes to the First Announcement.

In support of the First Clarification, attached to this announcement are the results of metallurgical test work previously completed by Doré.

Clarifications regarding Second Announcement

In discussions with the Company subsequent to the release of the Second Announcement, the ASX has requested that the Company provide further information regarding two of the three electromagnetic (‘EM’) plates referred to in Figures 1 and 2 of the Second Announcement in accordance with ASX Listing Rules 5.6 and 5.7.

The Company wishes to note that the two additional untested EM plates to the south of the new EM plate referred to in the Second Announcement were identified from geophysics programs conducted by previous owners of the Chibougamau Project and provides the additional information set out in the Appendix to this clarification announcement (‘Second Clarification’).

A fixed loop EM (‘FLEM’) survey was conducted in 2007 by Crone Geophysics for Novawest Resources. Results from this survey, which Southern Geoscience Consultants (‘SGC’) has reprocessed for Cygnus, highlighted a conductor to the south of the Corner Bay deposit. A downhole EM (‘DHEM’) survey was conducted by Doré in 2021 on drillhole CB-21-93. The survey, which SGC has reprocessed for Cygnus, highlighted a further conductor to the south of the Corner Bay deposit.

Other than the Second Clarification, there are no changes to the Second Announcement.

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Directors of Cygnus.

David Southam
Managing Director
T: +61 8 6118 1627
E: info@cygnusmetals.com
Ernest Mast
President & Managing Director
T: +1 647 921 0501
E: info@cygnusmetals.com
Media:
Paul Armstrong
Read Corporate
+61 8 9388 1474


About Cygnus Metals

Cygnus Metals Limited (ASX: CY5, TSXV: CYG) is a diversified critical minerals exploration and development company with projects in Quebec, Canada and Western Australia. The Company is dedicated to advancing its Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project in Quebec with an aggressive exploration program to drive resource growth and develop a hub-and-spoke operation model with its centralised processing facility. In addition, Cygnus has quality lithium assets with significant exploration upside in the world-class James Bay district in Quebec, and REE and base metal projects in Western Australia. The Cygnus team has a proven track record of turning exploration success into production enterprises and creating shareholder value.

Qualified Persons and Compliance Statements

The scientific and technical information relating to metal equivalents in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ms Laurence Huss, the Quebec In-Country Manager of Cygnus, a ‘qualified person’ as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Company first announced the foreign estimate of mineralisation for the Chibougamau Project on 15 October 2024. The Company confirms that the supporting information included in the announcement of 15 October 2024 continues to apply other than in respect of the Clarification, and (notwithstanding the Clarification) has not materially changed.

Cygnus confirms that (notwithstanding the Clarification) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original announcement and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the original announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. Cygnus confirms that it is not in possession of any new information or data that materially impacts on the reliability of the estimates or Cygnus’ ability to verify the foreign estimates as mineral resources in accordance with the JORC Code. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons’ findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.

The scientific and technical information relating to exploration results in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr Louis Beaupre, the Quebec Exploration Manager of Cygnus, a ‘qualified person’ as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Exploration Results disclosed in this announcement are based on and fairly represent information and supporting documentation compiled by Mr Beaupre. Mr Beaupre holds options in Cygnus. Mr Beaupre is a member of the Ordre des ingenieurs du Quebec (P Eng), a Registered Overseas Professional Organisation as defined in the ASX Listing Rules, and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr Beaupre consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which they appear.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Appendix – Second Clarification

Section 1 (Sampling Techniques and Data) and Section 2 (Reporting of Exploration Results) of Appendix C (2012 JORC Table 1) of the Second Announcement are deleted and replaced as follows:

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary
Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling.
  • All current drilling conducted at the Chibougamau Project was completed under the supervision of a registered professional geologist as a Qualified Person (QP) who is responsible and accountable for the planning, execution, and supervision of all exploration activity as well as the implementation of quality assurance programs and reporting.
  • All drilling reported is NQ2 (47.8 mm diameter)
  • DHEM surveys have been completed on surface drillholes
  • Historic FLEM surveys were acquired from surface
  • Historic FLEM stations were planned along survey lines perpendicular to geological strike
Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used.
  • NQ core was marked for splitting during logging and is sawn using a diamond core saw with a mounted jig to assure the core is cut lengthwise into equal halves.
  • Half of the cut core is placed in clean individual plastic bags with the appropriate sample tag.
  • The remaining half of the core is retained and incorporated into Cygnus’s secure, core library located on the property
  • No samples were taken for the electromagnetic survey work.
Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report.

In cases where ‘industry standard’ work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg ‘reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay’). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information.

  • Industry standard sampling practices were used with sample lengths ranging from 0.3 m to 1.0 m and respected geological contacts. Sample tags were placed at the beginning of each sample interval and the tag numbers were recorded in an MS Excel database.
  • Sampling practice is considered to be appropriate to the geology and style of mineralisation
Drilling techniques Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc).
  • Diamond core was drilled using surface diamond rigs with industry recognised contractors Miikan Drilling. Miikan is a joint venture between Chibougamau Diamond Drilling Ltd., the First Nations community of Ouje-Bougoumou and the First Nations community of Mistissini both located in the Eeyou Istchee territory.
  • Drilling was conducted using NQ core size
  • Directional surveys have been taken at 50m intervals
Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed.

Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples.

Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material.

  • Diamond core recovery was measured for each run and calculated as a percentage of the drilled interval.
  • Overall, the core recoveries are excellent in the Chibougamau area
  • No drilling was undertaken for the electromagnetic survey work.
Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies.
  • All core was geologically and geotechnically logged. Lithology, veining, alteration and mineralisation are recorded in multiple tables of the drillhole database
  • No logging was undertaken for the electromagnetic survey work.
Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography.
  • Geological logging of core is qualitative and descriptive in nature.
The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged.
  • 100% of the core has been logged
Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken.

If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry.

For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique.

Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples.

Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in-situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling.

Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled.

