Aura Minerals Inc. (Nasdaq: AUGO) (B3: AURA33) is pleased to announce that it has signed the agreement of cooperation with DNIT (Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura Terrestre) to relocate the federal road, which crosses a portion of the Borborema mine in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Also, the Company is pleased to announce an updated Technical Report of Borborema, which is already available on www.sec.gov and SEDAR+.

This agreement allows the Company to immediately advance the conversion of a significant portion of the existing Indicated Mineral Resources into Probable Mineral Reserves. Following the completion of this Technical Report, Aura increased the Mineral Reserve base by 82% for approximately 1.5 million ounces of gold.

Highlights of the Updated Feasibility Study and the Project:

• Strong Reserve Base: The Feasibility Study includes updated Mineral Resource and Reserve estimates under “SEC S-K 1300 definitions” for the comprising Probable Reserves of 40.7Mt at 1.13g/t Au containing approximately 1,479Koz. gold.
• Life of Mine 20 Years and 5 months: Weighted average annual gold production is estimated at 65 koz, with an estimated LOM of 20.5 years, based on Mineral Reserves estimated in accordance with S-K 1300 guidelines.
• Robust Project Economics: Net present value (“NPV”) of US$612.5 million (from 182 million of the previous FS) and after-tax IRR of 42.8% when using the weighted average gold price of USD 2,274/Oz considering all the operational years and the exchange rate used was BRL 5.70 for USD 1.00 in 2025 onwards.
• Exploration Potential Remains: The ore body of the Borborema deposit remains open along strike and down dip. Aura believes the project will benefit from additional drilling both to extend the Mineral Resource’s footprint and also to add more contained ounces within the current envelope of mineralization.

Rodrigo Barbosa, President and CEO of Aura, comments, “This agreement is a major milestone that significantly accelerates value creation at Borborema. Since acquiring the project, we recognized its substantial upside potential — exactly why we designed and built a fully expandable plant from the outset. With the updated reserve now at 1.5 million ounces — 82% larger than our previous feasibility study — we are immediately advancing engineering and water-access solutions to increase capacity, while progressing the road relocation. Borborema perfectly demonstrates our strategy: start production as quickly as possible, generate positive cash flow in a de-risked environment, and then unlock further upside. Looking ahead, we continue to explore additional opportunities, including a review of the mine plan with new cut-off grades based on higher gold prices, which should further improve our reserves. A new Resources & Reserves report is expected by the end of Q1, concurrent with the publication of our 20F. We remain committed to executing the project responsibly and in full alignment with our Aura 360° Mining philosophy.”

Updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates

The updated resource block model gold grade was modelled by SRK using Ordinary Kriging (OK) methodology constrained within nested grade shells at 0.2 g/t, 0.5 g/t, and 1.0 g/t indicatory grade shells.

SRK used a nested, soft-boundary grade shell technique with shells at 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 g/t Au to limit the influence of variable Au grades in the broader mineralized volume which displays general lower grade attributes. Raw drilling data was composted to 2 m lengths with upper capping applied at 20 g/t Au. Kriging neighborhoods and variography were determined for each nested grade shell. The Feasibility Study block model showed acceptable validation against composited and raw data with acceptable smoothing and is considered suitable for use in reporting of Mineral Resources.

Longitudinal View of Au Grade Shells, Viewing West (Source: SRK)

SRK utilized an oxidation boundary surface constructed in 2012 by Crusader (Cascar) to discriminate oxide from sulfide mineralization as the logging data was considered too variable and of lower confidence to construct this surface. The oxidation model is utilized to code bulk density as well.

Mineral Resources are classified in accordance with S-K 1300 definitions into Indicated and Inferred categories based on identified uncertainty and risks.

In order to establish reasonable prospects for economic extraction (RPEE) as per S-K 1300 definitions of Mineral Resources, SRK applied an economic cut-off grade (CoG) to blocks constrained within an economic pit shell on the Borborema property. This shell utilizes a 1.0 revenue factor, 37-degree slope on the west and 60-degree slope on the east, 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) mining rate, and 5% discount rate. A long section of the resource pit shell is shown in figure below.

