Canadian North Resources Inc. report encouraging results from its series of flotation bench tests of various domains of mineralized samples obtained from its 100% owned Ferguson Lake Project in Nunavut, Canada which were conducted during 2023. The program and results are built upon metallurgical testing that completed by the Company in 2016. The Company believes that this flotation-gravity flowsheet could be a low-capital-cost option for the potential mine development of the Ferguson Lake Project, although the metal recoveries are lower than hydrometallurgy.

Much effort has been devoted to the hydrometallurgical tests historically and by the Company, and the results demonstrated very high (>90%) recoveries for copper, nickel, cobalt, palladium and platinum from the massive sulfide materials. Alternatively, hydrometallurgy could be a technically highly effective option for the mine development of the Ferguson Lake Project, of which the capital and operating costs are higher. Based on these results, in 2024, the Company plans to continue to conduct follow-up investigations of both flotation and hydrometallurgical processes, including new technologies such as bio-hydrometallurgy, for the extraction of metals for the Ferguson Lake Project.

The Company will focus on the low-carbon footprint and green energy options for the project development. The 2023 test work program was completed on two domain types of sample material selected from the 2022 CNRI diamond drilling program containing semi-massive to stringer to disseminated sulphide mineralization with sample head grades. These samples are compared to the high-grade massive sulphide bulk sample material used in the 2016 testing program.

All the testing programs were completed at the SGS Canada Inc.Lakefield facility in Ontario. The program and independent review of Batch 1 and 2016 Bulk Sample, medium to high sulphide type mineralized materials encompassed gravity, flotation and magnetic separation test work. Bench tests successfully produced saleable up to 30% Cu and between 37 and 62 g/t PGMs concentrates with 80% Cu recovery.

An independent review of the mineralogy of the deposit estimates the pyrrhotite (iron sulphide) to pentlandite (Ni sulphide) ratio is in the range of 35:1 in the massive and semi-massive sulphide zones of the deposit, with the Ni deportment to pentlandite to be about 71% envisioning the creation of a potentially payable 10% Ni bearing concentrate with 51% Ni recovery. In general, the bench testing of the Batch 1 and 2016 samples, produced high-grade copper and variable grade Ni/Cu concentrates ranging on a grade ? recovery curve from 5 to 20% Cu-Ni with recoveries of up to 98% Cu, 61% Ni and 35-75% PGMs. It was concluded that there is potential to significantly improve these results with additional testing using optimized conditions based upon improved understanding of the Cu, Ni and PGM?s mineral deportment.

Bench testing of the Batch 2 sample, which was obtained from the low-sulphide PGM rich type mineralized material successfully created potentially payable precious metal concentrates in which the highest PGM grade achieved was 92.1 g/t Pd plus 96.5 g/t Pt (totalling 189 g/t) and recoveries of up to 75% Pd and 55% Pt when gravity separation was included in the flotation flowsheet. Additional tests and investigations of the PGM mineralogy of the deposit are expected to improve these results. Based upon the review of the historic and CNRI flotation test results completed by SRK Consulting for the three types of mineralized materials at the Ferguson Lake Project, it was concluded, for the first time in the history of the project, that three payable Cu-PGM, Ni-Cu-Co, and PGM-Cu concentrates could be produced using a flotation?gravity flowsheet.

This work resulted in the application of total recoveries of 95% Cu, 51% Ni, 89% Co, 76% Pd, and 60% Pt for the massive sulphide mineralized material and 78% Cu, 29% Ni, 48% Co, 60% Pd and 70% Pt for the low sulphide PGM mineralized material in the creation of the independent 43-101 Mineral Resource Statement (CNRI News Release, March 19, 2024) and accounts for these inputs in the estimate of the deposit?s cut-off NSR.