Cotec investment MagIron completes pilot plant testing

Executive Summary

• Cotec Holdings Corp.'s investment, MagIron LLC, has completed independent pilot plant tests at the University of Minnesota’s NRRI, confirming the technical viability of a new process flow sheet for the restart of Plant 4 in Grand Rapids, Minn.
• The new process demonstrates exceptional iron recovery rates, achieving 83.5% for direct-reduction-grade (DR-grade) concentrate and 85.9% for blast-furnace-grade (BF-grade) concentrate, significantly outperforming the original Plant 4’s historical recovery rate of 40.0%.
• These results validate MagIron's ability to produce high-grade feedstock for the electric arc furnace (EAF) steel sector and will serve as the foundation for an upcoming NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource and reserve estimate.

Key Details

• Pilot Plant Location: Conducted in partnership with the University of Minnesota, Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), at Coleraine, Minn.
• DR-Grade Concentrate Results:
  • Iron Content: 68.3% total iron (post-LOI).
  • Iron Recovery: 83.5%.
• BF-Grade Concentrate Results:
  • Iron Content: 66.4% total iron (post-LOI).
  • Iron Recovery: 85.9%.
• Historical Comparison: The original Plant 4 previously produced BF-grade concentrate at an iron recovery of 40.0%; the new flow sheet achieves slightly more than double that recovery on a comparable basis.
• Strategic Validation: Results confirm the ability to produce DR-grade iron oxide concentrate, supporting the strategy to supply high-grade feedstock for the growing electric arc furnace (EAF) steel sector.
• Next Steps: Data will form the foundation of the forthcoming NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource and reserve estimate and will be incorporated into the independent feasibility study being completed by Behre Dolbear, expected to be finalized shortly.

Notable Quotes

• Julian Treger, CEO of Cotec: "The completion of the pilot plant study and its exciting results are a major step forward for MagIron towards the execution of its strategy to restart these assets. We remain very bullish on MagIron and are confident that they could become a major player in the U.S. steel industry. As a large shareholder, MagIron's success will further improve the substantial value proposition of Cotec."
• Larry Lehtinen, CEO of MagIron: "The successful completion of our bench testing and pilot plant programs marks another major milestone in the restart of Plant 4. The results confirm that MagIron's new process has the potential to deliver outstanding recovery and product quality metrics. These findings reinforce the robustness of our flow sheet and provide critical validation as we advance our feasibility study and prepare to publish our NI 43-101-compliant resource and reserve statement in the coming weeks."