Future Battery Minerals Limited (ASX: FBM) (FBM or the Company) is pleased to announce outstanding initial results from the Phase 3 drilling programme at the 100% owned Kangaroo Hills Lithium Project (KHLP) in Western Australia (WA, which has discovered multiple new stacked spodumene bearing pegmatites.

These findings indicate a far greater lithium-bearing system at the Rocky and Big Red Prospects than originally anticipated.

FBM Technical Director Robin Cox commented: 'The initial geological results of the Phase 3 drilling programme are a game changer for the scale and potential tonnage of the Kangaroo Hills project. Our interpretation of the intercepted pegmatites at the Rocky Prospect illustrate a stacked system with multiple spodumene bearing pegmatites now intercepted and which remains open in all directions. Given these very encouraging visual results, the Company has moved quickly to expand the current drilling programme with a further 6,000m of RC drilling being added. In addition, a diamond drill rig was recently mobilised to site to further test the Rocky Prospect and to provide much needed structural data of this promising system that remains open in all directions. Work to date at the KHLP has successfully discovered shallow high grade spodumene bearing pegmatites at Big Red, which has now been identified as a larger system with the addition of the successful Rocky drilling. The RC programme will further test the exciting nearby regional prospects at Eastern Grey, Wallaroo and Pademelon which have all intercepted pegmatites, highlighting the success of the Company's target generative work to date.'

Geological Results

The Phase 3 drilling programme initially planned for 5,000m of RC targeting the Big Red Prospect (Big Red) and regional prospects Rocky, Eastern Grey, Wallaroo and Pademelon. Drilling at the Rocky Prospect aimed to further test the outcropping pegmatites and the previous intercept of 5m @ 1.12% Li2O from 104m in KHRC0037. Holes completed to date have intercepted multiple new pegmatites within close proximity to Big Red, which have been interpreted as a larger stacked system and which remains open in all directions. Multiple intercepts have visible spodumene within the pegmatites and are currently awaiting assay results. Currently, the pegmatites show a semi-parallel structure to Big Red, which is characterised by a gentle -20 degree northerly dip. The spodumene pegmatites intercepted exhibit a maximum thickness of 10m (down hole width). However, there is strong potential to intercept thickened zones with similar widths to Big Red (29m @ 1.36% Li2O from 38m KHRC0112 ) given the pinch and swell nature of the KHLP pegmatites. Importantly, the pegmatites at Rocky remain open in all directions and the Rocky Prospect has the potential to significantly add to the scale and tonnage of lithium mineralisation as exploration drilling at KHLP continues.

Drilling Programmes

These outstanding results have materially increased the potential scale of the KHLP. Consequently, the Company is now expanding the current drill programme with an additional 6,000m of RC drilling. This expansion aims to further test additional extensions at Big Red and Rocky, as well as assess the regional prospects at Eastern Grey, Wallaroo and Pademelon. To date, drilling at Rocky has only tested the western margin of the pegmatites on a wide spaced grid. The expanded programme will continue to test the pegmatites towards the east and south directions, employing more closely spaced drilling technique that are suitable for the completion of a Mineral Resource Estimation (MRE). Additionally, a diamond core rig has recently been mobilised to site to provide core samples from the newly intercepted pegmatites and to provide structural data to assess the geometry of the pegmatites. The DD programme will consist of up to 1,500m and will supply additional core samples for metallurgical test work.

Discussion of Results

Given the proximity of Big Red and the previous discovery of mineralised pegmatites, the Rocky Prospect was considered a high priority target. Drilling in the Phase 2 drill programme intercepted 5m @ 1.12% Li2O from 104m in drill hole KHRC037. The focus of the Phase 3 drill programme was to step out from this intercept on a wide spaced 160m x 160m grid to evaluate the continuity of the pegmatite. Importantly, the wide spaced drilling has now intercepted a number of pegmatite units with visible spodumene modelled as continuous and semi parallel to the mineralised Big Red pegmatite. This demonstrates the potential of a larger stacked system comprising both the Big Red and Rocky prospects. To date, drilling at Rocky has been on a wide spaced scale, therefore the widths of the intercepted pegmatites are extremely encouraging and the Geological team believes there is potential to intercept swell points within the system with thicknesses similar to Big Red (29m @ 1.36% Li2O from 38m). Drilling is now to be undertaken on a tighter grid spacing to test this potential.

Selective diamond core drilling is now being utilised to better understand the geometry of the pegmatites at Rocky and to collect metallurgical sample for the Company's ongoing KHLP metallurgical test work. To date, the Phase 3 drill programme has consisted of over 4,800m of RC and 500m of diamond core drilling. Drilling at Big Red commenced with infilling drill lines where mineralised pegmatites were identified. These multiple pegmatites with visible spodumene were intercepted in drill holes KHRC043-KHRC045 with thicknesses up to 10m (downhole width). Due to weather and access conditions, drilling then shifted to the Pademelon Prospect which aimed to test a structural feature identified in the magnetic data north of the historic Londonderry mine, which hosts lithiumcaesium-tantaum (LCT) pegmatites and was historically mined for tantalum and beryl but was known to host lithium mineralisation. Drilling successfully intercepted a continuous pegmatite across the east-west fence line which ranged in thickness from 5-43m (downhole thickness). This shows a potential continuation of the Londonderry pegmatite to the north. With assay results still pending, the discovery of thick, continuous pegmatites at Pademelon is highly encouraging and the geochemistry will assist in vectoring to further lithium mineralisation. At Eastern Grey, five holes have been completed to date. Thin lenses of pegmatite have been intercepted, but further drilling has been planned to the northwest as drilling to date has intercepted the contact between greenstone lithologies and granite. Eastern Grey remains highly prospective with further drilling required to evaluate the target.

Target Generative Geophysics

As part of the on-going target generative exercise at KHLP, a close spaced resistivity survey is scheduled to commence during the next two weeks. Resistivity has proven successful in identifying pegmatites at the KHLP, with the Big Red pegmatite hosting a correlative resistivity anomaly with a northwest trending strike length of over 1km. The geophysical survey is a quick, low cost effective, and non-ground disturbing method of testing large areas of the KHLP tenure for shallow thick pegmatites. This approach facilitates more targeted drilling with the potential of increasing the exploration success rate. Ground gravity surveys have also been expanded at the KHLP. Data from the surveys completed to date is currently being analysed to detect shallow pegmatites with no surface expression.

Contact:

Email: rcox@futurebatteryminerals.com

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