Heliostar Announces PEA for Ana Paula Underground with Strong Economics and Sustainable Cash Generation
TSX.V: HSTR
OTCQX: HSTXF
Heliostar Announces PEA for Ana Paula Underground with Strong
Economics and Sustainable Cash Generation
Highlights:
• Base Case shows US$426.0M post tax NPV5, 28.1% IRR, with a 2.9 year payback at a US$2,400/oz
gold price
• Upside Case shows US$1,012M post tax NPV5, 51.3% IRR, with a 1.9 year payback at a US$3,800/oz
gold price
• 874,700 oz of gold produced over a nine year mine life, averaging 101 koz/yr after initial ramp-up
• Life-of-mine average AISC of US$1,011/oz, putting it in the lowest 13% of the global costs curve for
currently producing gold mines, with a US$300M CAPEX
• Average annual after-tax free cash flow of US$93.8M at US$2,400/oz gold price (US$168.0M at
US$3,800/oz gold price) driven by combination of high grade and bulk tonnage mining method
• Comprehensive plan for path forward and early works program at Ana Paula, including accelerating
completion of the underground decline, exploration drilling , permit amendment submission and
Feasibility Study with plan to bring Ana Paula into production in 2028
Vancouver, Canada, November 6, 202 5 – Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSX.V: HSTR, OTCQX: HSTXF, FRA: RGG1)
(“Heliostar” or the “ Company”) is pleased to announce the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment
(“PEA”) evaluating the potential for an underground mine development at the Ana Paula Project in Guerrero,
Mexico and a comprehensive plan to advance the project to production.
Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented , “Today’s PEA demonstrates Ana Paula can be a low CAPEX, high
margin gold mine. Ana Paula is expected to drive the Compan y’s transition to mid -tier status in 2028 by
significantly expanding our production profile at one of the industr y’s lowest cost bases. As we proceed with
the Feasibility Study, the current 15,000m drill program, engineering and metallurgical programs all have the
potential to improve the mine’s economics and are being advanced with the aim of confirming a mine life of at
least 10-years. The Company plans to accelerate key development steps to bring Ana Paula forward including
a restart of decline development in 2026. This early access to the deposit will allow us to further de -risk
development and provide a location to conduct exploration drilling to test for a potential larger deposit at
depth. We are excited at the prospect of bringing Ana Paula into production as a robust free-cash-flow-
generating mine that will underpin Heliostar’s share price for the next decade.”
A report supporting this news release will be available on SEDAR+ ( www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company's
website (www.heliostarmetals.com) within the next 45 days. All dollar amounts referenced in this news release
are in United States dollars (USD or US$) unless otherwise noted.
The results of the PEA are preliminary in nature and include Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered
too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be
categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. The Company
has not made a production decision.
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Ana Paula PEA Webinar
Heliostar will host a conference call on Monday, November 1 0, 2025, at 2:00 PM, Eastern Time/ 11:00 AM
Pacific Time. The call will present the PEA highlights, the path toward a Feasibility Study, and the Company’s
accelerated development plan.
Please use the link here to register for the call or visit the Company website at www.heliostarmetals.com.
Ana Paula PEA Mineral Resource Estimate
The PEA is based on a resource update of the November 27, 2023, resource with 742,000 ounces of Measured
and Indicated and 514,000 ounces of Inferred resources.
Classification Kilotonnes (kt) Gold Grade (g/t) Contained Gold Ounces
Measured 1,300 7.60 317,000
Indicated 2,970 4.44 424,000
Measured & Indicated 4,270 5.40 742,000
Inferred 4,040 3.96 514,000
1. Mineral Resources are reported insitu, using 2014 CIM definition standards.
2. Mineral Resources have an effective date of 30 July 2025. The Qualified Person for the estimate is Mr. Richard
Schwering, RM SME, a Hard Rock Consulting employee.
3. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
4. Mineral Resources are reported above a 2.10 g/t gold cut -off grade constrained within optimized stopes using the
following input parameters: A gold price of US$2,500/oz; a gold metallurgy recovery of 90%; an external mining dilution
of 5%; a mining cost US$72.00/t mined; a processing cost of US$43.00/t processed, general and administrative costs of
US$8.84/t processed; a sustaining CAPEX of US$7.54/t; a NSR royalty of 3.00%; and finishing and selling costs of
US$2.50/gold ounce processed.
5. Stopes were variably oriented along strike and down dip of mineralization. Longitudinal stopes, oriented along strike,
are 20m long by 25m high and transverse stopes, across strike, are 10m long by 25m high. Both longitudinal and
transverse stopes have a minimum width of 4m and 5m after ELOS dilution. Sub-stoping is allowed in both longitudinal
and transverse directions. In the transverse direction, the minimum sub -stope is one-half the total stope height (back
stope), and in the longitudinal direction, the minimum sub-stope is one-half the stope length.
