Highlights of the 2025 Exploration Program:

 

Infill drilling at the Grata Deposit aims to convert a part of the 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate containing nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold from Inferred Resources to higher confidence Indicated Resources.

 

Resource expansion drilling to step out from the existing polymetallic mineralization at the Samapleu Main Deposit.

 

Detailed environmental and social baseline studies to be conducted to support future mine permitting.

 

Exploration drilling to test the Mossikro prospect for the first time, where polymetallic mineralization is coincident with conductivity, similar to the Samapleu and Grata Deposits.

 

Montreal, Quebec – TheNewswire - May 27, 2025 – Sama Resources Inc. (“Sama” or the “Company”) (TSXV: SME) (OTC PINK SHEETS: SAMMF) together with its joint venture partner Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (“Ivanhoe Electric”) (NYSE American: IE; TSX: IE), is pleased to announce the commencement of the 2025 exploration program at the polymetallic Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project (the “Project”), which includes the polymetallic Samapleu and Grata Deposits in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.

 

The 2025 exploration program includes 4,500 meters of diamond drilling and updated environmental and social baseline studies to support Project advancement toward a mining permit application. The Project is a 60/40 joint venture between Ivanhoe Electric and Sama, with Ivanhoe Electric acting as the operator (the “Joint Venture”). In addition to a 60% interest at the Project level, Ivanhoe Electric also owns 22.7% of the common shares of Sama.

 

Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of Sama Resources, commented, “The Samapleu-Grata Project includes the large polymetallic Samapleu and Grata Deposits, which formed the basis of our 2024 PEA, demonstrating the potential for an economic, polymetallic mining operation. Our upcoming program will continue to advance the Project on multiple fronts—technically, environmentally, and socially—to de-risk and position the Samapleu and Grata Deposits for development. We are also eager to follow up on the high-grade and copper-rich polymetallic mineralization we identified at the southwest Samapleu Extension and explore regional geophysical anomalies for potential incorporation into future technical studies. We believe that the Project, including the Samapleu and Grata Deposits, has the potential to grow into a world-class polymetallic mining district.”

 

The 2025 exploration program aims to further advance the Project following the March 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) by upgrading Mineral Resource confidence, expanding the current Mineral Resource, and completing the environmental studies needed to support future mine permitting within the 2024 PEA Area.

 

The 2024 PEA focused on only the Mineral Resources comprising the Samapleu Main, Samapleu Extension, Grata, and Sipilou Sud Laterite Deposits. It highlighted the potential for a large-scale, polymetallic, and conventional open-pit mining operation producing copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold (the “PEA Area”) (refer to Sama’s March 21, 2024 news release).

 

The revised 2024 PEA demonstrates the potential for a polymetallic mining operation producing 887,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate, 621,000 tonnes of copper concentrate, and by-product cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold, over a 16-year mine life. The life-of-mine all-in sustaining cash costs[1] are US$6.13 per pound of nickel and US$2.77 per pound of copper before by-product credits, and US$4.34 per pound of nickel and US$2.17 per pound of copper after by-product credits, producing a pre-tax net present value (“NPV”) of US$463 million and internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 28.2% with a post-tax NPV of US$277 million and post-tax IRR of 22.3% at an 8% discount rate.

 

The PEA Area encompasses only 3% of the 835 km2 Project area, and the broader land package is considered highly prospective for additional polymetallic sulfide deposits, with limited regional exploration to date resulting in the Yepleu discovery 25 kilometers to the south-southwest. Accordingly, the 2025 exploration program includes a regional exploration drilling designed to test one of the multiple polymetallic sulfide prospects, Mossikro, approximately 10 kilometers to the south-southwest of the PEA Area, with the goal of potentially demonstrating the district-scale potential of the Project.

 

Further details about the 2025 exploration program:

 

• Infill drilling comprising 3,000 meters is designed to convert Inferred Resources at the polymetallic Grata Deposit into higher confidence Indicated Resources. The Grata Deposit comprised nearly 70% of the Inferred Resources used in the 2024 PEA, totaling 67.3 million tonnes grading 0.24% nickel, 0.25% copper,0.01% cobalt, 0.10 grams per tonne (“g/t”) platinum, 0.26 g/t palladium, and 0.04 g/t gold.  

 

• Resource expansion drilling comprising 1,000 meters at the polymetallic Samapleu Main Deposit is designed to step out from the currently defined Mineral Resources and delineate the southwest extension of the deposit. Limited drilling in the area intersected high-grade, copper-rich, and polymetallic mineralization, including 11.90 meters grading 1.50% copper, 0.50% nickel, 0.02% cobalt, 1.04 g/t platinum, 0.55 g/t palladium, and 0.03 g/t gold.  

 

• An airborne versatile time-domain electromagnetic (“VTEM”) geophysical survey completed in 2018 identified additional conductivity anomalies, similar to the Samapleu and Grata Deposits. The regional exploration drill program includes 500 meters of drilling and will explore for the first time the Mossikro prospect, located 10 kilometers to the south-southwest of the PEA Area, with potential for high-grade and polymetallic sulfide mineralization coincident with a strong conductivity anomaly and in the same ultramafic intrusive geology hosting the Samapleu and Grata Deposits.  

 

• SIMPAE, a Côte d’Ivoire-based environmental consulting firm, will lead the environmental and social studies within the PEA Area. SIMPAE will update previous studies at the Samapleu Deposit and complete studies at the Grata Deposit. The program will be completed to current national and international permitting standards to support the Project's permitting and future development. 