  • The NQ2 diameter the core was sawn in half following a sample cutting line determined by geologists during logging and submitted for analysis on nominal 1m intervals or defined by geological boundaries determined by the logging geologist
  • Each core sample is assigned a tag with a unique identifying number. Sample lengths are typically one metre but can be depending on zone mineralogy and boundaries.
  • This sampling technique is industry standard and deemed appropriate.
  • No subsampling was undertaken for the electromagnetic survey work.
Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total.
  • Sample (NQ size half core) preparation and fire assay analysis were done at Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd (‘BV’) in Timmins, Ontario, and ICP-ES multi-elements analysis was done at BV in Vancouver, B.C.
  • Samples were weighed, dried, crushed to 70% passing 2 mm, split to 250 g, and pulverized to 85% passing 75 µm.
  • Samples are fire assayed for gold (Au) (30 g) and multi-acid digestion ICP-ES finish, for 23 elements (including key elements Ag, Cu, Mo).
  • Samples assaying >10.0 g/t Au are re-analysed with a gravimetric finish using a 30 g charge. Samples assaying >10% Cu are re-analysed with a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-ES analysis using a 0.25 g charge.
For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc.
  • CY5 commissioned Southern Geoscience Consultants (SGC) of Perth to supervise and plan the recent DHEM surveys that were acquired by Géophysique TMC
  • SGC were also commissioned to reinterpret some DHEM collected by Géophysique TMC from 2021
  • Survey Details for DHEM
    • Survey Configuration: Downhole TEM (DHTEM)
    • TX Loop Size: 620 x 450m
    • Transmitter: Crone Geophysics Pulse Transmitter
    • Receiver: Crone Geophysics Pulse Receiver
    • Sensor: Crone Geophysics 3 component dB/dt induction coil
    • Component Directions: Axial (A), and cross-hole (U and V)
    • Station Spacing: 10m with 5m infill
    • TX Frequency: 5 Hz
    • Duty cycle: 50%
    • Current: 20 Amps
    • Powerline Frequency: 60 Hz
    • Base frequency: 50 msec
    • Stacks: 256 stacks per reading
  • CY5 also commissioned SGC to reprocess the historic FLEM that was conducted in 2007 under the supervision of Crone Geophysics and Exploration Ltd
    • The equipment used on this project was a Crone Pulse EM Surface system. This includes a 4.8kW transmitter with a 240V voltage regulator powered by an 11 hp motor generator. The Crone Digital Receiver was used to collect the field data. The synchronization between the Transmitter and the Receiver was maintained by crystal clock synchronization for surface work
      • TX Loop Size: 900 x 800m
      • Ramp Time: 1.5ms
      • Current: 15 amps
      • Time Base: 16.66 msec
Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precision have been established.
  • Laboratory QC procedures involve the use of internal certified reference material as assay standards, along with blanks, duplicates and replicates
  • Geophysical data was recorded on a Crone Geophysics Pulse Receiver then emailed to SGC for analysis and verification
Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel.
  • No sampling was undertaken for the electromagnetic survey work.
The use of twinned holes.
  • No hole is twinned
Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.
  • All logging data was completed, core marked up, logging and sampling data was entered directly into the database.
  • The logged data is stored on the site server directly.
Discuss any adjustment to assay data.
  • There was no adjustment to the assay data
Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.
  • The location of the drillholes and the aiming points for the orientation of the drillholes were indicated on the ground using identified stakes. The stakes marking the location of the drillholes were set up and located with a Garmin GPS model ‘GPSmap 62s’ (4m accuracy)
  • Surveys are collected using a Reflex EZ-Shot® single-shot electronic instrument with readings collected at intervals of approximately every 30 m downhole plus a reading at the bottom of the hole
  • Surface geophysical measurement locations were determined using a hand-held GPS. The accuracy of this unit at most sample sites was +/- 3m to 5m
  • The DHEM station positions are estimated using a winch counter that measures to the nearest cm accuracy with gyro survey files to accurately locate the survey stations in space.
  • FLEM stations were planned perpendicular to geological strike, and all were surveyed with hand-held GPS
Specification of the grid system used.
  • The grid system used is UTM NAD83 (Zone 18)
Quality and adequacy of topographic control.
  • A Digital Terrane Model (DTM) has been used to accurately plot the vertical position of the holes
Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results.
  • The drill spacing is considered appropriate for this type of exploration
  • DHEM is 10m stations with 5m and 1m infill and FLEM data is 100m station spacing
  • The station spacings are considered to be sufficient for sampling the anomalous response for detailed quantitative modelling
Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied.

  • No resource estimation is made
Whether sample compositing has been applied.
  • No sample compositing has been applied
Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type.
  • Drilling is orientated approximately at right angles to the currently interpreted strike of the known interpreted mineralisation. Reported intersections appear close to true width
  • FLEM stations were planned perpendicular to geological strike
  • DHEM surveys records 3D data and target orientation relative to the survey orientation is not deemed to be important in the modelling
If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material.

  • No bias is considered to have been introduced by the existing sampling orientation
Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security.
  • Core was placed in wooden core boxes close to the drill rig by the drilling contractor. The core was collected daily by the drilling contractor and delivered to the secure core logging facility. Access to the core logging facility is limited to Cygnus employees or designates
Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data.
  • No audits have been undertaken, therefore information on audits or reviews is not yet available


Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)

Criteria JORC Code Explanation Commentary
Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings.
  • The data reported within this announcement is from the Chibougamau Project. The Chibougamau project consists of 3 properties which includes:
    • Copper Rand (1 mining license, 19 mining concession and 147 exploration claims)
    • Corner Bay – Devlin (1 mining license, 111 exploration claims)
    • Joe Mann (2 mining concessions, 74 exploration claims)
  • Copper Rand and Corner Bay – Devlin are held 100% by CBAY minerals Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dore Copper.
  • 767ha of the Joe Mann property is held by CBAY with the remaining 1965ha held under option agreement with Resources Jessie.
  • The properties collectively making up the Project are in good standing based on the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources Naturelles) GESTIM claim management system of the Government of Québec.
The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area.
  • All tenure is in good standing
Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties.
  • The Chibougamau Copper and Gold project comprising Corner Bay, Devlin, Cedar Bay and Joe Mann have seen an extensive exploration history dating back to the early 1900s. The PEA (as referred to in the Company’s announcement of 15 October 2024) provides a detailed history of the exploration activities undertaken by previous explorers.
  • Corner Bay was first identified as a prospect in 1956
    • 1956 – 1972 eight drilling programs totalling 1,463 m and various geophysical and electromagnetic (EM) surveys
    • 1973 – 1981 Riocanex and Flanagan McAdam: ground geophysical surveys and 43 diamond drill holes
    • 1982 – 1984 Riocanex and Corner Bay Exploration: 38 drill holes and metallurgical test work
    • 1988 – 1991 Corner Bay Exploration: diamond drilling, geophysical surveys and geological characterisation with initial MRE
    • 1992 – 1994 SOQUEM optioned and acquired a 30% interest, and completed diamond drilling
    • 1994 Explorations Cache Inc and Ressources MSV Inc: diamond drilling
    • 2004 – 2006 GéoNova and MSV: 98 diamond drill holes and first Technical Report on the Corner Bay project reporting a MRE
    • 2007 – 2009 Campbell: diamond drilling and bulk sample
    • 2012 – 2019 CBAY / AmAuCu: diamond drilling and MRE
  • Devlin identified in 1972 by airborne survey flown by the MERN
    • 1979 – 1981 diamond drilling, geophysical surveys
    • 1981 development commenced
  • Joe Mann identified in 1950 with the commencement of mining activities occurring in 1956
    • The Joe Mann mine operated underground during three different periods from 1956 to 2007
    • In July 2012, Ressources Jessie acquired the Joe Mann mine property, but conducted only surface exploration work
  • Cedar Bay was discovered prior to 1927 by Chibougamau McKenzie Mines Ltd
    • From initial discovery to 2013 various surface and underground drilling campaigns and geophysical surveys undertaken by various companies
Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation.
  • Corner Bay and Devlin are located at the northeastern extremity of the Abitibi subprovince in the Superior province of the Canadian Shield and are examples of Chibougamau-type copper-gold deposits. The Abitibi subprovince is considered as one of the largest and best-preserved greenstone belts in the world and hosts numerous gold and base metal deposits.
  • The Corner Bay deposit is located on the southern flank of the Doré Lake Complex (DLC). It is hosted by a N 15° trending shear zone more or less continuous with a strong 75° to 85° dip towards the west. The host anorthosite rock is sheared and sericitized over widths of 2 m to 25 m. The deposit is cut by a diabase dyke and is limited to the north by a fault structure and to the south by the LaChib deformation zone.
  • The Corner Bay deposit consists of three main mineralized lodes (subparallel Main Lode 1 and Main Lode 2 above the dyke, and Main Lode below the dyke that make up the bulk of the deposit. The Corner Bay deposit has been traced over a strike length to over 1,100 m to a depth of 1,350 m and remains open at depth.
  • The mineralization is characterized by veins and/or lenses of massive to semi-massive sulphides associated with a brecciated to locally massive quartz-calcite material. The sulphide assemblage is composed of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and pyrrhotite with lesser amounts of molybdenite and sphalerite. Late remobilized quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite veins occur in a wide halo around the main mineralization zones.
  • Devlin is a flat-lying, copper-rich lodes-hosted deposit in a polygenic igneous breccia that is less than 100 m from the surface. The tabular bodies have been modelled as four nearly horizontal lodes: a more continuous lower zone and three smaller lodes comprising the upper zone. Mineralization is reflected as a fracture zone often composed of two or more sulphide-quartz lodes and stringers. Thickness of the mineralized zones range from 0.5 m to 4.4 m. It has been diluted during modelling to reflect a minimum mining height of 1.8 m.
  • The Joe Mann deposit is characterized by east-west striking shear hosted lodes that extend beyond 1,000 m vertically with mineralization identified over a 3 km strike length. These shear zones form part of the Opawica-Guercheville deformation zone, a major deformation corridor cutting the mafic volcanic rocks of the Obatogamau Formation in the north part of the Caopatina Segment. The gabbro sill hosts the Main Zone and the West Zone at the mine, while the South Zone is found in the rhyolite. These three subvertical E-W (N275°/85°) ductile-brittle shear zones are sub-parallel to stratigraphy and to one another, with up to 140 m to 170 m of separation between them. These shear zones are hosted within a stratigraphic package composed of iron-magnesium (Fe-Mg) carbonate and sericite altered gabbro sills, sheared basalts, and intermediate to felsic tuffs intruded by various felsic intrusions. The Joe Mann gold mineralization is hosted by decimetre scale quartz-carbonate lodes (Dion and Guha 1988). The lodes are mineralized with pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite disposed in lens and lodelets parallel to schistosity, and occasionally visible gold. There are some other minor, mineralized structures, e.g., North and South-South Zones, with limited vertical and horizontal extensions.
Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes:
  • easting and northing of the drill hole collar
  • elevation or RL (Reduced Level – elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar
  • dip and azimuth of the hole
  • down hole length and interception depth
  • hole length.