6. Numbers have been rounded.
Ana Paula PEA Mill Feed Inventory
Classification Kilotonnes (kt) Gold Grade (g/t) Contained Gold
Ounces
Contained Gold
Ounces (%)
Measured 1,103 8.12 288 ,000 30%
Indicated 2,305 4.81 356,000 37%
Measured & Indicated 3,408 5.88 644,000 66%
Inferred 2,024 5.04 327,000 34%
Dilution 193 - 0%
Total 5,625 5.37 972,000 100%
1. Dilution is non -mineralized material outside of the proposed stopes that already include planned and unplanned
dilution.
2. Numbers presented above include mining dilution and mining recovery.
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Ana Paula Underground PEA Overview
The study outlines a nine year mine life producing 101.1koz/yr on average after ramp-up, at a cash cost of
US$923/oz and an all -in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$1,011/oz , costing US$300M in initial capex to bring into
production. At the base case gold price of US$2,400/oz, this results in an after -tax NPV of US$426M at a 5%
discount rate, an IRR of 28%, and a payback period of three years.
Key Highlights
Forecast Production Highlights
Mill Feed – LOM 5,625 kt
Gold Grade – LOM 5.37 g/t Au
Gold Grade – Years 1-4 6.64 g/t Au
Gold Produced - LOM 875 Koz Au
Processing Rate 1,800 tpd feed
Process Recovery 90 %
Life of Mine (LOM) 9 years
Average Annual Production – (LOM post six month ramp-up) 101.0 koz
Forecast Financial Highlights
Average Cash Costs (US$ per oz Au) 1 923 /oz
Average AISC (US$ per oz Au) 1 1,011 /oz
Total Initial Capital Cost 300.1 M
Total Sustaining Capital Cost 73.2 M
Total Life of Mine Capital Cost 2 376.3 M
1. Non-International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) measures. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) were first issued by the World Gold Council
(WGC) in 2013 with an updated Guidance note issued in 2018.
2. Includes US$3.0 million in indirect costs.
Forecast Return Estimates based on Gold Price 1, 2
US$2,400/oz 3 US$3,800/oz 4
IRR 28.1% 51.3%
NPV @ 5.0% discount US$426.0M US$1,012M
Payback 2.9 years 1.9 years
1. All other key parameters set at base assumptions, including the 5% discount rate used. More detailed analysis will be present ed in the full
technical report.
2. After tax return estimates.
3. Base gold price assumption used in the Ana Paula technical report.
4. Comparison gold price of US$3,800 with reference to US$3,995 London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) PM gold price on trading day
November 5, 2025.
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Figure 1 – Ana Paula Resource with Gold Ounce and Grade Distribution of Mill Feed by Level
The mine will consist of an 1,800 tpd underground mining operation extracting mineralized material using
transverse and longitudinal, long hole open stoping. The existing exploration adit will be extended by 1.2 km
where it will split into incline and decl ine ramps to access the working levels of the mine. Production will be
predominantly transverse longhole stoping with paste backfill in a bottom -up mining sequence. Where the
mineralization is narrower, longitudinal longhole stoping will be utilized. St opes will be backfilled using
cemented paste backfill. Rock passes in the upper portion of the deposit will be used to reduce trucking
requirements and mining costs. Trucks will be loaded at the bottom of the rock pass and material hauled to
the process plant. The primary ventilation fans will be located on surface at the top of an exhaust raise with
the portal acting as the main air intake. Levels will be connected together via short ventilation drop raises or
longer ventilation raises depending on the mining level and zone.
Mill feed will be fed to an 1,800 tpd processing facility consisting of a 2-stage crushing circuit feeding a ball mill.
Free gold will be captured using gravity concentrators before moving into a flotation circuit. It is expected that
the gravity circuit will recover 15 -20% of the gold. The flotation concentrate will be fed into a 250 tpd bio -
oxidation (BIOX) circuit, expected to increase the overall recovery to 90%. The operation is planned to produce
doré bars on site. Approximately 40% of the tailings will be placed back underground as paste backfill with the
remainder stored in a lined, dry-stack tailings storage facility. A maintenance shop, warehouse and offices will
also be constructed. Power is expected to be connected to the national grid system by installing an electrical
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substation and new transmission line. Water will be sourced from mine de -watering activities during
operations, augmented by groundwater from a new well, as required. A new camp will be developed to
accommodate an estimated 336 people , in addition to employing people in the nearby communities. Mining
will be carried out by a contractor supplying their own mobile equipment.
