Jupiter Mines Limited - Scoping Study High Purity Manganese Sulphate Project

Jupiter Mines Limited (ASX.JMS) (Jupiter or the Company) is pleased to provide an update to its five year Company Strategy, released on 31 March 2023.

The accompanying document is a summary of a completed Scoping Study evaluating the opportunity to supply High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM) to the electric vehicle (EV) battery market (the Project).

Jupiter's Scoping Study for HPMSM production has yielded promising results, confirming successful laboratory scale production with potential for optimisation and scaling up. The Project plans an initial capacity of 50ktpa for the first three years, increasing to 100ktpa from 2030. Financial projections are strongly supportive of advancing further study work for the Project, with base case assumptions arriving at an unlevered post-tax base case IRR of 25% and a peak EBITDA of US$179M per annum at full-scale production. The capital cost for the 100ktpa plant is estimated at US$430M, in line with other advanced projects in the sector.

The decision to study the feasibility of a HPMSM production facility has been undertaken due to Jupiter's strong competitive advantages that can be leveraged as a dedicated pure-play manganese mining company with significant existing mining operations. The financial outcomes of the HPMSM Project have been assessed on a stand-alone basis. All assumptions are based on arms-length inputs so that this Study may be considered independently

Notwithstanding, Jupiter is favourably positioned as a credible and low-risk counterparty for major offtake partners in the HPMSM Project. Jupiter can also generate additional value from synergies from its existing investment in the Tshipi mine:

Jupiter has immediate access to 2Mt (Million Tonne) of readily available stockpiled manganese ore with an in-situ grade of >30%. Within the mine, the lower-grade manganese resource has also been declared as measured and has the potential to continue to be extracted as a by-product of the existing mining operation at a substantially reduced cost and without any further processing necessary for over 100 years. No new or dedicated mine would therefore be required and meaningful additional value can be derived from the sale of this mineral resource. The ore cost contribution to HPMSM, as estimated by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (Benchmark), ranges from 12% - 25% depending on mineral deposit type and HPMSM process methodology. On a like-for-like basis, Jupiter could therefore realise a meaningful operating cost advantage within this range; once operational. Jupiter's aim is to be the most cost efficient ex-China supplier of HPMSM. The competitive advantages explained in this Scoping Study position the Company to achieve that aim; Jupiter is unlevered and generates a strong annual cashflow. It is not dependent on external funding for the study phases of this Project Jupiter can leverage existing infrastructure, skills and manganese industry experience; Jupiter has large long-standing Investors namely AMCI and POSCO with strong financial and industry experience both with downstream processing across the battery mineral value chain.

Optimal plant location options in the US and Canada have been identified as part of the base case, ensuring strategic positioning within the North American market. This is in line with the strong US federal governmental focus on the EV sector. As the EV battery industry develops, alternative locations may be considered by Jupiter if deemed more attractive from a business case perspective. Following these findings, the next steps include a pre-feasibility study starting in March 2024. This phase, estimated to cost up to US$2.9M and last 12 months, will be funded as part of general overhead costs by Jupiter. This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Directors of Jupiter Mines Limited.

Cautionary Statement

The Scoping Study referred to in this announcement has been undertaken to explore the feasibility of developing a production facility to produce and supply High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate to the electric vehicle battery market (HPMSM Project). It is a preliminary technical and economic study of the potential viability of the HPMSM Project. The Scoping Study outcomes, production targets and forecast financial information referred to in this announcement are based on low level technical and economic assessments. Further evaluation work and appropriate studies are required before Jupiter will be in a position to provide any assurance of an economic development case. The Scoping Study is based on material assumptions outlined elsewhere in the announcement. These include assumptions about the availability of funding. While Jupiter considers each material assumption to be made on reasonable grounds, there is no certainty that these material assumptions will prove to be correct or that the range of outcomes indicated by the Scoping Study will be achieved. To achieve the range of outcomes indicated in the Scoping Study, funding of in the order of US$430M will likely be required, comprising overall Project study costs of US$15M and an initial Project capital expenditure of approximately US$415M. Ongoing, self funded annual Project sustaining capital costs of approximately US$3M per year are envisaged. Investors should note that there is no certainty that Jupiter will be able to raise that amount of funding when needed. It is possible that such funding may only be available on terms that may be dilutive to or otherwise affect the value of Jupiter's existing shares. It is also possible that Jupiter could pursue other 'value realisation' strategies such as a sale, partial sale or joint venture in respect of the business and operations of the HPMSM Project. If it does, this could materially reduce Jupiter's proportionate ownership of the business and operations of the HPMSM Project. However, Jupiter has concluded it has a reasonable basis for providing forward-looking statements included in this announcement and believes that it has a reasonable basis to expect it will be able to fund the development of the HPMSM Project which will potentially include funding from external sources such as government grant funding and or co-investment by off-take partners where applicable. While it is Jupiter's current intention to utilise existing ore reserves and mineral resources from the Tshipi mine in connection with the HPMSM Project, the financial success of the HPMSM Project is not dependent on the use of such ore reserves and mineral resources. The procurement of ore feed for the HPMSM Project could be ordinarily and readily procured in the open market. However, for completeness, details of the latest mineral resources and ore reserve statement in respect of Tshipi, which have been prepared by a 'Competent Person' in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code (2012), are available in Jupiter's latest annual report for the four-month period to 30 June 2023, released to the ASX on 29 September 2023 and available on Jupiter's website at https://www.jupitermines.com/. Jupiter confirms it is not aware of any new information or data which materially affects the information included in that release. All material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the Competent Person's Report (CPR) continues to apply and have not materially changed.