Rio2 Completes Feasibility Study for the Fenix Gold Project

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rio2 Limited (“Rio2” or the “Company”) (TSXV: RIO; OTCQX: RIOFF; BVL: RIO) today announces the Feasibility Study (“FS”) for its 100% owned Fenix Gold Project (“Fenix Gold” or the “Project”) located in the Maricunga Mineral Belt of the Atacama Region, Chile. The FS, authored by international mining consultants Mining Plus, includes updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates (see Appendix), a run of mine heap leach (ROM) operational plan, and updated capital and operating cost estimates.

The deposit is interpreted as an intrusion related, low sulfidation, quartz-sulphide mineralization of deep epithermal type, lately remobilized by supergene processes facilitated by the permeable fine-grained matrix of the phreatomagmatic breccias.  Gold mineralization is hosted mainly by the tuffs, breccias, and the dacitic subvolcanic intrusions from the Phreatomagmatic Unit and, in less extent, by andesites and dacitic domes of the same unit. The high-grade gold is commonly associated with low-temperature black banded quartz veins (BBV) which occur in sheeted veins, stockworks, in subangular fragments in phreatomagmatic breccias, and in hydrothermal injections of silica-magnetite. Extensive metallurgical test work supported by geo-metallurgical studies have shown that the oxide mineralization is amenable to cyanidation via ROM heap leaching.

All amounts in this news release are in US dollars unless otherwise indicated.

FS HIGHLIGHTS

• 1.77 million gold ounces (“oz”) of Proven and probable Mineral Reserves grading 0.48 grams per tonne (“g/t”) constrained within a $1,650/oz Au gold price pit shell.
  

                        High-grade to leach pad – 81.2 million tonnes grading 0.55 g/t Au
                        Low-grade to stockpile – 33.5 million tonnes grading 0.31 g/t Au

• $353.2 million after-tax life of mine (“LOM”) cumulative cash flow (unlevered)
• $1,237 / oz Au average LOM all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”) – as defined by World Gold Council guidelines
• Life of Mine (LOM) strip ratio – 0.85:1
• Average gold recovery from ROM heap leaching – 75%
• 1.32 million oz Au LOM gold production (17 years)
• 91,000 oz average annual gold production during initial 12 years
• 54,000 oz average annual gold production during final 5 years (4 years 2 months)
• $210.3 million after-tax net present value discounted at 5% (“NPV5”)
• 28.5% after-tax internal rate of return (“IRR”)
• After-tax payback after start of production - 2.8 years.
• A previously announced gold stream with Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. is included in the FS financial estimation.
• Initial capital costs of $117 million with LOM sustaining capital costs of $88 million, which includes adequate contingency at feasibility level.
• Construction timeline of approximately 14 months from receipt of relevant permits and contractor mobilization