Figure 2 –Ana Paula Underground Development Schedule and Stope Layout Over the Life of Mine
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Figure 3 – Planned Ana Paula Production Schedule
Forecast Operating Cost Estimates
Operating costs benefit from the low level of development required to support the bulk long hole transverse
open stoping mining method. The operating unit costs also benefit from low -cost power supplied from the
national grid and proximity to national highways to facilitate transportation of consumables.
Mining will access 35 ounces of gold per development metre at Ana Paula . Within the High Grade Panel (725
to 925m levels) the mine plan contains over 3,900 ounces per vertical metre. These metrics drive significantly
lower development cost per ounce mined than industry comparables.
The construction of the BIOX plant allows the Company to include additional mineralized material into the mine
plan, leveraging the planned underground infrastructure and adding mine life to the operation . Bio oxidation
is a technology that utilizes conventional hydrometallurgical equipment and has produced more than 36 million
ounces globally over the past 40 years.
Forty percent of the mill feed in the mine plan is characterized as having good conventional metallurgy with
76% recovery utilizing flotation and CIL, and 90% utilizing bio-oxidation. 40% of the mill feed in the mine plan
is characterized as having poor conventional metallurgy with 37% recovery utilizing flotation and CIL, and 90%
utilizing bio -oxidation. 20% remains untested, but of similar mineralogical characteristics. This material is
being tested in the current metallurgical testing program.
The BIOX flowsheet and projected metallurgical performance w ere developed by Metso Corporation using
standard batch amenability testing. Two LOM composites were developed, representing the higher and lower
recovery feed types . After evaluating the mineralogical makeup of each, these were combined into a single
LOM composite for batch oxidation testing. A total of eight tests were performed to develop recovery
estimates, process design criteria, and operating cost estimates, resulting in an overall recovery of 90%.
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Total Operating Cost Summary
Operating Costs Operating Cost
(US$/oz Au)
Operating Cost
(US$/t feed)
Total mining 421 64.85
Total processing 227 34.94
BIOX processing 87 12.59
Total site general and administrative 50 7.75
Refinery and transport 11 1.63
Cash operating costs 709 109.17
Production taxes 166 25.53
Royalties 48 7.36
Total cash costs 922 142.06
Sustaining capital costs 84 13.01
Total AISC 1,011 155.07
Figure 4 – Ana Paula Process flow sheet
Forecast Capital Cost Estimates
The initial capital cost for the project is estimated to be US$300.1M including US$15M to extend the existing
decline into the deposit, US$45.8M for the BIOX circuit and US$56.8M in total contingency. Sustaining capital
costs are primarily related to underground development through the life of the mine to support production.
The cost estimate is based on work feeding into the Feasibility Study but includes a contingency of 23% of the
total.
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Forecast Capital Cost Summary
Capital Costs Initial
(US$M)
Sustaining
(US$M)
Total LOM
(US$M)
Underground mining 43.4 70.1 113.5
Process plant 61.6 - 61.6
BIOX plant 45.8 - 45.8
Tailings management 26.9 3.1 30.0
Site infrastructure 20.2 - 20.2
Power line upgrade and substation 6.2 - 6.2
Camp expansion 6.8 - 6.8
Total direct costs 210.9 73.2 284.1
Indirects 15.7 - 15.7
Contingency 56.8 - 56.8
EPCM 16.7 - 16.7
Closure and reclamation - 3.0 3.0
Total indirect costs 89.2 3.0 92.2
Total 300.1 76.2 376.3
Economic Analysis
The economic analysis shows a base case after-tax net present value at a discount rate of 5% of US$426.0M,
an after -tax internal rate of return of 28.1%, and a payback period of 2.9 years at US$2,400/oz gold . The
forecast mine life is 9 years in the study. Approximately 866koz of gold are projected to be produced and sold
over the life of the mine.
Summary Economic Results
Project Valuation Overview Units After Tax Before Tax
Total cashflow US$ M 631.3 903.1
Average annual cash flow US$ M 70.1 100.3
Average annual cash flow – Years 1-4 US$ M 119.2 161.0
NPV @ 5.0% (base case) US$ M 426.0 642.7
NPV @ 8.0% US$ M 333.0 524.0
Internal rate of return % 28.1% 38.0%
Payback period Years 2.9 2.4
Payback multiple x 2.1 3.1
Metal Prices
The gold market has experienced significant upward price movement in the past few years. The gold price a s
of November 5th, 2025 is 65% above the base case gold price used in the study.
The sensitivity analysis presents gold price scenarios up to US$4,000/oz Au (near spot prices) to understand
the potential impact of continued gold price movement. From the base case price of US$2,400/oz, a change in
the average gold price of 10% (US$240/oz Au) would change the after tax NPV5 by approximately US$84M.