If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case.

  • All requisite drillhole information is tabulated elsewhere in this release. Refer Appendix A of the body text.
  • The location of the DHEM and FLEM is set out in ‘Diagram’ below.
Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.
  • All drill hole intersections are reported above a lower cut-off grade of 0.5% copper.
Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high-grade results and longer lengths of low-grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.
  • A maximum of 1m internal waste was allowed
The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated.
  • No metal equivalents reported
Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results.

If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg ‘down hole length, true width not known’).

  • All intersections reported in the body of this release are down hole.
  • The majority of the drill holes in the database are drilled as close to orthogonal to the plane of the mineralized lodes as possible.
  • Only down hole lengths are reported.
Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views.
  • For Drill Results included elsewhere in this release refer figures in the body text
  • Image 1 below shows DHEM loop on CB-24-100
  • Image 2 below shows DHEM loop on CB-21-93 (red outline illustrates the EM loop and white line the location of drillhole CB-21-93)
  • Image 3 below illustrating loop and planned survey lines from 2007 FLEM (blues lines illustrate the planned survey lines for the anomaly outlined in the announcement)
Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results.
  • All results greater than 0.5% Cu and 0.5g/t Au have been reported at greater than 1m width
Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples – size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances.
  • Appropriate plans are included in the body of this release.
Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive.

  • The Company will be conducting drill testing of additional mineralisation as well as step out drilling of existing lodes to further enhance the resources quoted in this release. More information is presented in the body of this report.
  • Diagrams in the main body of this release show areas of possible resource extension on existing lodes. The company continues to identify and assess multiple other target areas within the property boundary for additional resources.

Image 1 below shows DHEM loop on CB-24-100

DHEM Loop CB-24-100

Image 2 below shows DHEM loop on CB-21-93 (red outline illustrates the EM loop and white line the location of drillhole CB-21-93)

DHEM loop on CB-21-93

Image 3 below illustrating loop and planned survey lines from 2007 FLEM (blues lines illustrate the planned survey lines for the anomaly outlined in the announcement)

Planned survey lines

Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project, Canada

Flotation copper recoveries of
up to 98.2% at Corner Bay

Metallurgical test work conducted at the Chibougamau Project indicates a high-quality clean concentrate with low impurities from the Corner Bay flagship asset

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Metallurgical test work at Corner Bay demonstrates:
    • Copper recoveries of 98.2% and 96.8% from a sample from an ore sorting test
    • High-quality copper concentrate grades results of 27.0% and 29.6%
    • Clean concentrate with minimal deleterious elements
  • Corner Bay is the flagship asset at the Chibougamau Project with an Indicated Mineral Resources of 2.7Mt at 2.9% CuEq and Inferred Mineral Resources of 5.9Mt at 3.6% CuEq 1
  • Metallurgical test work is being conducted as part of the ongoing study work at the Chibougamau Project
  • Test work includes locked cycle flotation tests that approximate a future flowsheet
  • The Chibougamau Project has excellent infrastructure with a 900,000tpa processing facility, local mining town, sealed highway, airport, regional rail infrastructure and 25kV hydro power to the processing site.

________________
1 The Mineral Resource Estimate at the Chibougamau Project is a foreign estimate prepared in accordance with CIM Standards. A competent person has not done sufficient work to classify the foreign estimate as a mineral resource in accordance with the JORC Code, and it is uncertain whether further evaluation and exploration will result in an estimate reportable under the JORC Code.

Cygnus Executive Chairman, David Southam said: ‘The results demonstrate the viability of the project as we continue along our dual track exploration and development pathway with high recoveries and a clean high grade concentrate’.

Cygnus Metals Limited (ASX: CY5; TSXV: CYG) (‘Cygnus’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce positive flotation test results at its flagship Corner Bay deposit within the Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project in Quebec, Canada.

The results have been released in connection with a response to a query from ASX concerning the basis on which Cygnus announced metal equivalent grades in an announcement dated 9 January 2025, which referred to its NI 43-101 compliant Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chibougamau Project (‘Announcement’). The results of the metallurgical test program contained in this announcement have been considered by the Company in informing the metallurgical recovery rates contained in the Announcement and subsequent clarification announcement dated 28 January 2025. When Cygnus first disclosed the acquisition of Doré Copper Mining Corp on 15 October 2024, it did not consider that the metallurgical test-work was a material exploration result. Following queries from ASX, the Company has considered that the metallurgical test work contained in this announcement is information that is necessary to support the assumptions made about metal recoveries in Cygnus’ copper equivalent statement in the Announcement.

This metallurgical test program conducted by Doré Copper Mining Corp. in 2023 was part of work designed to support ongoing study work at the Chibougamau Project.

The results demonstrate copper recoveries of 98.2% and 96.8% from a representative composite sample and high-quality copper concentrate grades results of 27.0% and 29.6%.

