PERTH, Western Australia - Reward Minerals Limited (ASX: RWD) (Reward or the Company) is pleased to advise that exploration licence application E09/2763 was granted by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety on 6 May 2024.

The +200km2 tenement forms the Carnarvon Potash Project (CPP), is 100% owned by Holocene Pty Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Reward) and is situated in an ideal infrastructure location 30km (70kms by road) north of the coastal town of Carnarvon in Western Australia

The CPP has potential to contain concentrated seawater type brines at shallow depth which will be the initial focus of exploration activity going forward. Further, the CPP directly adjoins Mining Lease ML245SA which covers the Lake Macleod salt and gypsum operations (Lake Macleod). Lake Macleod operation involves solar evaporation of concentrated seawater brines extracted from shallow trenches in the lakebed generating a regular supply of feed brine of salinity 10 times seawater

Following evaporation and recovery of salt the residual brine (Bitterns) containing 9-12 g/litre Potassium are discarded. Reward has conducted numerous laboratory trials demonstrating that the Potassium can be recovered from these Bitterns at potentially low cost. Reward plans to conduct pilot testwork and feasibility studies to recover Potassium Sulphate (K2SO4, SOP or Potash) and other industrial products from Bitterns at the CPP. In September 2023, Reward released very positive technical and financial outcomes from an Engineering Scoping Study (ESS) based on Bitterns supplied from solar salt operations1. In summary, the ESS findings indicated that using bitterns (supplied at zero cost) from Lake Macleod and Reward's processing technology, SOP could be produced via an ESG friendly and globally competitive manner. Lake Macleod has operated continuously for over 50 years predominantly under ownership of Dampier Salt Limited (Dampier Salt) which is majority owned by Rio Tinto. Reward notes that on 16 January 2024, Dampier Salt announced it had entered a sales agreement for Lake Macleod, with privately-owned salt company, Leichhardt Industrials Group for $375 million2. The operation has potential to produce in excess of 3.5Mt of Salt per annum and >80,000tpa of SOP.

Reward CEO Lorry Hughes commented: 'The grant of the CPP exploration licence is set to be the start of an exciting new chapter for Reward as we continue to advance the development of our novel SOP processing technology and seek to commercialise it as soon as possible. Located so close to a major regional town, established supplies of solar salt bitterns, gypsum, mains power and water, should allow us to inexpensively progress through the pilot stage of development in order to secure full scale development partners. In addition, there is also potential to sub-lease an existing camp and evaporation ponds located within the CPP that are owned by Beta Nutrition Pty Ltd which holds a 4,000 hectare Crown Lease for Algae cultivation. The Crown Lease partly overlaps the southern part of Lake Macleod and the CPP. Since the completion of the ESS in September last year, Reward has been convinced that the development of SOP operations using reject brines from solar salt operations in ideal infrastructure locations such as Carnarvon can result in the production of the lowest cost and most ESG friendly SOP globally. The pending change of ownership of Lake Macleod to a private equity owned company may provide a new dimension for potential developments. Reward had previously been engaged with Dampier Salt throughout initial phases of the development of the Reward processing technology prior to the sale agreement to Leichhardt'.

Contact:

Email: lorry.hughes@rewardminerals.com

About Reward

Reward is an ASX-listed advanced-stage sulphate of potash exploration and development company. Reward's flagship is its 100%-owned Kumpupintil Lake Potash Project, located east of Newman in north-western Western Australia. The Project hosts Australia's largest high-grade brine SOP deposit in a region with the highest evaporation rate. Reward completed a detailed, conservative Pre-Feasibility Study which was updated with improved logistics in July 2018. An Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) is in place with JYAC, the prescribed body corporate for Martu, the traditional owners of the land upon which Kumpupintil Lake is situated. Key environmental approvals are in place and development can commence on completion of final feasibility studies and secondary regulatory approvals. The Company is currently progressing a Cultural Heritage Management Plan required by the ILUA to manage considerations related to cultural landscape characteristics in the project area. Reward is also focused on advancement of its 100% owned Carnarvon Potash Project, located north of Carnarvon in northwestern Western Australia which comprises one granted Exploration Licence E09/2763. Heritage agreements have been executed with the Yinggarda Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (YAC) who holds native title rights and interests on trust for the Yinggarda common law holders and the Nganhurra Thanardi Garrbu Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (NTGAC) who holds native title rights and interests on trust for the Baiyungu and/or Thalanyji common law holders respectively as defined in the Gnulli Determination (WAD 22 of 2019, WAD 366 of 2018 and WAD 261 of 2019). Reward is also the 100% owner and developer of new processing technology for recovery of high-purity SOP from seawater and other high sulphate brines (Reward Process). The Company submitted an Australian Provisional Patent Application (Application Number - 2022902277) for the Reward Process on 11 August 2022 and completed the international application prior to 11 August 2023

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