Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited announced over 135 holes have been completed to date, with the average true thickness of clay intercepted from diamond drilling of approx. 45 metres. Recent Project Highlights: Hole FZ-DDH-001: First Diamond Hole into Northern Concessions has intercepted 47m thickness of saprolitic clays.

This was drilled on the Fazenda Mining license which is a northern extension of the Don Maria I & II deposit (94Mt @2,320ppm TREO). Hole CJ-DDH-001: Second Diamond Hole into the Northern Concessions has intercepted 50m thickness of saprolitic clays. This was drilled 350 metres South-West of Viridis grab sample PC-10 which returned 2,753ppm TREO has proven to be Ionic in mineralisation through Ammonia Sulfate leach tests (pH4, room temperature).

These first two holes are now the thickest known intercepts of clays within the entire northern half of the Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex. Hole CS-DDH-003: Third hole drilled into Cupim South prospect, intersected a remarkable 87m thickness of saprolitic clays. This is currently the third thickest intercept of clays within the entire Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex.

100% success rate in intercepting clay mineralisation in every hole drilled to date. Five rigs running on site with over 135 holes completed. Geology of Ionic Clays: In the Poços de Caldas Complex, the company find the optimal conditions for an Ionic Absorption Clay (IAC) type rare earth elements (REE) deposit.

Its alkaline rocks, rich in feldspars, weather mainly into kaolinite. Simultaneously, these rocks contain bastnaesite, a rare earth fluocarbonate. Upon weathering, bastnaesite releases REEs, which ionically bond with the existing clay minerals, further upgrading the region's mineral profile5.

The upper layer in this region consists of clayey soil and bauxite. Through lateralisation, some of the upper layer's rare earths are mobilised to the intermediate horizon, where kaolinite is the main clay mineral, retaining the REEs in ionic form adsorbed onto its structure. Within IAC deposits, the top layer presents the lowest levels of REE mineralisation, as illustrated in the deposition model of both Malaysian and South China Ionic Clay Projects.