These results were previously released by Doré Copper Mining Corporation on October 30, 2023.

Latest Metallurgical Test Work Program Summary

Base Metallurgical Laboratories in Kamloops, British Columbia was commissioned to complete Corner Bay metallurgical development and locked cycle flotation testing in support of ongoing study work.

A total of 34 diamond drill core were used to create a spatially diverse composite sample that intersected copper mineralized zones within the Corner Bay Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate. The core material selected represented different rock types: semi and massive sulphides, quartz veins, diorite dyke, and fresh and altered anorthosite (refer to Figures 1 and 2 in Appendix C). The drill core was sampled by cutting a quarter split NQ core. The longer pieces of quarter split core were further manually broken down into 1 to 3 inches length to simulate a crushed product. The composite sample weighted 202 kg and graded 2.20% Cu and included an 18% external mining dilution from the hanging wall and foot wall of the mineralized interval.

The composite sample was then processed through the Steinert ore sorter and mixed with 26% of the unsorted underflow by-passed mineralized material to represent an overall sorted pre-concentrate mineralized material product (refer to Figure 4 in Appendix C). The composite resulted in a 123 kilogram sample with a grade of 3.31% Cu.

The resulting composite sample was evaluated through lock cycle tests to determine the flotation metallurgical performance (refer to Figure 4 in Appendix C). The sample was prepared to a nominal grind size of 140 microns K80 in the rougher testing and then processed through a regrind size of approximately 37 microns K80 in the cleaner tests.

The sample responded consistently throughout the test work with excellent performance to conventional flotation processing methods and reagents. Two locked cycle tests were completed with varying retention times to determine the concentrate grade versus recovery. The tests resulted in concentrate grades of 27.0% Cu and 29.6% Cu and recoveries 98.2% and 96.8%, respectively (refer to Table 1 below).

Minimal amounts of deleterious elements (e.g. arsenic, antimony, bismuth, cadmium etc.) were present in the concentrate, indicative of the ‘clean’ nature of the concentrate (refer to Table 2 below). These results showed the highly commercial quality of the concentrate in terms of salability and payment terms of smelters.

Composite / Test Lock cycle test feed Concentrate Recovery
CBSP (sorted mineralized material) Cu % Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Au % Ag %
Lock Cycle Test 1 3.31 0.30 9 27 1.82 68 98.2 72.1 86.4
Lock Cycle Test 2 3.28 0.55 10 29.6 3.24 72 96.8 62.6 76.9

Table 1. Corner Bay Metallurgical Test Work Results

Composite / Test Impurity Elements (ppm)
CBSP (sorted
mineralized material)
Arsenic
(As)
Antimony
(Sb)
Bismuth
(Bi)
Cadmium
(Cd)
Lead
(Pb)
Mercury
(Hg)
Zinc
(Zn)
Lock Cycle Test 1 22 3 4 10 102 1 735
Lock Cycle Test 2 10 3 3 10 88 1 777

Table 2. Corner Bay Impurity Element Content of Copper Concentrate

Other Metallurgical Test work

Other metallurgical recovery figures from the Company’s Chibougamau Project deposits are the following:

Chibougamau Project Deposit Recovery Cu % Recovery Au % Metallurgical Testing / Processing
Devlin 1 95.5 72.5 1. 2021 flotation/locked cycle tests at SGS Canada Inc. mineral processing facility in Quebec City, Quebec. Composite sample from 3 HQ drill cores. 2

2. 2022 ore sorting test program at Corem mineral processing facility in Quebec City, Quebec. Composite sample from 4 HQ drill cores. 3

Cedar Bay 91 87 Production data prior to 1987. 4
Joe Mann 94.6 83.6 Production data from 2005-2007, prior to closure of mine.


Notes:

  1. The Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate at the Devlin Project has the lowest gold concentration in the Chibougamau camp and therefore its contribution to recovered gold in the copper equivalent calculation is minimal.
  2. The tests were conducted on a composite sample from three HQ holes drilled from the same drill pad. The composite assay indicated a grade of 1.70% Cu and 0.12g/t Au. The purpose of the gravity test was to evaluate the amenability of the material to gravity separation. A 14kg sample was ground to a P80 of approximately 200 μm prior to being fed to a Knelson concentrator at a rate of approximately 75 kg/h. The water flowrate was set at 3.5 L/min and the rotation speed was 60 G. The gold recovery was low at 11.6%. The tailings of the gravity separation test were used to perform flotation tests. A total of four flotation tests and one locked cycle test were performed. Ahead of each flotation test, a 2kg sample was ground to a P80 of approximately 125 µm. The results of each test were analysed, and Test 4 was identified as showing the best metallurgical performance with a copper grade of 28.3% and recovery of 90.8%. However, the gold recovery was low at 51.7% and the gold grade was less than 10g/t. Therefore, a locked cycle test was carried out to assess the stability of the Test 4 conditions. Six 1kg charges of minus 10 mesh (-2 mm) were used for the locked cycle test. The locked cycle tests yielded a concentrate grade at 20.5% Cu with 98.2% recovery and a gold recovery of 74.6%. Refer to Figures 3 and 5 in Appendix C.
  3. A sorting test was done on a crush sample of 3/4′ nominal size taken from four HQ drill ½ cores drilled in 2022 (all four holes drilled from the same pad) and material from three ½ HQ drill cores left from the 2021 metallurgical test work. The test results showed that particles of interest could be efficiently separated from the gangue. An overall copper recovery of 97.2% was achieved with an upgraded copper content from 2.95% to 4.82% Cu after three passes of sorting. Refer to Figures 3 and 5 in Appendix C.
  4. Internal company report of Campbell Resources dated 10 September 1987 and titled ‘Cedar Bay Shaft Deepening Project’.

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Directors of Cygnus.

David Southam
Executive Chair
T: +61 8 6118 1627
E: info@cygnusmetals.com
Ernest Mast
President & Managing Director
T: +1 647 921 0501
E: info@cygnusmetals.com
Media:
Paul Armstrong
Read Corporate
T: +61 8 9388 1474


About Cygnus Metals

Cygnus Metals Limited (ASX: CY5, TSXV: CYG) is a diversified critical minerals exploration and development company with projects in Quebec, Canada and Western Australia. The Company is dedicated to advancing its Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project in Quebec with an aggressive exploration program to drive resource growth and develop a hub-and-spoke operation model with its centralised processing facility. In addition, Cygnus has quality lithium assets with significant exploration upside in the world-class James Bay district in Quebec, and REE and base metal projects in Western Australia. The Cygnus team has a proven track record of turning exploration success into production enterprises and creating shareholder value.

