Perpetua Resources Progressing Towards Next Phase
405 S 8th Street #201, Boise, ID 83702
Responsible Mining. Critical Resources. Clean Future.
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NEWS RELEASE
January 2, 2024
Perpetua Resources Progressing Towards Next Phase
Andrew Cole appointed to Board of Directors bringing extensive projects and operational expertise
2023 Milestones Further Strengthen Project’s Strategic Value to U.S. Critical Mineral Development
BOISE, ID – Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA / TSX: PPTA) (“Perpetua Resources” or “Perpetua” or
the “Company”) announced today that the Company is making progress as it continues to advance the
Stibnite Gold Project (“Stibnite Gold Project” or “Project”) through the regulatory process and toward a
construction decision. As Perpetua prepares for the next phase, the appointment of And rew Cole to the
Board of Directors enhances Perpetua’s operational expertise and further strengthens its deep bench of
experienced leaders.
Perpetua Resources’ vision is to provide the U.S. with a domestic source of the critical mineral antimony,
develop one of the largest and highest-grade open pit gold mines in the country and restore an abandoned
brownfield site. Perpetua Resources is focus ed on advancing the permitting for the Stibnite Gold Project
through the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) process and construction readiness for the Project.
Board of Directors Strengthened with Appointment of Andrew Cole:
Andrew Cole was appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors effective immediately. He brings over 35
years of experience in the metals and mining industry including substantial expertise in the processing of
refractory ore having been General Manager at Barrick Gold’s Goldstrike Mine . Mr. Cole currently leads a
consulting practice and m ost recently supported an emerging gold producer through the successful
development of its processing strategy and the restart of its autoclave facility in Nevada. Mr. Cole previously
served as General Manager of the Donlin Gold Project in Alaska , where he secured the Project’s major
permits, including its Final Record of Decision. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of Barrick
Gold’s United States Operations. Mr. Cole holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Material Sciences and
Engineering from the University of Arizona and received his MBA from the University of Nevada. He is a
member of the Society of Mining Engineers (“SME”) and in 2019 was honored as the SME’s Miner of the
Year.
2023 Milestones and Recent Highlights:
• Zero lost time incidents or reportable environmental spills.
• The 75-day public comment period on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement
concluded with more than 15,000 letters submitted in support of the Project.
• Signed Definitized Agreement for Critical Minerals Award of $24.8 million through Department of
Defense (“DOD”) under the Defense Production Act.
• Awarded up to $15.5 million in DOD funding to demonstrate a fully domestic antimony trisulfide
supply chain.
• Appointed Vice President of Projects to lead development of the Stibnite Gold Project.
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• Reached Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Settlement Agreement with the Nez Perce Tribe and approval
from U.S. District Court.
• Completed the majority of the early action restoration work at site.
• Completed pre-construction planning and scheduling for the Project.
“Perpetua Resources accomplished several significant milestones in 2023 as we progress towards the next
phase for the Stibnite Gold Project ,” said Laurel Sayer, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. “ We
secured additional funding through the Department of Defense, completed pre-construction planning and
scheduling for the Project , strengthened our Board and leadership team, and continued to advance our
environmental goals . I believe our recent achievements further strengthen the Stibnite Gold Project’s
strategic value to U.S. critical mineral development, and we look forward to a Record of Decision in 2024.”
On January 1, 2024, the U.S. Forest Service (“USFS”) released an updated schedule for the Project. Based
on the updated schedule, the Company anticipates that the USFS will publish a Final Environmental Impact
Statement (“FEIS”) and a Draft Record of Decision (“DROD”) in the second quarter of 2024 and a Final
Record of Decision (“ROD”) in the fourth quarter of 2024. The USFS has confirmed that cooperating agency
review of the FEIS is nearing completion and is focused on progressing both documents towards final
consultations and reviews in Washington D.C.
Perpetua also continues to advance work on several ancillary permits which are being progressed in parallel
with the NEPA process.
For further information about Perpetua Resources Corp., please contact:
Chris Fogg
Investor Relations Manager
Mckinsey Lyon
Vice President External Affairs
Website: www.perpetuaresources.com
About Perpetua Resources and the Stibnite Gold Project
Perpetua Resources Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is focused on the exploration, site
restoration and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central
Idaho that are encompassed by the Stibnite Gold Project. The Project is one of the highest-grade, open pit
gold deposits in the United States and is designed to apply a modern, responsible mining approach to
restore an abandoned mine site and produce both gold and the only mined source of antimony in the United
States. Further advancing Perpetua Re sources’ ESG and sustainable mining goals, the Project will be
powered by the lowest carbon emissions grid in the nation and a portion of the antimony produced from
the Project will be supplied to Ambri, a U.S.-based company commercializing a low-cost liquid metal battery
essential for the low -carbon energy transition. Perpetua Resources has been awarded a Technology
Investment Agreement of $24.8 million in Defense Production Act Title III funding to advance construction
readiness and permitting of the Project. Antimony trisulfide from Stibnite is the only known domestic source
of antimony that can meet U.S. defense needs for many small arms, munitions, and missile types. In addition
to the company’s commitments to transparency, accountability, environmental stewardship, safety and
community engagement, Perpetua Resources adopted formal ESG commitments which can be found here.
