Faraday Copper Announces Positive Metallurgical Results and Confirms High Copper Recovery Through Coarse Grind and Flotation

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 20, 2025 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (TSX:FDY)(OTCQX:CPPKF) is pleased to announce the results of its metallurgical program for the Copper Creek project in Arizona ("Copper Creek"). The metallurgical program utilized samples from the Phase III drill program and was conducted by ALS Metallurgy (Kamloops, BC), with oversight by Ausenco Engineering.

The primary focus of the program was to evaluate the metallurgical performance of potential open pit mill feed material from the American Eagle area through coarse particle flotation across an extended spectrum of grind sizes. Application of a coarse grind and coarse particle flotation offers the potential to significantly increase mill throughput and reduce processing cost, compared to those contained in the Copper Creek Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")¹.

This metallurgical program tested samples and composites from open pit domains by blending material types to determine performance ranges under various mill feed conditions. Expanding upon previous test work on the current resource area, the program was designed for comprehensive data collection related to grind size optimization, mineralogical composition, variability testing, conventional flotation and coarse particle flotation via hydrofloat.

Highlights

• Achieved copper rougher recoveries² of 95.0% on a sulphide composite from the American Eagle area at a substantially larger grind size³ than that assumed in the PEA by applying Coarse Particle Flotation ("CPF"), resulting in the following potential benefits:

  • Coarse grind and CPF can be used to maintain high copper recoveries across a full spectrum of feed grades. Applying a 350 micron ("µm") primary grind with CPF scavenging returns comparable copper recovery to a conventional flotation circuit with a 200 µm primary grind³.

  • Significant increase to mill throughput.

  • Reduced ball mill grinding energy by approximately 50%.

• Continued to demonstrate excellent metallurgical performance on samples from the near-surface material at the American Eagle area, measuring locked cycle copper recoveries above 92% to a copper concentrate grade of approximately 31% copper.

• Metallurgical test work confirms a coarse grind and high copper recovery flowsheet with a highly marketable, clean concentrate.

• Data for the entire deposit supports the potential for low capital intensity and a favourable operating cost profile. This data will underpin future technical studies.

Zach Allwright, VP Projects and Evaluations, stated "The metallurgical results represent a pivotal point in the technical advancement of Copper Creek. The ability to maintain very high copper recoveries at a coarse primary grind across a wide range of feed grades demonstrates the near-term potential for enhanced project economics. The test work completed to date demonstrates that the mill throughput rate could be significantly increased in a capital efficient manner, while reducing operating costs and reinforcing our commitment to sustainability. We are excited to incorporate our recent drilling success and optimized flowsheet approach into an updated technical study in the second half of 2025."

Next Steps

The outcomes of this program will be assimilated with historical test work to form the basis of the flowsheet design criteria and infrastructure considerations for future technical studies. The steps to continue to enhance the value of the project include:

• Environmental Data: The Company continues to expand its environmental baseline data collection program including water sampling, installation of additional monitoring wells, stream gauges, and piezometers in drill holes. The program also encompasses site-specific meteorological and air data collection, along with archaeological, cultural, flora and fauna studies.

Metallurgical Program Technical Details

Overview

The metallurgical program utilized samples from the Phase III drill program, to complement and expand upon previous test work as outlined in the PEA¹. The metallurgical program was conducted by ALS Metallurgy (Kamloops, BC), with oversight by Ausenco Engineering.

This test work program was designed to complete the following scope with focus on the potential open pit mill feed material:

• Semi-Autogenous Grinding ("SAG") mill comminution and Bond Mill Work Index ("BMWi") testing completed on all samples.

• Mineralogical composition assessment on eight sulphide variability samples.

• Detailed mineralogy particle mineral analysis completed on sulphide master composite and coarse fractions of CPF sulphide composite.

• Flotation testing on sulphide composites and variability samples.

• Hydrofloat testing on a CPF sulphide composite.

The outcomes of this program will be integrated with the historical test work to form the basis of the process design criteria for the updated technical study expected to be released in the second half of 2025.

Sample Selection and Spatial Context

The metallurgical program comprised seven samples representing potential open pit material at the American Eagle area and Area 51, and one sample from Old Reliable. Two composites were compiled to challenge metallurgical performance and demonstrate deposit-wide application of coarse particle flotation. The American Eagle master composite was compiled from sulphide materials to reflect a lower grade composite than previously tested sulphide composites. The American Eagle area CPF composite was designed to reflect a lower grade mill feed scenario and a blend of approximately 50:50 breccia with vein-hosted mineralized material.

Samples were acquired from the Phase III drill program, which is focused on expansion of near-surface mineral resources in the American Eagle area.

Sample details are presented in Table 1 and sample locations are presented in Figure 1 below.

Table 1: Phase 3 Metallurgical Sample Details

Figure 1: Sample Locations

Comminution Results

SAG and ball mill energy assessment tests were conducted on the variability samples, which included industry standard SAG mill comminution and BMWi measurements, respectively. Results of the Phase 3 program and previous phases are presented in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Comminution Results

The outcomes of the comminution test work indicate that the new materials fall within the design tolerances of the PEA. The Old Reliable sample showed a higher resistance to impact breakage with an Axb value of 28, however the American Eagle area and Area 51 were similar to previous results. The BMWi results were similar to the averages measured in the previous programs, demonstrating consistent comminution expectations across the known deposits.

Flotation Performance - Sulphide Material

Flotation testing on the American Eagle area master composite ("MC") culminated in a locked cycle test conducted at a primary grind size of 218 µm. Similar process conditions to the locked cycle test conducted in the Phase 2 program were applied to the Phase 3 program. Results are presented in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Locked Cycle Test Results

The American Eagle area master composite returned similar metallurgical performance as the two sulphide composites from the current open pit resource that were previously tested (refer to the Company's news release dated February 26, 2024). Compared to the previously tested sulphide composites, the difference in copper recoveries can be attributed to the lower feed grade and slightly higher losses to the cleaner tailings. The near-surface samples of the American Eagle area have lower modelled molybdenum concentrations than at depth and in other areas of the deposit, and as a result, molybdenum recovery was not tracked in these flotation tests.

Open circuit cleaner flotation tests were conducted on each of the variability samples. The developed conditions were applied, which included low dosages of potassium amyl xanthate ("PAX") as a collector, regrinding and up to three stages of dilution cleaning. Moderate dosages of lime were applied in the cleaner circuit.

Chalcopyrite is the dominant copper-bearing sulphide and occurs together with minor amounts of bornite; both recover well in a flotation circuit. This chalcopyrite dominant mineralization is representative of the American Eagle area and the wider open pit resource. Area 51 samples (24-MET01 and 24-MET02) contain chalcocite together with bornite, chalcopyrite and pyrite (Figures 1 and 5), which explains the different performance compared to the American Eagle area. Copper concentrate grades averaged 26% copper when including vein-hosted material from the American Eagle area and pyrite and chalcocite-rich breccia material from Area 51. Results are presented in Table 4 below.

Table 4: Phase 3 Cleaner Flotation Results