Aston Minerals : 163.5m at 0.52% Ni & 0.016% Co from 186.5m at Boomerang

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ASX / MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

19 January 2022

163.5m at 0.52% Ni & 0.016% Co from 186.5m

Ending in Mineralisation

• 282.5m at 0.43% Ni & 0.014% Co from 67.5m (DDED21-076) o Including 163.5m at 0.52% Ni & 0.016% Co from 186.5m
  o Final 18m of hole reported 0.66% Ni & 0.014% Co from 331.7m and ending in mineralisation
  o Modelling indicates true width of intrusion to be ~600m and depth to be >1,500m
• Resource drilling definition program commenced across Bardwell portion of the Boomerang Target, across ~1km of total 6.5km prospective strike of the intrusion
• Grades of mineralisation comparable to that of BHP's (ASX: BHP) Mt Keith Mining Operation
• Imminently expecting results from DDED21-075 which contains 730m interval of host dunite intrusive unit, starting 20m below surface. Hole is currently being extended to depth of ~1,200m
• Edleston Project is located within a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction with access to green, low-cost hydroelectric power within the Project area

Figure 1: Cross section looking north of DDED21-057 & 059 & 76

Aston Minerals Limited - Suite 23, 513 Hay Street, Subiaco, Western Australia - Ph: [phone]

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Aston Minerals Limited ("Aston Minerals" or "the Company", ASX: ASO) is pleased to announce that it has intersected 163.5m at 0.52% Ni and 0.016% Co from 186.5m within the Boomerang Ni-Co Target at the Edleston Project, Ontario, Canada with the hole ending in mineralisation.

Executive Chairman, Tolga Kumova commented "Aston is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the burgeoning demand for nickel which has recently reached the highest price since 2011, while nickel inventories are at historically low levels. Currently, the stainless steel industry accounts for approximately two thirds of the utilisation, while demand from electric vehicle batteries are expected to double their current market share to approximately 20% by 20251.

Combining the projected demand with an increased focus on ethically sourced, green supplies of nickel, multinational mining houses and end users are becoming increasingly aggressive towards acquisition of assets which meet these criteria.

Edleston is located on the doorstep of the Sudbury complex, host to an extensive history of nickel production and smelting. In addition, the mining centres of Timmins and Kirkland Lake have a highly skilled mining workforce and associated services.

The drilling conducted to date at the Boomerang Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Target has shown that the scale and tenor of mineralisation is comparable to other globally significant mining operations such as BHP's Mt Keith Operations. Our aim is to define a substantial resource base and conduct associated metallurgical and engineering studies this year to be able to quantify the economic potential of this Project."

Managing Director, Dale Ginn commented: "The substantial intersection at Bardwell Prospect has exceeded our expectations in relation to both the grade and extent of mineralisation. To have such broad zones of mineralisation at comparable grades to that of Mt Keith so early on in our nickel exploration program provides us with a huge degree of confidence in the potential of the system.

We have commenced a resource definition drilling program, aiming to systematically expand along approximately 1km of strike and to the depth of the presently identified area of mineralisation at Bardwell. Exploration drilling also continues along an additional 5.5 kms of length on the Boomerang Nickel Target. To date, magnetic inversion modelling has a very high degree of correlation with the interpreted mineralised envelope."

Boomerang Target Overview

The Boomerang Target was identified through a geological interpretation undertaken based on recent drilling and reprocessing of magnetics. Through this process, we recognised the extent of the Boomerang Target and its intense magnetic response. Magnetic inversion modelling of the Boomerang Target was undertaken to further constrain the geometry and extent of the dunite/peridotite complex. It is interpreted that this dunite/peridotite body

1 Source: Nickel price rally to run out of steam as supplies ramp up - MINING.COM

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extends for a strike of 5km, is 500 to >1,500m wide and extends to depths of well over 500m.

A total of 13 drill holes for 5,959m of drilling have been completed to date across three sections of the Boomerang Target. All of the three sections have nickel sulphide mineralisation identified in logging and verified through handheld XRF. Drilling has been completed within the constraints of what was initially permitted, hence multiple holes from the same pad. Extensive drill permitting across the entire strike length of the Boomerang has been submitted and is expected to be approved shortly.

Figure 2: Drill Plan DDED21-057 & 059 & 76, modelled intrusive body and interpreted

mineralised envelope

Edleston Project Overview

The Edleston Project is located approximately 60km via road to the south of Timmins, Ontario. Both towns of Kirkland Lake and Timmins host significant former and current producers, with all required services and skilled labour available to support exploration and development of the Project.

Edleston is located within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Archean metavolcanic and metasedimentary assemblages which have been steeply folded with the axes trending in a

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general east-west direction. These have been intruded mainly by large granitic bodies and by masses of mafic and ultramafic rocks as well as several ages of younger dolerite dykes. The Abitibi Greenstone Belt extends from north-eastern Ontario and northern Quebec for over 800km.

Regionally, the Project is located within the western extension of the Cadillac-Larder Fault Zone along which a number of major gold deposits and mines are located. The occurrence of a Timiskaming conglomerate, similar to that occurring at Kirkland Lake, at several places within the eastern extent of the Project, supports this view.

The host lithology is an altered and sheared ultramafic that exhibits extensive silicification and contains abundant quartz-carbonate veins, veinlets and fracture fill. This host unit extends over 10km to the east of the drilled area.

Gold mineralisation is broadly distributed throughout this lithology as pyrite in ranges of 3 to 5% with trace chalcopyrite and occasional visible gold. Intercalated volcanic and metasedimentary units lie to the north and south of the Edleston mineralised zone.

Along strike, 1.5km to the east of the drill defined Edleston Zone is the Sirola Zone which exhibits identical geology and mineralisation, and contains some of the only exposed outcrops in the region. Outcrops consist of an altered reddish feldspar porphyry which lies in contact with mineralised ultramafic volcanic. These formations have a general strike of 100 degrees azimuth with a steep dip and are generally sheared and highly altered by carbonatization and silicification.

The Boomerang Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Target was identified through a geological interpretation undertaken based on recent drilling and reprocessing of magnetics. Through this process, the extent and intense magnetic response of the Boomerang Target was recognised. Magnetic inversion modelling of the Boomerang Target was undertaken to further constrain the geometry and extent of the dunite/peridotite complex. It is interpreted that this dunite/peridotite body extends for a strike of 5km, is 500 to >1,500m wide and extends to depths of well over 500m.

The exploration model applied to conduct targeting of this body is analagous to Dumont and Crawford Nickel-PGE-Cobalt Deposits. Nickel sulphide mineralisation at these deposits was formed through the serpentinisation of a dunite unit (rock composed of >90% olivine). Through the reaction of olivine with water, extensive magnetite is developed, hence providing such a strong magnetic response and potentially allowing for a direct exploration targeting method to be applied. Through this process of serpentinisation, nickel is liberated from olivine within a strongly reducing environment and the liberated nickel is partitioned into low sulphur nickel sulphide minerals.

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Figure 3: Current nickel and gold exploration regimes at Edleston Project

Figure 4: Edleston Project location, Ontario, Canada

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