Forward Looking Statements

This document contains ‘forward-looking information’ and ‘forward-looking statements’ which are based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of Cygnus believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘plans’, ‘believes’, ‘estimates’, ‘seeks’, ‘intends’, ‘targets’, ‘projects’, ‘forecasts’, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘would’ and ‘could’. Although Cygnus and its management believe that the assumptions and expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Cygnus to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual results of current or future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, changes in laws, regulations and practices, the geopolitical, economic, permitting and legal climate that Cygnus operates in, as well as those factors disclosed in Cygnus’ publicly filed documents. No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information, and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information or rely on this document as a recommendation or forecast by Cygnus. Cygnus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

End Notes

  1. The Mineral Resource estimate at the Chibougamau Project is a foreign estimate prepared in accordance with CIM Standards. A competent person has not done sufficient work to classify the foreign estimate as a mineral resource in accordance with the JORC Code, and it is uncertain whether further evaluation and exploration will result in an estimate reportable under the JORC Code. Refer to Appendix B for a breakdown of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

Competent Persons, Qualified Persons and Compliance Statements

The Exploration Results, scientific and technical information, including metallurgical test results, contained in this news release is based on and fairly represents information and supporting documentation compiled by Mr Ernest Mast, the Managing Director and President of Cygnus, a ‘qualified person’ as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr Mast holds shares and options in Cygnus. Mr Mast is a member of Ordre des ingenieurs du Quebec (P Eng), a Registered Overseas Professional Organisation as defined in the ASX Listing Rules, and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. The qualified person has provided his consent to be named in this announcement and consents to the form and context in which the scientific and technical information, including metallurgical test results has been presented in this market announcement.

The Company first announced the foreign estimate of mineralisation for the Chibougamau Project on 15 October 2024. The Company confirms that the supporting information included in the announcement of 15 October 2024 continues to apply and has not materially changed, notwithstanding the clarification announcement released by Cygnus on 28 January 2025 (‘Clarification’). Cygnus confirms that (notwithstanding the Clarification) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original announcement and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the original announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. Cygnus confirms that its is not in possession of any new information or data that materially impacts on the reliability of the estimates or Cygnus’ ability to verify the foreign estimates as mineral resources in accordance with the JORC Code. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons’ findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.

Metal equivalents for the foreign estimate have been calculated at a copper price of US$8,750/t, gold price of US$2,350/oz, copper equivalents calculated based on the formula CuEq (%) = Cu(%) + (Au (g/t) x 0.77258). Metallurgical recovery factors have been applied to the copper equivalents calculations, with copper metallurgical recovery assumed at 95% and gold metallurgical recovery assumed at 85% based upon historical production at the Chibougamau Processing Facility, and the metallurgical results contained in this announcement. It is the Company’s view that all elements in the copper equivalent calculations have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

APPENDIX A – Drill Hole Location and Sampling Intervals for the Significant Intersections and for the Metallurgical Test Work

Coordinates given in UTM NAD83 (Zone 18).

Corner Bay Metallurgical Test Work

A total of 34 diamond drill core were used for the Corner Bay composite sample. The table shows the sampling interval for each hole collected for the composite sample (sample type: Metallurgy) and the significant intersection obtained through assaying the sample (sample type: Assay). N/A means Not Applicable and na means Not Assayed.

Hole ID X Y Z Azi Dip Depth (m) Sample Type From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Cu % Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Mo (ppm)
CB-18-03 554555 5510226 380 121.1 -71.6 912.0 Metallurgy 849.5 854.6 5.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 850.0 854.15 4.15 4.29 0.13 14.6 na
CB-18-05 544550 5510181 380 125.5 -75.9 1,092.0 Metallurgy 1,022.3 1,030.3 8.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,023.0 1029.6 6.55 4.11 0.14 8.8 na
CB-18-06 554555 5510181 380 125.9 -74.9 987.0 Metallurgy 948.2 963.2 15.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 949.5 961.8 12.3 2.33 0.12 5.5 na
CB-18-07 554555 5510181 380 126.2 -72.8 897.7 Metallurgy 851.6 867.9 16.2 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 853.1 866.4 13.3 3.45 0.29 12.1 na
CB-19-11 554556 5510227 380 97 -60 1011.0 Metallurgy 757.1 759.2 2.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 781.2 781.7 0.5 6.16 0.43 30.0 na
CB-20-13 554259 5510036 383 97 -56 945.0 Metallurgy 862.4 863.2 0.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 862.5 863.1 0.6 1.89 0.10 4.0 na
Metallurgy 907.1 910.4 3.3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 907.4 910.1 2.7 1.40 0.05 7.3 na
CB-20-15 554236 5509858 382 77 -66 1,200.0 Metallurgy 1,065.3 1,074.4 9.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,066.15 1,073.6 7.45 2.38 0.12 4.2 na
Assay 1,068.95 1,072.6 3.65 3.65 0.18 6.2 na
CB-20-16W1 554259 5510036 383 87 -71 1,230.0 Metallurgy 1,156.6 1,159.7 4.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,156.0 1,158.3 3.3 1.94 0.13 4.5 na
CB-20-18 554236 5509858 382 90 -66 1,049.9 Metallurgy 1,021.2 1,028.9 7.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,021.9 1,028.2 6.30 3.03 0.11 6.6 na
CB-20-19 554236 5509858 382 84 -70 1,185.0 Metallurgy 1,160.0 1,167.9 7.9 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,160.75 1,167.2 6.45 4.06 0.38 13.2 na
Assay 1,164.85 1,167.2 2.35 6.10 0.74 15.3 na
CB-21-25 554572 5510607 378 112 -56 798.0 Assay 634.4 640.4 6.0 1.75 0.09 5.4 na
Assay 636.2 640.4 4.2 2.13 0.11 6.7 na
Metallurgy 766.6 767.6 1.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 766.65 767.5 0.85 0.48 0.04 4.7 na
CB-21-28 554199 5509800 383 89 -69 1,164.0 Metallurgy 1,146.3 1,150.8 4.5 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,146.7 1,150.4 3.7 5.05 0.15 11.3 na
Assay 1,147.2 1,149.0 1.8 9.12 0.17 19.2 na
CB-21-29 554198 5509781 383 90 -65 1,068.0 Metallurgy 1,050.2 1,054.7 4.5 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,050.6 1,054.3 3.7 2.47 0.87 9.3 na
Assay 1,051.6 1,053.1 1.5 5.25 2.05 12.7 na
CB-21-30 554198 5509781 383 90 -65 1,068.0 Metallurgy 1,007.2 1,016.3 9.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,005.0 1,015.45 10.45 2.23 0.52 7.7 na
Assay 1,010.3 1,014.9 4.6 4.04 1.02 13.7 na
CB-21-32 554673 5510019 396 90 -57 641.4 Metallurgy 1,118.9 1,125.6 6.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,119.5 1,125.0 5.5 3.46 0.25 8.4 na
Assay 1,120.4 1,124.0 3.6 4.63 0.30 11.4 na
CB-21-32W1 554198 5509781 383 105 -68 1,149.0 Metallurgy 1,069.4 1,086.8 17.3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1071.0 1085.2 14.2 2.26 0.18 7.4 na
Assay 1071.8 1078.6 6.8 3.67 0.26 9.7 na
CB-21-32W2 554198 5509781 383 105 -68 1,155.0 Metallurgy 1,035.5 1,047.3 11.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1036.6 1046.2 9.6 2.19 0.20 6.58 na
Assay 1043.6 1046.2 2.6 5.86 0.66 14.75 na
CB-21-34 554257 5510030 381 75.0 -65.0 1204.0 Metallurgy 1,159.8 1,164.2 4.4 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,160.2 1,163.8 3.6 4.52 0.12 8.1 na
Assay 1,161.2 1,162.85 1.65 9.75 0.24 14.7 na
CB-21-35 554674 5510020 398 100.0 -56.0 468.0 Metallurgy 427.0 435.9 8.9 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 427.8 435.1 7.3 1.43 0.17 4.9 na
Assay 431.5 434.6 3.1 2.03 0.32 6.6 na
CB-21-36 554618 5510020 394 95.0 -63.0 633.0 Metallurgy 607.5 610.7 3.2 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 607.8 610.4 2.6 1.35 0.22 10.2 na
CB-21-41 554198 5509781 383 92.0 -60.0 1050.0 Metallurgy 967.2 971.5 4.3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 967.6 971.1 3.5 2.66 0.40 16.6 195
CB-21-42 554198 5509781 383 110.0 -63.0 1125.6 Metallurgy 1,044.7 1,048.3 3.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,045.0 1,048.0 3.0 2.71 0.18 22.3
CB-21-48 554198 5509781 383 95.0 -72.0 1311.0 Metallurgy 1,261.0 1,264.1 3.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,261.3 1,263.8 2.5 2.42 0.15
CB-21-51 554257 5510030 381 60.0 -56.0 1188.0 Metallurgy 1,140.9 1,147.5 6.6 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,141.5 1,146.9 5.4 2.24 0.10 142
Assay 1,144.0 1,146.9 2.9 3.44 0.17 262
CB-21-53 554618 5510020 394 135.0 -60.0 804.0 Metallurgy 768.1 770.5 2.4 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 768.3 770.3 2.0 3.34 0.56 15.6
CB-21-55 554618 5510020 394 100.0 -68.0 729.0 Metallurgy 673.3 678.0 4.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 673.7 677.6 3.9 8.03 0.86 42.1 1,109
CB-21-56 554257 5510030 381 56.0 -66.0 1374.0 Metallurgy 1,293.7 1,297.3 3.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,294.0 1,297.0 3.0 2.10 0.10
CB-21-57 554618 5510020 394 118.0 -70.0 747.0 Metallurgy 719.5 724.7 5.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 720.0 724.2 4.2 6.18 0.12 26.6 271
CB-22-70 554562 5510292 380 96.0 -52.0 693.0 Metallurgy 628.1 632.4 4.3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 628.5 632.0 3.5 1.03 0.06 7.4
CB-22-74 554264 5510035 384 90.1 -62.0 1041.0 Metallurgy 982.4 984.9 2.6 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 982.6 984.7 2.1 1.19 0.16 4.8 132
CB-22-76 554236 5509858 382 86.5 -61.0 999.0 Metallurgy 954.2 960.8 6.6 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 954.8 960.2 5.4 3.37 1.00 23.7 1,597
CB-22-78 554258 5510033 380 89.5 65.0 1110.0 Metallurgy 1,048.6 1,054.3 5.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Assay 1,049.1 1,053.8 4.7 2.30 0.14 7.7 150

