Gold Mountain Limited announced that geologists from Gold Mountain and Mars Mines Ltd. (Mars) have commenced high level regional field reconnaissance and due diligence work on the four lithium project areas in Brazil. As announced 18 September 2022, Gold Mountain has an option to acquire up to a 75% interest in the projects from Mars. This initial reconnaissance survey took approximately 10 days to complete with the geologists visiting three out of the four project areas.

Initial reports from the geologists are encouraging with potential lithium bearing pegmatites observed in sub-crop, outcrop and proximal float at both the Juremal and Custodia project areas. Spodumene (lithium aluminium silicate) was visually identified on and adjacent to both of these tenements, hosted by pegmatites. Rock chip sampling, geological traversing and mapping is underway on the project areas, and once completed the rock chip samples will be submitted to the ALS laboratory in Brisbane and the SGS laboratory in Belo Horizonte in Brazil for analysis.

Geological traversing of tracks and arid Caatinga scrub land covering tenement 870208/2022 has resulted in the identification of potential spodumene bearing pegmatites in the southern part of the licence. Samples are dominantly float from a licence containing minimal outcrop, estimated at well under 0.5%, beneath a widespread thin colluvial and alluvial gravel and cobble layer. Sufficiently incised drainage is present to warrant a detailed stream sediment sampling survey that will define areas for soil sampling.

It is thought that soil, colluvial and alluvial cover is very thin overall (1-3m), with outcrops mainly found along the bed and banks of shallow drainage lines. Lithium pegmatites were reported within the granted Custodia project tenements by Neliton Santos, Mars Mines' local Brazilian geologist. Neliton Santos carried out a soil and rock chip sample program earlier in the year.

Visible spodumene was identified in some of the pegmatite samples which he collected, these samples are currently at the laboratory, pending analysis. The current work comprised resampling the pegmatite and limited mapping. Abundant colourless, pale blue and mauve coloured spodumene (kunzite) crystals were identified within the host weathered pegmatite and structural zone.

Numerous crystals of spodumene recovered by local farmer were also inspected. The Mars tenements granted by the Brazilian Mining Agency are designed to cover potentially favourable geology settings for pegmatite, however given the inaccuracy of the regional data this may need to be reviewed. Favourable pegmatite source geology is considered to be the Brasiliano/Pan African age Itaporanga and Camalau intrusive suites and its immediate hosts within an approximate 5km of the granite margins.

The Mars tenements are located in underexplored lithium bearing pegmatite provinces and very few samples have been collected by the Brazilian Geological Survey during their regional rock sampling program. Several low-level anomalous samples were recovered by the Brazilian Geological Survey and these are now considered to be of significance due to the rapid leaching of lithium expected in the strongly weathered and lateritized environment present. This gives Gold Mountain the unique opportunity to be one of the first to effectively explore this highly prospective region.