 

The Joint Venture maintains a strong commitment to community engagement and has undertaken a broad range of social initiatives to strengthen relationships with stakeholders and support the sustainable development of local communities. Several sanitation programs in villages near the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project have been completed, supplying waste collection equipment and promoting environmental awareness. In partnership with the Université Polytechnique de Man in Côte d'Ivoire, the Joint Venture continues to support academic growth and excellence by hosting more than 100 geologist trainees at the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project and supervising more than 30 undergraduate and master’s theses. The Côte d'Ivoire Ministry of Mines invited the Joint Venture to participate in the SIREXE 2024 exhibition in Abidjan, where Sama CEO, Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, participated in a high-level panel discussion with the CEOs of other African mining industry leaders, Endeavour Mining plc, Fortuna Mining Corp., and Perseus Mining, to explore the challenges and opportunities within Africa’s extractive industries. The Joint Venture continues to support and engage in local festivals, celebrating the region’s rich cultural heritage.

     

Figure 1: Map of the polymetallic Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project combined exploration permits, showing the PEA Area, drilling locations of the 2025 exploration program, results of the 2018 airborne VTEM survey, location of the Mossikro prospect, and other regional targets and prospects.

 

Click Image To View Full Size

NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 DISCLOSURES

 

A technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Samapleu and Grata Deposits Project” with an effective date of March 21, 2024 (the “Technical Report”) with respect to the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project was prepared under National Instrument 43-101 and filed on May 3, 2024. The Technical Report includes important information regarding the Mineral Resources and 2024 PEA disclosed in this news release, including the effective date of the Mineral Resource estimate, the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to estimate the Mineral Resources and other factors that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Resources. For readers to fully understand the information in this news release, they should read the Technical Report in its entirety when it is filed on SEDAR, including all qualifications, assumptions, and exclusions that relate to the information to be set out in the Technical Report. The Technical Report is intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context.

The 2024 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources, considered too speculative in nature to be categorized as mineral reserves. Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves have not demonstrated economic viability.  Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Indicated or Measured Mineral Resources. There is no certainty that the results of the 2024 PEA will be realized.

 

The independent Qualified Persons responsible for preparing the Technical Report include Todd McCracken, P. Geo., Bahareh Asi, P. Eng., Kevan Ford, M. Eng., and Jason Van Schie, P. Eng., each from BBA International Inc., Chris Martin, C. Eng., an Independent Consultant, and Wilson Muir, P. Eng. From Knight Piésold Ltd.

 

All other scientific and technical information contained in this news release not related to the 2024 PEA has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sama, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Audet is not independent of Sama.

 

[1] All-in sustaining cash costs includes all operating costs, treatment and refining charges, sustaining capital and closure costs.

 

About Sama Resources Inc.

Sama is a Canadian-based, growth-oriented resource company focused on exploring the Samapleu nickel-copper project in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. The Company is managed by experienced industry professionals with a strong track record of discovery. Sama is committed to advancing the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project. Sama’s projects are located approximately 600 km northwest of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire and are flanked to the west by the Ivorian and Guinean borders. Sama’s projects are located adjacent to the large world-class nickel-cobalt laterite deposits of Sipilou and Foungouesso, forming a 125 km-long new Base Metal Camp in West Africa. Sama owns 40% interest in the Samapleu nickel-copper project in Côte d’Ivoire with its joint venture partner Ivanhoe Electric owning 60%.

The Company is pleased to announce that effective July 1, 2025, the Company will be transitioning from the basic OTC Pink Sheets to the enhanced OTC ID designation within the OTC Markets platform. This move marks a significant advancement in transparency, compliance, and market presence as Sama Resources continues to elevate its profile with investors and regulators.

For more information, please visit  www.samaresources.com.

About Ivanhoe Electric Inc.

Ivanhoe Electric is a United States domiciled minerals exploration company with a focus on developing mines from mineral deposits principally located in the United States. Ivanhoe Electric seeks to support American supply chain independence by finding and delivering the critical metals necessary for electrification of the economy, with a focus on copper. Ivanhoe Electric uses its accurate and powerful Typhoon™ geophysical surveying system, together with advanced data analytics provided by its 94.3% owned subsidiary, Computational Geosciences Inc. (“CGI”), to accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as we seek to discover new deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration technologies. Through the advancement of its portfolio of electric metals exploration projects, headlined by the Santa Cruz Project in Arizona as well as other exploration projects in the United States, Ivanhoe Electric intends to support the United States' supply chain independence by finding and delivering critical metals necessary for the electrification of the economy. Ivanhoe Electric also operates a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Arabian Mining Company Ma’aden ("Ma'aden") to explore for minerals on ~48,500 km2 of underexplored Arabian Shield in Saudi Arabia.

Website: www.ivanhoeelectric.com.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P. Geo, President and CEO
Tel: (514) 726-4158

Mr. Matt Johnston, Vice President Corporate Development
Tel: (604) 443-3835 or (877) 792-6688, Ext. 5

 

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the statements made and information contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, such as “will”, could”, “expect”, “estimate”, “evidence”, “potential”, “appears”, “seems”, “suggest”, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These include, without limitation, the ability of the company to convert Mineral Resources to higher categories of confidence or to mineral reserves, the completion of exploration programs and studies, its ability to produce a pre-feasibility study or a feasibility study regarding the project, its ability to execute on its development plans in terms of metallurgy or exploration, the availability of financing for activities, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results and the estimation of Mineral Resources and Reserves, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations or justify future activities, metal price fluctuations, environmental and regulatory requirements, availability of permits, escalating costs of remediation and mitigation, risk of title loss or failure to obtain new titles upon expiry, the effects of accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration, the potential for delays in exploration activities, the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, expectations and beliefs of management and other risks and uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.