OAR Resources Limited provide the following update on exploration plans for its wholly owned Oakdale Graphite Project ("the Project") located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Oakdale Graphite Project is listed as a `critical minerals project' by the Federal Government 1 and has been subject to extensive previous exploration by OAR, culminating in the definition of an initial Combined Indicated and Inferred JORC Resource of 13.47Mt @ 3.3% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) including 6.31Mt @ 4.7% TGC, and a Scoping Study. Given the highly favourable market conditions and a positive long-term outlook for battery-grade graphite, OAR has undertaken a detailed assessment of the Oakdale Project. This included a review of the previous Scoping Study and JORC Resource, plus assessment of the drill core from previous drilling conducted by OAR. The positive outcomes of this review have led the Company to make plans to recommence exploration and other project-advancing works at Oakdale, with a view to updating and expanding the previous Scoping Study. OAR aims to adopt a staged approach to assessing the potential to produce purified spherical graphite for the future supply of spherical graphite, critical to the production of the anode utilised in lithium-ion batteries. Drill Planning - The Company has lodged the Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) with the Department of Energy and Mining of South Australia and has engaged the landholders in the Project area, in preparation for a planned extensive 5,500m aircore drilling program at Oakdale. OAR's previous drilling at the Project totalled 330 air core and 11 diamond drill holes over a combined 19,124 metres. The previous drilling delivered excellent results and resulted in the definition of an initial Combined Indicated and Inferred JORC Resource of 13.47Mt @ 3.3% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) including 6.31Mt @ 4.7% TGC, which formed the basis of the previous Oakdale Scoping Study. The existing resource remains open along strike and at depth, which offers great potential for the expansion of the scale of the project. The planned aircore drilling program will target areas of the current resource that remain open and will also aim to upgrade portions of the resource to the Indicated JORC Resource category. Metallurgical Testwork - The Company has also engaged an independent consultant to conduct further processing and metallurgical test work. This work is initially designed to produce a graphite concentrate of >95% TGC, as a first step in assessing the potential to produce a higher margin Purified Spherical Graphite (PSG). The graphite rich diamond core, used in the original Scoping Study, has been resampled at the Company's storage facility in preparation for the metallurgical testwork. The engagement is based on the detailed assessment undertaken on the Oakdale Graphite Project, which included a review of the previous Scoping Study, together with the Inferred JORC Resource completed at the Project 4 and assessment of drill core from previous drilling conducted by OAR. The original Scoping Study showed an estimated flotation concentrate grade of >90% TGC 5, and amongst other outcomes, `highlights the robust economic nature of the Project'. OAR notes that demand for battery-grade graphite was substantially lower at the time of the original
Scoping Study than it is currently, as was the graphite price. Other inputs to the original study have also changed significantly. The graphite price is now at historic highs and demand is set to continue to remain strong, with electric
vehicles and other high growth sectors relying heavily upon graphite in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Graphite is the dominant anode material utilised in batteries, regardless of the battery chemistry. Previous Metallurgical Diamond Drilling - Five diamond holes (OAD001-004a) were drilled previously by The Company to provide samples for the initial metallurgical testwork used in the 2015 Scoping Study. The ability to now resample the historic drilling will allow the new metallurgical testwork to commence without the immediate need to complete more diamond drilling. This will help reduce both time and costs associated with obtaining new metallurgical samples for an updated scoping study. This will also allow the Company to prioritise the aircore drilling designed to upgrade and infill the current Oakdale Resource Estimate.