Sama Resources Inc. announced initial metallurgical testwork results from its Samapleu nickel ("Ni"), copper ("Cu"), cobalt ("Co") and platinum group elements ("PGE") Project in Ivory Coast, West Africa. The metallurgical testwork
comprised Locked Cycle Tests (LCT) on a composite from the Grata prospect, and batch flotation optimization on a composite from the Samapleu Main deposit,. This testwork was completed by Blue Coast Research Ltd. ("BCR"), a leading metallurgical testing & consulting company based in Parksville, British Columbia. Following a review of the Samapleu and Grata geology, drilling databases and lithologies, representative composites for testing were designed based on the available drill core. A complete description of the design of the composites will be provided as part of the final release on this phase of testing. The composites were subjected to mineralogical characterisation using quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy ("QEMSCAN"). Modal analysis showed the main value sulphide minerals present as chalcopyrite and pentlandite. Minor amounts of iron sulphides, occurring as mostly pyrrhotite, were also present. Most of the silicate gangue was present in the form of various pyroxenes. The chalcopyrite and pentlandite were well liberated at the grind size of approximately 80 percent passing 140
microns, also applied in the 2020 PEA Study. For any sulphide nickel deposit, a primary driver behind the recovery of nickel to the nickel flotation concentrate is the presence of nickel in sulphide form, as non-sulphide hosted nickel cannot be recovered to an economic concentrate by flotation. The Samapleu and Grata prospect compare well against many of their peer deposits in this respect, however like all such deposits, the deportment of nickel as nickel sulphide will vary. Grata Composite A series of rougher and cleaner batch flotation tests were conducted focusing on sequential flotation of the copper followed by the nickel. This represented a different strategy from prior testwork, which produced a bulk concentrate followed by copper-nickel separation. The new process employed sequential rougher flotation for copper and nickel, with each concentrate being reground and cleaned three times. The Grata composite yielded impressive metallurgical performance after only a few tests. Two LCT were then performed. Both tests yielded good grade copper and nickel concentrates at good recoveries, however the second ("LCT #2") was more stable and is the data source for this release. LCT #2 consisted of eight cycles and exhibited exceptionally good stability in both copper and nickel circuits. A copper recovery of 91% was achieved on a copper concentrate at a grade of 25% copper. The nickel grade in the copper concentrate was 0.98% which is not considered high enough to incur penalties. Nickel recovery to the nickel concentrate was 64% at a grade of 14% nickel. Of the nickel reporting to tailings, approximately 11% reported to a cleaner tailings stream, however further work to be reported in due course has revealed a promising way to reduce this loss substantially. Significant cobalt was also recovered to the nickel concentrate, at a grade that will be payable by most smelters. Both concentrates were enriched in palladium, the copper and nickel concentrates assaying 6.9 g/t and 8.1 g/t, respectively. Platinum grades in the copper and nickel concentrates, at 1.7 g/t and 2.2 g/t respectively and are also expected to be payable by some smelters. More details on the flowsheet will be released once the work is complete. Samapleu Main Composite Work so far on the Samapleu Main Composite has been limited to batch flotation testing. However, results have been similarly encouraging, with high-grade copper and nickel flotation concentrates being pulled from the composite after only two cleaning stages. The results shown in Table 3 below will shortly be confirmed with locked cycle testing, which if successful should further boost recoveries of all metals. A copper recovery of 85% was achieved on a copper concentrate at a grade of 25.6% copper. The nickel grade in the copper concentrate was 0.82%. Nickel recovery to the nickel concentrate was 64% at a grade of 13% nickel. Some 48% of the cobalt was also recovered to this concentrate, which, as with the Grata Concentrate, will attract good payment terms from most smelters. Both concentrates were enriched in palladium. The copper and nickel concentrates from Test F-35 assayed 6.0 g/t and 5.8 g/t palladium, respectively. Platinum grades in the copper and nickel concentrates assayed 1.4 g/t and 3.4 g/t. Further testing is ongoing on these composites and a lower-grade composite representing the Extension Zone in Samapleu. Results from this work will be released in the future release. Both copper and nickel concentrates produced from both composites have attractive grades for sale to smelters. In addition, both concentrates are anticipated to include payable levels of palladium and platinum, whereas the nickel concentrate is also expected to contain a payable grade of cobalt.