Notes:

  1. From hole CB-19-08 to CB-21-38 and from CB-22-70 to CB-22-78, the true width of the structures intersected is estimated at approximately 55-65% of the downhole width.
  2. From hole CB-21-39 to CB-21-57, the true width of the structures intersected is estimated at approximately 60-75% of the downhole width. For holes CB-21-48, the true width of the structures intersected is estimated at approximately 55-60% of the downhole width.

Devlin Metallurgical Test Work

A total of 3 HQ diamond drill ½ core were used for the Devlin composite sample for the 2021 flotation tests. A total of 4 HQ diamond drill ½ core and material left from the 2021 metallurgical test work (the other ½ drill cores from the 3 HQ holes) were used for the Devlin composite sample for the 2022 ore sorting tests. The table shows the sampling interval for each hole collected for the composite sample (sample type: Flotation or Ore Sorting).

Hole ID X Y Z Azi Dip Depth (m) Sample Type From (m) To (m) Interval (m)
DV-21-01 548063 5511863 380 333 -50 120 Flotation 87.4 89.7 2.3
DV-21-02 548063 5511863 380 360 -90 102 Flotation 65.8 68.1 2.3
DV-21-03 548063 5511863 380 29 -50 111 Flotation 92.8 95.1 2.3
DV-22-04 548083 5511859 380 0 -90 84 Ore Sorting 64.5 66.8 2.3
DV-22-05 548083 5511859 380 0 -90 84 Ore Sorting 64.8 67.1 2.3
DV-22-06 548083 5511859 380 0 -70 84 Ore Sorting 68.8 71.1 2.3
DV-22-07 548083 5511859 380 0 -70 84 Ore Sorting 69 71.3 2.3


APPENDIX B – Chibougamau Copper-Gold Project – Foreign Mineral Resource Estimate Disclosures as at 30 March 2022

Deposit Category Tonnes
(k)
Cu Grade
(%)
Au Grade
(g/t)
Cu Metal
(kt)
Au Metal
(koz)
CuEq Grade
(%)
Corner Bay (2022) Indicated 2,700 2.7 0.3 71 22 2.9
Inferred 5,900 3.4 0.3 201 51 3.6
Devlin (2022) Measured 120 2.7 0.3 3 1 2.9
Indicated 660 2.1 0.2 14 4 2.3
Measured & Indicated 780 2.2 0.2 17 5 2.4
Inferred 480 1.8 0.2 9 3 2.0
Joe Mann (2022) Inferred 610 0.2 6.8 1 133 5.5
Cedar Bay (2018) Indicated 130 1.6 9.4 2 39 8.9
Inferred 230 2.1 8.3 5 61 8.5
Total Measured & Indicated 3,600 2.5 0.6 90 66 3.0
Total Inferred 7,200 3.0 1.1 216 248 3.8


APPENDIX C – 2012 JORC Table 1

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary
Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling.
  • Material used for the metallurgical samples was selected from 34 holes at Corner Bay:
    • Samples were quarter NQ core with a total weight of 202kg. The core material selected represented different rock types: semi and massive sulphides, quartz veins, diorite dyke, and fresh and altered anorthosite.
    • Diamond core was previously cut using a core saw on site. Trays with the remaining half core selected intervals were sent to Base Metallurgical Laboratories in Kamloops, British Columbia for defined metallurgical test work.
  • Material used for the metallurgical samples at Devlin:
    • 2021 test: material selected from 3 HQ drill cores; samples were half HQ core weighing 2kg for each sample. Material sent to Corem mineral processing facility in Quebec City, Canada for defined metallurgical test work.
    • 2022 test: material selected 4 HQ drill ½ cores drilled in 2022 and material from three ½ HQ drill cores from 2021. Material sent to SGS Canada Inc. mineral processing in Quebec City, Canada for defined metallurgical test work.
    • Diamond core was cut using a core saw on site. Trays with the remaining half core remained at site.
Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used.
  • NQ and HQ core was marked for splitting during logging and is sawn using a diamond core saw with a mounted jig to assure the core is cut lengthwise into equal halves.
Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report.

In cases where ‘industry standard’ work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg ‘reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay’). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information.

  • Industry standard sampling practices were used with sample lengths ranging from 0.3 m to 1.0 m and respected geological contacts. Sample tags were placed at the beginning of each sample interval and the tag numbers were recorded in an MS Excel database.
  • Sampling practice is considered to be appropriate to the geology and style of mineralisation.
Drilling techniques Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc).
  • Material for the metallurgical test work used diamond core exclusively.
  • At Corner Bay the core size was NQ, quarter-cut.
  • At Devlin the core size was HQ, half-cut.
  • All samples were originally oriented by Company geologists.
Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed.

Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples.

Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material.

  • Diamond core recovery was measured for each run and calculated as a percentage of the drilled interval.
  • Overall, the core recoveries are excellent in the Chibougamau area.
Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies.
  • All core was geologically and geotechnically logged. Lithology, veining, alteration and mineralisation are recorded in multiple tables of the drillhole database
Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography.
  • Geological logging of core is qualitative and descriptive in nature.
The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged.
  • 100% of the core has been logged.
Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken.

If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry.

For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique.

Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples.

Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in-situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling.

Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled.

  • Core was cut in half using conventional diamond core saw. Half was sent for initial analysis with the remainder was quarter cored with half retained and half used for metallurgical test work.
  • Sample intervals are based on geological intervals ranging from 30cm to 1m.
  • This sampling technique is industry standard and deemed appropriate.
Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total.
  • Sample preparation was done at SGS Canada Inc. (‘SGS’) in Val-d’Or, Québec and Burnaby, B.C. and fire assay and ICP analysis was done at SGS in Burnaby, B.C.
  • Samples were weighed, dried, crushed to 75% passing 2 mm, split to 250 g, and pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns.
  • Samples were then fire assayed for Au (50 g) and sodium peroxide fusion ICP-MS finish for 34 elements.
For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc.
  • None used.
Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precision have been established.
  • Laboratory QC procedures involve the use of internal certified reference material as assay standards, along with blanks, duplicates and replicates.
Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel.
    The use of twinned holes.
    • No hole is twinned.
    Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.
    • All logging data was completed, core marked up, logging and sampling data was entered directly into the database.
    • The logged data is stored on the site server directly.
    Discuss any adjustment to assay data.
    • There was no adjustment to the assay data.
    Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.
    • The location of the drillholes and the aiming points for the orientation of the drillholes were indicated on the ground using identified stakes. The stakes marking the location of the drillholes were set up and located with a Garmin GPS model ‘GPSmap 62s’ (4m accuracy).
    • Surveys are collected using a Reflex EZ-Shot® single-shot electronic instrument with readings collected at intervals of approximately every 30 m downhole plus a reading at the bottom of the hole.
    Specification of the grid system used.
    • The grid system used is UTM NAD83 (Zone 18).
    Quality and adequacy of topographic control.
    • A Digital Terrane Model (DTM) has been used to accurately plot the vertical position of the holes.
    Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results.
    • The spacing is considered appropriate for this type of metallurgical test work.
    Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied.
    • No resource estimation is made.
    Whether sample compositing has been applied.
    • No sample compositing has been applied.
    Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type.
    • Drilling is not always orientated approximately at right angles to the currently interpreted strike of the known interpreted mineralisation. The true width of the structure intersected is estimated at approximately 55-75% of the downhole width (refer to Appendix A).
    If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material.
    • No bias is considered to have been introduced by the existing sampling orientation.
    Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security.
    • Core was placed in wooden core boxes close to the drill rig by the drilling contractor. The core was collected daily by the drilling contractor and delivered to the secure core logging facility. Access to the core logging facility is limited to Cygnus employees or designates.
    Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data.
    • No audits have been undertaken, therefore information on audits or reviews is not yet available.


    Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

    (Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)

    Criteria JORC Code Explanation Commentary
    Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings.
    • The data reported within this announcement is from the Chibougamau Project. The Chibougamau project consists of 3 properties which includes:
      • Copper Rand (1 mining license, 19 mining concession and 147 exploration claims)
      • Corner Bay – Devlin (1 mining license, 111 exploration claims)
      • Joe Mann (2 mining concessions, 74 exploration claims)
    • 767ha of the Joe Mann property is held by CBAY with the remaining 1965ha held under option agreement with Resources Jessie.
    • The properties collectively making up the Project are in good standing based on the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources Naturelles) GESTIM claim management system of the Government of Québec.
    The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area.
    • All tenure is in good standing.
    Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties.
    • The Chibougamau Copper and Gold project comprising Corner Bay, Devlin, Cedar Bay and Joe Mann have seen an extensive exploration history dating back to the early 1900s. The Technical Report issued and filed on SEDAR+ by Dore Copper in June 2022 provides a detailed history of the exploration activities undertaken by previous explorers.
    • Corner Bay was first identified as a prospect in 1956
      • 1956 – 1972 eight drilling programs totalling 1,463 m and various geophysical and electromagnetic (EM) surveys
      • 1973 – 1981 Riocanex and Flanagan McAdam: ground geophysical surveys and 43 diamond drill holes
      • 1982 – 1984 Riocanex and Corner Bay Exploration: 38 drill holes and metallurgical test work
      • 1988 – 1991 Corner Bay Exploration: diamond drilling, geophysical surveys and geological characterisation with initial MRE
      • 1992 – 1994 SOQUEM optioned and acquired a 30% interest, and completed diamond drilling
      • 1994 Explorations Cache Inc and Ressources MSV Inc: diamond drilling
      • 2004 – 2006 GéoNova and MSV: 98 diamond drill holes and first Technical Report on the Corner Bay project reporting a MRE
      • 2007 – 2009 Campbell: diamond drilling and bulk sample
      • 2012 – 2019 CBAY / AmAuCu: diamond drilling and MRE
    • Devlin identified in 1972 by airborne survey flown by the MERN
      • 1979 – 1981 diamond drilling, geophysical surveys
      • 1981 mining commenced
    • Joe Mann identified in 1950 with the commencement of mining activities occurring in 1956
      • The Joe Mann mine operated underground during three different periods from 1956 to 2007
      • In July 2012, Ressources Jessie acquired the Joe Mann mine property, but conducted only surface exploration work
    • Cedar Bay was discovered prior to 1927 by Chibougamau McKenzie Mines Ltd
      • From initial discovery to 2013 various surface and underground drilling campaigns and geophysical surveys undertaken by various companies
    Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation.
    • Corner Bay and Devlin are located at the northeastern extremity of the Abitibi subprovince in the Superior province of the Canadian Shield and are examples of Chibougamau-type copper-gold deposits. The Abitibi subprovince is considered as one of the largest and best-preserved greenstone belts in the world and hosts numerous gold and base metal deposits.
    • The Corner Bay deposit is located on the southern flank of the Doré Lake Complex (DLC). It is hosted by a N 15° trending shear zone more or less continuous with a strong 75° to 85° dip towards the west. The host anorthosite rock is sheared and sericitized over widths of 2 m to 25 m. The deposit is cut by a diabase dyke and is limited to the north by a fault structure and to the south by the LaChib deformation zone.
    • The Corner Bay deposit consists of three main mineralised lodes (subparallel Main Lode 1 and Main Lode 2 above the dyke, and Main Lode below the dyke that make up the bulk of the deposit. The Corner Bay deposit has been traced over a strike length to over 1,000 m to a depth of 1,350 m and remains open at depth.
    • The mineralisation is characterized by veins and/or lenses of massive to semi-massive sulphides associated with a brecciated to locally massive quartz-calcite material. The sulphide assemblage is composed of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and pyrrhotite with lesser amounts of molybdenite and sphalerite. Late remobilized quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite veins occur in a wide halo around the main mineralization zones.
    • Devlin is a flat-lying, copper-rich lodes-hosted deposit in a polygenic igneous breccia that is less than 100 m from the surface. The tabular bodies have been modelled as four nearly horizontal lodes: a more continuous lower zone and three smaller lodes comprising the upper zone. Mineralisation is reflected as a fracture zone often composed of two or more sulphide-quartz lodes and stringers. Thickness of the mineralised zones range from 0.5 m to 4.4 m. It has been diluted during modelling to reflect a minimum mining height of 1.8 m.
    • The Joe Mann deposit is characterized by east-west striking shear hosted lodes that extend beyond 1,000m vertically with mineralisation identified over a 3 km strike length. These shear zones form part of the Opawica-Guercheville deformation zone, a major deformation corridor cutting the mafic volcanic rocks of the Obatogamau Formation in the north part of the Caopatina Segment. The gabbro sill hosts the Main Zone and the West Zone at the mine, while the South Zone is found in the rhyolite. These three subvertical E-W (N275°/85°) ductile-brittle shear zones are sub-parallel to stratigraphy and to one another, with up to 140 m to 170 m of separation between them. These shear zones are hosted within a stratigraphic package composed of iron-magnesium (Fe-Mg) carbonate and sericite altered gabbro sills, sheared basalts, and intermediate to felsic tuffs intruded by various felsic intrusions. The Joe Mann gold mineralisation is hosted by decimetre scale quartz-carbonate lodes (Dion and Guha 1988). The lodes are mineralised with pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite disposed in lens and lodelets parallel to schistosity, and occasionally visible gold. There are some other minor, mineralised structures, e.g., North and South-South Zones, with limited vertical and horizontal extensions.
    Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes:
    • easting and northing of the drill hole collar
    • elevation or RL (Reduced Level – elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar
    • dip and azimuth of the hole
    • down hole length and interception depth
    • hole length.

