Battery Mineral Resources Corp. provided an operational, permit and community relations update. The Punitaqui copper mining complex ("Punitaqui") includes the copper concentrator or "plant", tailings storage facility, electrical, instrumentation and mechanical maintenance facilities, administration offices, assay laboratories, cafeterias, copper concentrate storage and loadout facilities, and the Cinabrio, San Andres and Dalmacia mines and includes the soon-to-be established Cinabrio Norte mine. The Company reported that personnel hiring for the resumption of full operations at Punitaqui is on schedule. Furthermore, final mine maintenance at the San Andres mine including rehabilitation of ground support, re-activation of
compressed air, ventilation, power, and water in preparation for resumption of full mining operations, commenced in late November. A contract for the final stages of Punitaqui plant maintenance and rehabilitation has been executed and activities commenced December 4th with the aim of full operational commissioning of the plant in March and plant start-up in April of 2024. Permits have been granted allowing for thickened tailings deposition into the tailing's storage facility of up to 1,500,000 tonnes - representing approximately 20 months of mine and plant operations during the first phase of operations at Punitaqui. The company expects to receive a permit for "dry stack" or filtered tailings deposition in late 2024. Filtered tailings deposition has many benefits over thickened tailings deposition including much lower water consumption in plant operations and far greater capacity for tailings storage over the same physical footprint. Construction and commissioning of the tailings filter plant will take nine months and thereafter, filtered tailings are to be deposited. Deposition of filtered tailings will allow for an additional eight-plus years of tailings storage at permitted mining rate. This will be accomplished over nearly the same footprint the current tailings storage facility occupies. A permit for the San Andres mine has been granted which allows for BMR to commence drifting, ramp construction and mine development on two different elevation levels and allows for establishment of new underground exploration drilling platforms. This mine development will establish access to new zones of copper mineralization for the forthcoming mine production. Other activities at the San Andres mine include final achievement of equipment, supplies and personnel arrangements.