Excelsior Mining Announces Option Agreement with Nuton, a Rio Tinto Venture
NEWS RELEASE
Excelsior Mining Announces Option Agreement with Nuton, a Rio Tinto Venture
July 31, 2023
Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) (FSE: 3XS) (OTCQB: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the “Company”)
is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Nuton LLC,
a Rio Tinto venture, to further evaluate the use of its Nuton ™ copper heap leaching technologies at
Excelsior's Johnson Camp mine in Cochise County, Arizona. Under the Agreement, Excelsior remains
the operator and Nuton funds Excelsior’s costs associated with a two-stage work program at Johnson
Camp. Nuton will provide a US$3 million pre-payment to Excelsior for Stage 1 costs and a payment of
US$2 million for an exclusive option to form a joint venture with Excelsior over the Johnson Camp Mine
after the completion of Stage 2.
“We are very pleased to be moving Johnson Camp forward with Nuton. With their support and
technologies, we have the potential to realize the value of the sulfide resources at Johnson Camp in a
way that is both economical and beneficial to the environment. Johnson Camp has the potential to
progress towards cash-flow whilst we continue to develop our other assets, including progressing
Gunnison towards well-stimulation trials later this year,” comments Stephen Twyerould, President and
CEO of Excelsior Mining. “The strength of this agreement is that it allows both Gunnison and Johnson
Camp to advance in parallel.
Rio Tinto has developed the Nuton TM Technologies, an extensive portfolio of advanced copper heap
leaching technologies targeted at primary sulfide minerals (including lower grade mineral deposits), which
could not otherwise be processed using traditional leaching or sulfide processing technologies. These
technologies offer the potential to produce additional copper in a cost-effective manner that has significant
environmental benefits and reduces waste from new and ongoing operations.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the Stage 1 work program involves Excelsior completing diamond
drilling, permitting activities, detailed engineering, and project execution planning. Nuton will complete
mineralogy, predictive modelling, engineering and other test work. Based on the results of the Stage 1
work program, Nuton has the option to proceed to Stage 2. The Stage 1 work program is expected to
commence in August and take 6 to 9 months to complete.
If Nuton proceeds to Stage 2, it will make a US$5 million payment to Excelsior for the use of existing
infrastructure at the Johnson Camp mine for the Stage 2 work program. Nuton will also be responsible
for funding all of Excelsior’s costs associated with Stage 2. The full Stage 2 work program is anticipated
to take up to five years but will proceed based on milestones related to engineering and mobilization,
infrastructure and construction, mining, leaching, copper production and post-leach rinsing. Mining is
expected to commence in year one. The completion of all milestones would result in full scale commercial
production over several years at Johnson Camp utilizing Nuton TM Technologies. Revenue from
operations will first be used to pay back Stage 2 costs to Nuton and will then be credited to Excelsior’s
account.
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After the completion of Stage 2, Nuton will have the right to form a joint venture on Johnson Camp per
mutually agreeable terms whereby Nuton will hold an initial 49% and Excelsior an initial 51%. The
purpose of the joint venture is to continue the development of the Johnson Camp Mine using Nuton TM
Technologies. Should Nuton not exercise their joint venture rights, Nuton and Excelsior will discuss in
good faith Excelsior’s continued use of the Nuton™ Technologies at the Johnson Camp Mine subject to
certain licensing terms and conditions. The infrastructure arrangement at Johnson Camp under this
Agreement are non-exclusive. During Stages 1 and 2, Excelsior may continue to use the Johnson Camp
infrastructure for processing Gunnison solutions and other copper sources not related to the Stage 2
work program so long as capacity requirements for the Stage 2 work program are met.
ABOUT NUTON
Nuton is an innovative new venture that aims to help grow Rio Tinto's copper business. At the core of
Nuton is a portfolio of proprietary copper leach related technologies and capability – a product of almost
30 years of research and development. The Nuton technologies offer the potential to economically unlock
known low-grade copper sulfide resources, copper bearing waste and tailings, and achieve higher copper
recoveries on oxide and transitional material, allowing for a significantly increased copper production
outcome. One of the key differentiators of Nuton is the potential to deliver leading environmental
performance, including more efficient water usage, lower carbon emissions, and the ability to reclaim
mine sites by reprocessing mine waste.
ABOUT EXCELSIOR MINING
Excelsior “The Copper Solution Company ” is a mineral exploration and production company that owns
and operates the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. The project is a low cost,
environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project that is permitted to 125 million pounds
per year of copper cathode production. Excelsior also owns the past producing Johnson Camp Mine and
a portfolio of exploration projects, including the Peabody Sill and the Strong and Harris deposits.
For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com.
For further information regarding this press release, please contact:
Excelsior Mining Corp.
Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018.
Shawn Westcott
T: 604.365.6681
www.excelsiormining.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may
occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to,
statements with respect to: (i) the potential of well stimulation to improve performance of the Company’s mineral
projects; (ii) the intention to deploy the Nuton® technology at the Johnson Camp mine and future production
therefrom; (iii) the details and expected results of the two stage work program; and (iv) future production and
production capacity from the Company’s mineral projects.
In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or
"does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate",
or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could",
"would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans,
objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information
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contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the
amended permit will not be appealed, work plans will be approved in a timely manner, the availability of financing
to implement the Company’s operational plans, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the
realization of resource and reserve estimates, expectations and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak,
copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial
and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs (including the price of acid), the
availability of labour, material and acid supply, receipt of and compliance with necessary regulatory approvals and
permits, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental
risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be
reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks
inherent in the construction and operation of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project
parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not be sustained
at the Gunnison Copper Project, risks relating to an appeal of the permit amendment that delays its effectiveness,
risks related to the delay in approval of work plans, variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery
rates, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity
prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased
competition in the market for copper and related products, risks related to current global financial conditions, risks
related to current global financial conditions and the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business, uncertainties
inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, risks related to the ability to access acid
supply on commercially reasonable terms, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of
mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the
risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the construction or mining process, regulatory
risks including the risk that permits may not be obtained in a timely fashion or at all, financing, capitalization and
liquidity risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interests, environmental risks and the
additional risks identified in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s reports and filings with applicable Canadian
securities regulators.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results
to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause
actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news
release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.