Appointment of Specialised Consultants

Halo Minerals PLC

02 April 2026

 

2 April 2026

Halo Minerals PLC

("Halo Minerals" or the "Company")

Appointment of Specialised Consultants and Commencement of Bio-accessibility Study at the Playa Verde Project, Chile

Halo Minerals PLC (AIM: HALO), the copper development company focused on extracting critical minerals from legacy mining waste, is pleased to announce it has contracted specialised environmental consultancy firm MSTECK SpA and engaged a team led by Ms. María Carolina Parodi Dávila. The team will conduct a comprehensive bio-accessibility and human health risk assessment study at Halo's Playa Verde Project (the "Project") site in Chañaral, Chile.

The Company has also engaged an energy & infrastructure consultant to review, optimise and delineate power requirements and access for the Project's mining and processing operations as set out in the Project's existing definitive feasibility study ("DFS").

Highlights

-   Engagement of environmental consultancy team to support assessment of the Playa Verde Project's compliance with the conditions of the Project's approved Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA").

-   Engagement of energy & infrastructure engineer to optimise energy needs and support the Company to contract the power needed for the mining and mineral processing activities identified in the Project's existing DFS.

Andrew Dennan, CEO of Halo Minerals, commented:

"The appointment of these highly qualified teams and consultants along with the commencement of the bio-accessibility study represents an important milestone for the Playa Verde Project. This work is essential to satisfying the environmental conditions set by the Chilean authorities and demonstrates Halo's commitment and strategy to the responsible development of its projects. We look forward to reporting progress as the study advances."

Background and Scope of Environmental Consultants Engagement

The bio-accessibility study is being undertaken to support the Project's compliance with the conditions set by the Comité de Ministros (Committee of Ministers) in connection with the October 2025 approval of the EIA for the Playa Verde Project.  This study is also to design the future programme to report and continue to comply with those conditions once the Project has entered into the production phase. The study will assess total and bio-accessible concentrations of certain heavy metals and metalloids present in the mineralised sands at Playa Verde beach and the adjacent urban airport sector in the commune of Chañaral.

The objective of the study is to support and verify that the planned development and operation of the Playa Verde Project will not generate exposure levels that pose a risk to the health of the local population in accordance with the EIA approval.

Phase 1 of the study is now being initiated which will focus on fieldwork which is expected to include:

·   systematic collection of approximately 160 soil samples across the beach and airport sectors, preparation of composite samples by soil sampling in trial sub-sector;

·    in-situ geochemical characterisation using portable X-ray fluorescence ("PXRF"); and

·   delivery of granulometric curves and Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN) mineralogical analysis result of a representative composite sample from the beach sector.

Thereafter, the study is expected to move to Phase 2 which will include laboratory analysis of total and bio-accessible concentrations of the six target analytes using the Unified Bio-accessibility Method ("UBM"). This phase will also include granulometric and master size analysis, geostatistical validation, and geospatial chemical analysis of soil samples.

Environmental Consultancy Team

The study will be directed by Ms. María Carolina Parodi Dávila, MSc in Environmental Science, Head of the Soil and Environment Laboratory at the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana ("UTEM") in Santiago, Chile.

Project management will be provided by MSTECK S.p.A., a Chilean company specialising in quality assurance, safety, hygiene, and environmental management, which will oversee the engagement of accredited third-party laboratories and field support contractors. Fieldwork support will be provided by AHK-ASMIN, part of the Alfred H. Knight group, with over 140 years of experience in mineral inspection and analysis.

Engagement of Power & Infrastructure Engineer

The Company has also engaged Mr Jorge Barrientos, a Chilean based Energy & Infrastructure engineer. Mr  Barrientos will assist the Company in optimising the expected energy consumption needs in relation to both the powering of the mineral processing plant and single wheeled suction dredge, which are identified as the key components to be able to mine and process the tailings in the Playa Verde Project DFS. As part of the optimisation of the existing DFS the Company will work with Mr Barrientos to identify areas of potential energy consumption savings as well as to secure the required supply of electricity from the Chilean national grid. The outputs of this study are expected to be completed in conjunction with other definitive feasibility optimisation workstreams which the Company expects to initiate shortly.

Further announcements will be made in due course.

The Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of this announcement.

Enquiries:

Halo Minerals PLC	Via Tavistock below
Andrew Dennan, Chief Executive Officer Frank Jackson, Chief Financial Officer
[e-mail]
www.halominerals.co.uk
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD)	[phone]
Liam Murray Ludovico Lazzaretti James Western
Global Investment Strategy (Broker)	[phone]
Christopher Kipling
Tavistock (Public Relations)	[phone]
Nick Elwes Josephine Clerkin Gareth Tredway

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events.   Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. 

 

END