    If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case.

    • The information is tabulated in Appendix A, which includes the drill holes used for the metallurgical test work for the Corner Bay and Devlin deposits presented herein.
    Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.
    • Appendix A reports the significant drill intersections for the Corner Bay 34 holes used for the composite samples for metallurgical test work. The assays reported are uncut.
    Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high-grade results and longer lengths of low-grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.
    • Appendix A reports the included intersections of the significant drill intersections.
    The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated.
    • Metal equivalents for the foreign estimate have been calculated at a copper price of US$8,750/t, gold price of US$2,350/oz, copper equivalents calculated based on the formula CuEq (%) = Cu(%) + (Au (g/t) x 0.77258). Metallurgical recovery factors have been applied to the copper equivalents calculations, with copper metallurgical recovery assumed at 95% and gold metallurgical recovery assumed at 85% based upon historical production at the Chibougamau Processing Facility and more recent metallurgical test work reported in this release. It is the Company’s view that all elements in the copper equivalent calculations have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.
    Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results.

    If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

    If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg ‘down hole length, true width not known’).

    • The majority of the drill holes in the database are drilled as close to orthogonal to the plane of the mineralised lodes as possible.
    Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported. These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views.
    • See below Figure 1: Corner Bay Drillhole Location for the Composite Sample Used in Ore Sorting Test Shown in Plan View
    • See below Figure 2: Corner Bay Sample Location for Composite Sample Used in Ore Sorting Test Shown in an Isometric Long Section.
    • See below Figure 3: Devlin drillhole location for the samples used in gravity, flotation and ore sorting tests shown in plan view.
    Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results.
    • Appendix A reflects the significant drill intercepts representative of the Corner Bay deposit that were included in the composite sample for metallurgical test work.
    Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples – size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances.
    • Base Metallurgical Laboratories in Kamloops, British Columbia was commissioned to complete Corner Bay metallurgical development and locked cycle flotation testing:
      • The CBSP composite was firstly compiled into a 202 kilogram sample with a grade of 2.20% Cu.
      • The CBSP composite was then processed through the Steinert ore sorter and mixed with 26% of the unsorted underflow by-passed mineralised material to represent an overall sorted pre-concentrate mineralised material product.
      • The CBSP composite resulted in a 123 kilogram sample with a grade of 3.31% Cu.
      • The composite sample was evaluated through lock cycle tests to determine the flotation metallurgical performance.
      • The sample was prepared to a nominal grind size of 140 microns K80 in the rougher testing and then processed through a regrind size of approximately 37 microns K80 in the cleaner tests.
      • The sample responded consistently throughout the test work with excellent performance to conventional flotation processing methods and reagents.
      • Two locked cycle tests were completed with varying retention times to determine the concentrate grade versus recovery

    See below Figure 4: Flow Sheet Schematic for the Corner Bay Sorting and Flotation Test Work.

    • Corem in 2021 and SGS Canada Inc. in 2022, in their mineral processing facility both located in Quebec City were commissioned to complete the Devlin metallurgical test work:
      • The 2021 work included a total of four flotation tests and one locked cycle test. Ahead of each flotation test, a 2-kg sample was ground to a P80 of approximately 125 µm. The results of each test were analysed, and Test 4 was identified as showing the best metallurgical performance. with a copper grade of 28.3% and recovery of 90.8%. However, the gold recovery was low at 51.7% and the gold grade was less than 10 g/t. Therefore, a locked cycle test was carried out to assess the stability of the Test 4 conditions. Six 1 kg charges of minus 10 mesh (-2 mm) were used for the locked cycle test. The locked cycle tests yielded a concentrate grade at 20.5% Cu with 98.2% recovery and a gold recovery of 74.6%.
      • The 2022 work included a sorting test done on a crush sample of 3/4′ nominal size from four HQ drill ½ cores drilled in 2022 and material from three ½ HQ drill cores from 2021. Copper recovery of 97.2% was obtained.

    See below Figure 5: Flow Sheet Schematic for the Devlin Sorting, Gravity and Flotation Test Work.

    Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

    Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive.

    • The Company will be conducting drill testing of additional mineralisation as well as step out drilling of existing lodes to further enhance the resources quoted in this release. More information is presented in the body of this report.

    Figure 1: Corner Bay Drillhole Location for the Composite Sample Used in Ore Sorting Test Shown in Plan View

    Fig. 1 Corner Bay Drillhole Location for the Composite Sample
    Figure 2: Corner Bay Sample Location for Composite Sample Used in Ore Sorting Test Shown in an Isometric Long Section.
    Figure 2 Corner Bay Sample Location Long Section

    Figure 3: Devlin drillhole location for the samples used in gravity, flotation and ore sorting tests shown in plan view.
    Figure 3 Devlin Drill Hole Location

    Figure 4: Flow Sheet Schematic for the Corner Bay Sorting and Flotation Test Work.
    Figure 4 Flowsheet for Corner Bay

    Figure 5: Flow Sheet Schematic for the Devlin Sorting, Gravity and Flotation Test Work.
    Figure 5 Flowsheet for Devlin

    Images accompanying this announcement are available at

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f91b81e3-794b-4b5c-a358-bdcec3faf01e

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf822ff2-6270-4da2-9234-01d42e522607

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25706f8b-2061-4a74-81c3-f0de0ce5e9d7

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/efdad838-4db7-4752-8412-eb14b68ed0f5

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05429902-e0d7-4e3f-bc26-356659b685e8

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed66d4cc-3bfe-48b9-b420-db6b282c6681

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/357e25f7-f3ca-4e7a-963c-17a8f4fca51a

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/294d90d6-275f-40d6-bfd2-f0026e3b68db

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