Perpetual Resources Limited announced the finalization of the white sand sub-domain testing program at the Company's high grade silica sand project at Beharra. Perpetual has now confirmed Beharra as the lowest known Fe2O3 silica sand deposit in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Efforts remain ongoing to test the further extent of iron impurity reduction, in addition to analysis of other potentially valuable end product streams from Beharra, with the aim of maximizing the revenue per ton potential of the project.

Perpetual had initially studied the Beharra project assuming a comingling of white and yellow sand horizons, which was considered a conservative "baseline" assessment of the project with a view to optimization of project parameters over time. This initial analysis culminated in the announcement in March 2021 of the Beharra Pre-Feasibility Study, which calculated an ungeared project NPV of $231 million with one of the key assumptions being the sale of silica sand with an iron-oxide content (Fe2O3) of 276ppm (235ppm for the coarse product stream and 280ppm for the fine product stream, with a resultant 276ppm for the combined product stream). The Beharra PFS outcome was considered excellent, with development efforts then shifting to target a systematic refinement of end product quality with the aim of further reducing the iron-oxide content in Beharra end product to enable greater acceptance into the Asian glass markets, including potentially the rapidly expanding ultra-clear and cover glass markets (which include the PV-solar cell cover glass markets).

Perpetual undertook an initial 300kg white sand sampling program at Beharra, the results of which were announced in April 2021 (please refer to ASX announcement dated 22nd April 2021, titled "Exceptional metallurgical test results at Beharra deliver game changing impurity levels"), demonstrating that a development scenario targeting the white sand horizon was likely to deliver a far superior end product specification than a comingled white and yellow sand product. Perpetual then undertook a representative drilling program and bulk metallurgical testing program that confirmed the metallurgical characteristics of a white sand only processing scenario over an initial 10 years of mine life at Beharra. The results of this representative testing were announced to the market in December 2021 (please refer to ASX announcement dated 2nd December 2021, titled "Beharra Test Work Confirms Exceptional White Sand Impurities"), and demonstrated an end product with the key Fe2O3 impurity level of 173ppm.

The results of this testing program were considered exceptional and positioned Beharra, after thorough conclusive test work, as the lowest known impurity silica sand project in the Mid West region of Western Australia. To further understand the potential for iron-oxide and other key impurity reductions, such as aluminium-oxide (Al2O3) and titanium-dioxide (TiO2) additional metallurgical analysis was commissioned to explore whether the distinct chemical zonation that appears throughout the vertical extent of the Beharra white sand sequence had any material impact on final product quality. Individual bulk samples were then undertaken targeting the following specific sub-domains at Beharra; · Yellow sand horizon (Y), · Upper White sand horizon (UW), · Lower White sand horizon (LW), · Grey Sand horizon above the water table (GA), and · Grey Sand horizon below the water table (GB) The test results announced reflect the final representative bulk samples from each of these five sub-domains and confirm that ore-body chemical zonation has an impact on final product specifications and allow potential for selective processing of white sand horizons to match end user specifications.

Importantly, the most recent round of metallurgical testing has once again confirmed a simple gravity and magnetic separation flow sheet for the processing of Beharra silica sand, which importantly does not include any use of toxic reagents or acid, owing to the superior metallurgical characteristics of the Beharra orebody. Based on a search of public information, the end product impurity profile of the Beharra orebody on a "low iron" basis is currently unmatched by any high grade silica sand project in the Mid West region of Western Australia, with Beharra now offering the unique characteristics of large annual production and long mine life with a low impurity profile. It should be noted that the yields presented in the above flow sheet are considered conservative, due to the test work focus on maximising the rejection of Fe2O3.

Perpetual's previous test work reported yields of 74.4% to the combined product vs the 68.4%. Perpetual is currently undertaking revenue optimization analysis with a view to enhancing the overall product yield potential of the orebody, exploring the potential sale of end products that are not optimised for low-iron content. This represents a key source of potential yield optimization (gains) and potential economic enhancement of the Beharra project.