Firestone signs MOU with Aurania and RSA for Balangero

Executive Summary

• Firestone Ventures Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Aurania Resources Ltd. and RSA S.R.L. to evaluate the recovery of critical metals and the application of carbon capture technologies at the former Balangero asbestos mine in Italy.
• The agreement grants exclusive access to the site for data collection and sampling of approximately 60 million cubic metres of serpentinite waste rock.
• The project aims to extract valuable metals (nickel, cobalt, chromium, iron, copper) via Aurania and permanently neutralize asbestos while capturing CO2 via Firestone’s carbonation process, with a one-year term before potential commercial agreements.

Key Details

• Parties Involved: Firestone Ventures Inc., Aurania Resources Ltd., and RSA S.R.L. (Societa per il Risanamento e lo Sviluppo Ambientale dell'ex miniera di amianto di Balangero e Corio).
• Site Location: Former Balangero asbestos mine, approximately 25 km north-northwest of Turin, Italy (operational 1916–1990).
• Waste Volume: RSA estimates the main dry-stacked tailings pile contains approximately 60 million cubic metres of serpentinite waste rock.
• Material Characteristics: Material is crushed to negative 10 centimetres, with the majority less than one cm. It is piled approximately 250 metres in height.
• Scope of Work (Aurania): Extraction of valuable metals including nickel, cobalt, chromium, iron, and copper from the waste piles.
• Scope of Work (Firestone): Laboratory feasibility study on using the waste stream to capture carbon from industrial sources and permanently destroy asbestos minerals to render the material benign.
• Technical Partner: Dr. Chiara Boschi (Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, IGG-CNR, Pisa) retained by Firestone; collaboration with Dr. Andrea Rielli (STORECO2).
• Carbon Capture Potential: Theoretical capacity to bind 0.476 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of serpentinite. Total site capacity estimated at 70–73 million tonnes of CO2 if fully converted.
• Process: Ex situ mineral carbonation where magnesium-rich minerals (chrysotile/asbestos and antigorite/serpentine) react with CO2 to form stable, non-toxic carbonates (mainly magnesite) and silica.
• MOU Terms: One-year term. If results are favourable, a commercial agreement will be concluded. Exclusive access granted to Aurania and Firestone for evaluation.
• Strategic Context: Project combines environmental remediation, permanent carbon storage, and circular resource recovery. Not intended as a reopening of a mining operation due to economic infeasibility of known nickel grades.
• Qualified Person: John Rae, PGeo (Ontario), consultant to Firestone, verified geological information per NI 43-101.

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Chiara Boschi: "Through ex situ mineral carbonation, magnesium-rich minerals such as chrysotile (asbestos) and antigorite (serpentine) react with captured CO2 to form stable, non-toxic carbonates (mainly magnesite) and silica. This reaction replicates natural weathering, but in a controlled industrial process that locks away carbon dioxide for geological time scales."
• Dr. Chiara Boschi: "Each tonne of serpentinite can theoretically bind 0.476 tonnes of CO2, meaning that the total capacity of the Balangero site -- if both chrysotile and antigorite phases were fully converted -- could reach approximately 70 [million] to 73 million tonnes of CO2."