Critical Mineral Resources PLC Regulatory News (CMRS)

02 August 2021

Caerus Mineral Resources PLC

('Caerus' or the 'Company')

Agreement with Bezant Resources plc

Caerus Mineral Resources (LON: CMRS), the exploration and resource development company focused on developing mineral resources in Europe to support the global "Clean Energy" initiative, is pleased to announce a binding and exclusive Option Agreement (the 'Agreement') with Bezant Resources Plc (LON: BZT) ('Bezant') with regard to the development of the copper and gold-bearing hard rock resources within Caerus' portfolio.

Highlights

· Exclusive Option Agreement grants Bezant 18 months to assess the merits and economic prospects of all Caerus unexploited hard rock mining assets.

· The Agreement allows Bezant to identify one or more of Caerus' assets to be converted into a Mine Development Project(s) under a Joint Venture

· Under any Joint Venture, Bezant has the responsibility to lead the design, finance, construction and operation phases of an open-pit or underground mining operation

· Under the Agreement, Caerus will receive 70% of Joint Venture cash flow until Caerus' expenditure during the pre-mining exploration phase has been reimbursed

· The Agreement complements the existing programme with Jubilee Metals Group, which covers metal recovery from surface mining residues within Caerus' licence areas under the Company's waste to revenue strategy

Strategy and Assets

Bezant is an AIM quoted company with a track record of building significant value in projects from highly cost-effective work programmes - most recently in Zambia and Namibia. Under the Option Agreement announced today, Caerus will advance its exploration programme on development targets identified jointly with Bezant and prioritise those sites with hard rock resources capable of supporting commercial-scale open pit or underground mining operations.

This hard rock strategy with Bezant for underground and or open-pit resources complements the existing Agreement with Jubilee Metals Group that is focused on monetising the metal residues within surface stockpiles of copper-and gold-bearing marginal ore, waste rock and tailings.

Option Agreement Rationale

This Option Agreement enables Caerus and Bezant to engage in an agreed Work Programme to selectively exploit resources within or near to the 20 former mines that operated historically within Caerus' portfolio.

Recent exploration success by Caerus has already shown evidence of new 'gossan' and VMS opportunities at Troulli and Anglisides, and extensions to previously known orebodies at Kalavasos and Mala. Driven by the burgeoning demand for copper linked mainly to global decarbonisation of the transport and energy sectors, there is an opportunity for Caerus to work with Bezant and to harness their skills in the development of Caerus' hard rock properties to full production.

The ultimate objective is to identify and define projects within the Caerus portfolio that can be advanced into one or more Joint Ventures targeting profitable production of hard rock resources using modern methods and design, finance, construction and operation by Bezant, possibly in partnership with Third Parties.

Martyn Churchouse, CEO of Caerus, said: "We are delighted to engage with Bezant at a time when the market demand for copper is so vibrant and is forecast to remain so for many years. This partnership will run in parallel with our Agreement with Jubilee Metals Group and will allow us to pursue a dual strategy of exploring new underground and mineable resources whilst exploiting the value of our stockpiles of copper and gold-bearing waste. Both Bezant and Jubilee are recognised experts in their sectors and are therefore natural partners with which to progress our ambitions.

Our strategic approach to the partnerships with both Bezant and Jubilee allows Caerus to continue to focus on generating value for shareholders through the exploration and identification of undiscovered and undervalued assets whilst farming out the development and operation of assets through value accretive joint ventures."

For further information, please visit www.caerusmineralresources.com or contact:

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About Bezant Resources PLC

Bezant is a natural resources exploration and development company focused primarily on copper-gold with projects currently in Namibia, Zambia, Argentina and the Philippines and a manganese project in Botswana.

About Caerus Mineral Resources

Caerus Mineral Resources is a European focused copper-gold resource development and exploration company with a portfolio of mineral exploration licences located in Cyprus. The Country has a well-developed infrastructure and history of mineral exploration and production, which has been dormant over the last 50 years and provides significant undiscovered value.

With investors recognising copper as one of the cornerstone metals for the Clean Energy Transition centred upon the Electric Vehicle and Stationary Energy sectors, Caerus is working to rapidly expand its copper exploration and production objectives. The Caerus licence portfolio includes 16 former mines which operated with an average head grade of approximately 2% copper.

Caerus' licence portfolio comprises brownfield sites, where historic mining has taken place, and greenfield licences, where there has been no systematic exploration. The Brownfield sites and the former high-grade copper-gold mines they host are evidence of rock types and structures conducive to Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") mineralisation. As VMS deposits characteristically occur in camps or clusters, it is the Company's view that its licences are prospective for both extensions to existing or mined-out orebodies together with new discoveries.

The combination of brown and greenfield exploration provides optionality and the opportunity for the Company to quickly build a resource portfolio that can be commercially developed.

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.