CoTec Holdings Corp. Enters Option Agreement for Acquisition of Lac Jeannine Mining Claims for Application of Binding Solutions Technology

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2023 / CoTec Holdings Corp. (TSXV:CTH)(OTCQB:CTHCF) ("CoTec" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement (the "OptionAgreement") to acquire 31 mining claims forming the Lac Jeannine Property (the "Property") located in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada.

The Property contains historical tailings of the previous Lac Jeannine iron ore mine operated by the Québec Cartier Mining Company between 1959 and 1985. Prior to exercising its option to acquire the Property, the Company intends to complete a maiden resource estimate and extract a bulk sample from the Property tailings material. The bulk sample will be used for independent metallurgy testing and further testing with Binding Solutions Limited ("BSL") of its cold agglomeration technology. If the results are positive, the Company intends to complete a feasibility study regarding the recovery and production of low cost and low carbon iron ore pellets from the Property (the "Project").

Julian Treger, CoTec CEO commented, "This is a major milestone for CoTec and demonstrates our strategy of acquiring interests in a technology and applying it to low carbon, high value mineral extraction opportunities. CoTec and BSL are targeting the production of DR-grade iron ore pellets to support the development of a sustainable green steel industry at almost zero per cent carbon emissions compared to traditional induration processes.

"If successful, targeted revenue could be expected from the Property as early as 2025/2026 and the value of CoTec's interest in this project alone could significantly exceed its current market capitalization.

"CoTec will be working and collaborating with local, provincial and federal stakeholders targeting the completion of our feasibility study followed by permitting and construction. This accelerated timeframe can be compared to the standard seven-to-ten-year development time of traditional mining projects, again emphasising the clear advantage of the CoTec model."

The Option Agreement

Pursuant to the Option Agreement, CoTec will pay the vendor US$40,000 within thirty days of the effective date, US$60,000 nine months following the effective date (subject to certain conditions and subject to extension for 135 days to allow for completion of bulk testing), US$250,000 on exercise of the option and US$1,000,000 at the start of commercial extraction of the tailings. The Company may exercise the option to acquire the mining claims at any time until the earlier of (i) 15 business days after the issuance of all material permits required to construct and operate the Project and (ii) August 7, 2033. If the option is exercised, the vendor will also receive a 1% NSR from the sale of minerals from the historical tailings and a 1.5% NSR from the sale of other minerals from the Property. The 1% NSR and 1.5% NSR could be reduced, at CoTec's option, to 0.5% and 0.75% through the payment of US$1,000,000 and US$2,000,000 respectively.