Long Section, Looking West of the Economic Pit Shell. Inset Image Shows Cross Section, Looking North (Source; SRK)

Below is a cross section show the Mineral Resource pit vs. the Mineral Reserve pit shell.

A Cross Section (Local Grid) of Reserve and Resource Pit Shell (Source: SRK)

The Feasibility Study includes Mineral Resource and Reserve estimates for the Borborema deposit under S-K 1300 guidelines. Only Indicated Mineral Resources was considered for purpose of the Feasibility Study. A summary of the Borborema Mineral Resources estimates which are used in the Feasibility Study are shown in table below.

Borborema Mineral Resource Estimate* as of January 31, 2023

Mineral Reserves suitable for open pit mining methods were estimated through a comprehensive optimization exercise, utilizing Indicated Mineral Resources from the block model provided by SRK Consulting. These Mineral Reserves are defined within detailed engineered pit designs and life-of-mine (LOM) plans that are based on the optimized pit shells. Mineral Reserves within these engineered pit designs were calculated using cut-off grades (COG) specific to each rock type, considering a gold price of US$ 1,472/oz with an exchange rate of R$ 5.2/US$ 1.0, with refining costs included. The Mineral Reserves are contained within two pits. A high-voltage transmission line (HVTL) limits the pit expansion to the north. However, the previously constraining paved highway (BR-226), as indicated in the prior Technical Report (TR), no longer restricts the pit to the south. A summary of the Borborema Mineral Reserves estimates included in the Feasibility Study are shown in table below.

Mine Plan

The current open pit mine life is twenty years and five months, not including the pre-stripping period. The envisaged site layout plan is shown in Figure below including all pits, waste rock storage facilities and the following limits: current road, road bypass (BR-226 road) and high voltage transmission line (HVTL).

Site General Layout (Source: Deswik)

At Borborema Project, the orebody lies near the surface and extends to greater depths. The 20 year and 5 months LOM is planned for open pit mining.

The proposed mining operations will employ hydraulic excavators and a fleet of haul trucks with conventional open-pit methods. Excavated material will be loaded into trucks and transported either the Run of Mine (ROM) pad, the low-grade stockpile, oxide ore stockpile or the Waste Rock Storage Facilities (WRSF). Weathered material is considered to be free dig with transitional material to be lightly blasted to loosen it for digging. Fresh rock will be typically blasted on 5 m benches for ore domain and 10 m benches for the waste domain. Mine scheduling assumptions are as follows:

• Plant capacity: 2.0 Mtpy
• The maximum proportion of oxidized material in the plant is 10%
• Total material movement: approximately 16 Mtpy
• Sink rate: 100 meters (5 benches of 20 meters)
• Maximum capacity of sulfide stockpile: 5.0 Mt
• Maximum capacity of oxidized stockpile: 1.0 Mt

The stripping ratio is 5.13:1 waste to ore at 0.9=RF(revenue factor). The mine production schedule delivers 40.69 Mt of ore grading 1.13 g/t gold to the mill over the LOM. Waste tonnage totaling 224.7 Mt will be placed in the waste rock dumps.

Mining costs, including the mining contractor charges, stockpile re-handling and grade control, are estimated to average US$2.78/t mined over the LOM.

About Aura 360° Mining

Aura is focused on mining in complete terms – thinking holistically about how its business impacts and benefits every one of our stakeholders: our company, our shareholders, our employees, and the countries and communities we serve. We call this 360° Mining.

Aura is a company focused on the development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas. The Company’s six operating assets include Minosa gold mine in Honduras; Almas, Apoena, Borborema and MSG gold mines in Brazil; and Aranzazu, a copper, gold, and silver mine in Mexico. Additionally, the Company owns Era Dorada, a gold project in Guatemala; Tolda Fria, a gold project in Colombia; and three projects in Brazil: Matupá, which is under development; São Francisco, which is in care and maintenance; and the Carajás copper project in the Carajás region, in the exploration phase.

Rodrigo Barbosa
President & CEO
305-239-9332