Blackstone continues to engage community stakeholders to ensure strong community support for the Ta Khoa Project. After collaboration with the peoples' committee at both provincial and district level in 2022, Blackstone accepted the opportunity to relocate the Ta Khoa Refinery to Bac Phong Commune, Phu Yen District. Bac Phong Commune is located adjacent to the Da River and at a point that has all year-round river access.

Bac Phong is the preferred location for the Refinery as it: has a reduced community impact with the need for resettlement reduced by approximately 70%; enabled use of the Da River for transportation during construction and project operations. Using the Da River for transportation provides an alternate transport route as well as significantly reducing the interaction with local communities for logistics management; improved access to the proposed residue storage locations; is the governments preferred location. Permitting remains on the critical path and a priority for its Vietnam team.

In February 2023 the company hit a major milestone with the submission of the Ta Khoa Refinery dossier and commenced the environmental and social and economic baseline surveys for the project. Focus will remain to complete the baseline surveys during 2023 as well as progressing the relevant mining and operational licenses for the Ta Khoa Project. During 2022 Blackstone formed a Permitting Steering Committee with members from Blackstone, key government officials from Son La Peoples Committee and heads from Provincial level agencies such as Department of Natural Resources and Energy, Department of Finance, and Department of Industry and Trade.

This has helped to spearhead the Ta Khoa Project permitting process and as a result, great progress has been made since August 2022. Key milestones include: Formally submitted a dossier seeking an investment policy from the Son La provincial government for the Ta Khoa Refinery in February 2023. This is an important step in advancing the licensing and permitting of the Ta Khoa Refinery.

Blackstone expects formal feedback on the dossier submission in Second Quarter 2023; Hosted the Reserves Council at Ban Phuc Nickel Mine (BPNM) in January 2023. The Reserves Council inspected core samples, drill hole locations, the bulk sample drive in the underground workings, the plant site and laboratory. The Reserves Council were satisfied that the data captured within the reserve report was factual and valid; Executed an agreement with Centre of Industrial Environment to undertake the environmental impact assessment for the Ta Khoa Project and executed an agreement with Development Research and Consultancy Centre to undertake a social and economic base line survey of the Ta Khoa Project.

Works commenced in February 2023 with first draft reports expected in third quarter 2023. Blackstone is actively engaged with the Vietnamese government to approve the Ta Khoa resource and reserve statements and progress application for mining licences to cover the Ban Phuc Disseminated, Ban Khoa Disseminated, King Snake MSV and Ban Chang MSV deposits. Blackstone's subsidiary, BPNM currently holds Mining Licence Extension 129/GP over the Ban Phuc MSV deposit, the existing concentrator and tailings storage facility (TSF).

As the company start 2023, Blackstone will continue to focus on critical path items while limiting spend in this current market environment. With the completion of the Refinery pilot program and integration of learnings into the Ta Khoa Refinery flowsheet, focus will convert to completion of the Ta Khoa Refinery DFS. Test work and piloting for the mine and concentrator will continue, with completion expected in second quarter 2023.

Blackstone's exploration team is currently focused on geophysical targeting with Down Hole Transient electro-magnetic ("EM") work looking for extensions to the Ban Phuc MSV deposit, and 3D Induced Polarisation surveying of the disseminated nickel sulphide deposits to explore for extensions to the identified resources. BPNM is also assessing additional nickel sulphide exploration opportunities in northern Vietnam.