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Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Note
Investors should be aware that the publication of the SDEIS and the updated permitting schedule, and the identification by the USFS of
the Modified Mine Plan as the Preferred Alternative in the SDEIS, does not indicate any commitments on the part of the USFS w ith
regard to the content or timing of a final decision. In developing t he Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS"), the next phase of
the NEPA planning process, the USFS may select various actions based on the Modified Mine Plan or each of the alternatives an alyzed
in the SDEIS. Furthermore, the USFS is not bound by the permitting schedule and anticipated milestones may be delayed materially or
not be satisfied. In addition, as previously disclosed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10 -Q for the three and nine months
ended September 30, 2023 (the “Q3 Report”), as of November 9, 2023, our expectation of incurring significant costs in the foreseeable
future that are not eligible for DPA funding reimbursement and the need for additional funding to further support the development of
our planned operations, raised substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one yea r after
such date. The Company continues to explore various funding opportunities to support its liquidity during the permitting process, which
may include the issuance of equity or debt, additional government funding and/or other financing opportunities. See “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations —Liquidity and Capital Resources” in our Q3 Report for more
information.
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements"
(collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward -Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, disclosure regarding
possible events, next steps and courses of action including environmental clean up actions by us and our cont ractors; our ability to
comply with and obtain permits related to the Stibnite Gold Project; actions to be taken by the DOD, USFS, the State of Idaho and other
government agencies and regulatory bodies; our ability to successfully implement and fund the Project and the occurrence of t he
expected benefits from the Project; the timing of updates from the USFS related to the Stib nite Gold Project, including with respect to
the FEIS, DROD and ROD; predictions regarding improvements to water quality, water tempe rature, and fish habitats and other
environmental conditions at the site, including with respect to process and timing of such improvements; reduction of the Pro ject
footprint and the anticipated benefits and other effects thereof; our ability to successfully implement the Project and the occurrence of
the expected benefits from the Project, including contributions to the workforce, national security and clean energy transiti on; our and
Ambri Inc.'s ability to perform under the supply agreement, which agree ment is subject to certain conditions, including identification
of one or more refiners to transform our antimony concentrate into antimony metal, and mutual agreement on certain material t erms,
including volume and pricing ; good faith discussions between Perpetua Resources and the Nez Perce Tribe with respect to future
permitting and activities at the Project and the anticipated source of funding of Perpetua Resources’ payments required under the CWA
Settlement Agreement. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations
of such words and phrases or statements such as "anticipate", "expect" "plan", "likely", "believe", "intend", "forecast", "pr oject",
"estimate", "potential", "could", "may", "will" , "would" or "should". In preparing the Forward -Looking Information in this news release,
Perpetua Resources has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions that the current exploration,
development, environmental and o ther objectives concerning the Stibnite Gold Project can be achieved and that its other corporate
activities will proceed as expected; that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner and
that permitting and operations costs will not materially increase; the review process under the NEPA (including any joint review process
involving the USFS, the State of Idaho and other agencies and regulatory bodies) as well as the FEIS will proceed in a timely manner
and as ex pected; payment and other settlement conditions under the CWA Settlement Agreement will proceed on the anticipated
timeline and terms; that we will be able to discharge our liabilities as they become due and continue as a going concern; that we will
be able to obtain sufficient funding to finance permitting, pre -construction and construction of the Project and that all requisite
information will be available in a timely manner. Forward -Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Perpetua Resources to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other factors
include, among other things, changes in laws and regulations and changes in the application of standards pursuant to existing laws and
regulations which may result in unforeseen results in the permitting process; uncertainty surrounding input to be re ceived from
regulators and community stakeholders; risks related to dependence on key personnel; risks related to unforeseen delays in the review
process including availability of personnel from the USFS, State of Idaho and other stated, federal and local agencies and regulatory
bodies (including, but not limited to, future U .S. government shutdowns); risks related to opposition to the Project; risks related to
increased or unexpected costs in operations or the permitting process; risks that necessary financing will be unavailable when needed
on acceptable terms, or at al l, and that we will be able to continue as a going concern ; risks related to the outcome of litigation and
potential for delay of the Project, as well as those factors discussed in Perpetua Resources' public filings with the U.S. Se curities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and its Canadian disclosure record. A lthough Perpetua Resources has attempted to identify
important factors that could affect Perpetua Resources and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially f rom 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. There can be no assurance that Forward -Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on Forward -Looking Information. For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's
business and liquidity, see the "Risk Factors" and "M anagement's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations" sections of the Company's filings with the SEC, including Perpetua’s Annual Report on Form 10 -K filed with the SEC on
March 16, 2023 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov and with the
Canadian securities regulators, which are available at www.sedar.com. Except as required by law, Perpetua Resources does not assume
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any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward -Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.