This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

26 June 2025

Rome Resources PLC

("Rome" or the "Company")

Operational and Resource Update - Bisie North Project

Rome Resources plc, the DRC-focused tin and copper explorer, provides the following update on its exploration activities and forward planning at its Bisie North Project, located in the eastern DRC.

Highlights

·      Rome expects to complete the current drill programme by the end of July 2025 with the Company's contracted helicopter to be released for mandatory maintenance

·      Initial report suggests substantial copper, zinc and silver volumes at the Bisie North Project. However, this requires further modelling and analysis to quantify the commerciality of a combined operation with tin, copper and zinc recovery

·      The assay database used in the current underlying maiden mineral resource estimate ("MRE") work does not include the more recent drill holes which management believes to exhibit more promising tin and copper volumes in both deeper and additional zones

·      Metallurgical analysis in Canada is expected to feed into the polymetallic processing flowsheet that will recover tin, copper and zinc from Mont Agoma

·      Management to shift its immediate priority away from delivering a maiden MRE centred around tin mineralisation at Kalayi and Mont Agoma by end of June 2025 and instead allow for the further assessment of the copper and zinc mineralisation potential to be reported by MSA on or around September 2025

·      Revised maiden MRE strategy allows for the potential to establish a multi-commodity value stream proposition at the Bisie North Project

Paul Barrett, Chief Executive Officer of Rome Resources, commented:

"We continue to make good progress at the Bisie North Project. The scale and quality of mineralisation across tin, copper, and zinc is becoming increasingly apparent - and we are only just beginning to test the deeper parts of the system as well as the new tin zone previously reported.

The decision to include both the more recent core assays in the maiden MRE and assess the commercial potential of the other commodities present, will give Rome a comprehensive maiden MRE on or around September 2025 rather than a partial picture. The Bisie North Project is shaping up to be a highly strategic, multi-commodity asset in a region of growing global interest."

Drilling Operations

Helicopter transportation support is currently unavailable to the Company due to technical issues related to the mechanical operation of the Company's contracted helicopter. As a consequence, operations at the Bisie North Project have primarily been concentrated at drill holes MADD030A and MADD031 with two drill rigs operating and the third drill rig in the midst of mobilisation.

Noting that the Company's contracted helicopter is due for a major service before November 2025, Rome's management has concluded that it is more appropriate for the Company to release the helicopter in the near-term for servicing in Uganda rather than interrupt any later operations.

Management anticipates that work in relation to drill holes MADD030A, MADD031 as well as additional drill hole MADD032 (planned to follow up on the recent new tin mineralisation at depth) will be completed before the contracted helicopter departs for maintenance.

Mineralisation Indications

We are pleased to report that drill core from completed drilled holes MADD025, MADD027, MADD028, MADD029 and MADD030 have been cut and sampled. These drill cores are currently in transit to the laboratories in Lubumbashi and Johannesburg for sample preparation and assay respectively. Early analysis from the Company's Niton XRF portable ("XRF") analyser on MADD027 and MADD028 holes have shown significant propensity for tin, copper and zinc mineralisation. Visual and field XRF readings have confirmed similar observations on the remaining drill holes.   

XRF drill core analysis was conducted on drill holes MADD027 and MADD028 in which tin mineralisation was identified over 42m and 54m respectively. The highest tin grade reported in MADD027 was ~4% tin over 40cm within a broader 6m zone of approximately ~1% Sn. Drill hole MADD028 was generally of a slightly lower tenor but reported a maximum of ~2% tin over 50cm. Drilling to date has shown an increase in copper to the northwest. Narrow zones of copper up to ~4.5% Cu were reported from both holes although a highly significant copper intersection was observed over 48m in MADD029 drilled to the northwest of the two holes. In addition to the copper the XRF analysis have defined highly significant zinc intersections from both drill holes with MADD028 reporting an impressive 12m zone of ~13% Zn within a broader 61m zone. A 13m zone of ~8% zinc within a broader 42m wide zinc zone was identified in drill hole MADD027.  On site sampling and XRF analysis is yet to be carried out on MADD025 and MADD029.

Both drill holes support the Company's model in which tin grades are expected to increase at depth and to the northwest. The new mineralisation zones reported recently is highly significant as tin was reported from surface over more than 30m and could potentially add significant tin resources from further drilling. The true thickness of the new zone will be confirmed in drill hole MADD032 which will target the zone at a deeper level.     

While on-site drill core sampling from a channel cut along the core axis was conducted and analysed using the XRF analyser, these results are not certified although normal Niton XRF standard Quality Assurance Quality Control procedures were followed. In this regard, the XRF analyser results are subject to further underlying laboratory analysis and therefore may change. Accordingly, at this stage, such results should only be regarded as semi-quantitative and indicative of the potential extent of the tin, copper or zinc zones as well as an indication of potential grade.

Maiden mineral resource estimate 

MSA have been undertaking the work required in relation to the Company's maiden MRE for Kalayi and Mont Agoma.  The Kalayi tin work is near completion.  The findings at Mont Agoma, however, are taking some additional time to finalise, there being highly significant copper tonnage assessed in the shallow section which has required further work to quantify the commerciality of a combined operation with both tin, copper and zinc recovery.  The amount of copper is believed by management to be substantial and at shallow depths, potentially adding a further attractive layer of value to the project. In addition, management have received indications suggesting large amounts of zinc have been identified which also has the potential for a third value stream.

The current planned maiden MRE assessment is restricted to those drill holes with official assays at the time of the assessment, in this case being up to and including MADD026. As a consequence, finalising the assessment at this stage will exclude the promising values in the subsequent drill holes, as described above, for all of tin, copper and zinc and could lead to an underestimate of potential.

Without pre-judging the results, the board of directors of Rome Resources (the "Board" or the "Directors") are confident that the strategy to drill deeper and to the northeast into the new zone identified in drill hole MADD030, will deliver the critical additional information for a more accurate assessment of resource potential at Mont Agoma.

Forward Plan

Rome anticipates the current drilling campaign to be complete by the end of July 2025. In parallel, samples will be prepared and dispatched to the assay laboratory and this work is anticipated to be complete by the end of August 2025.  In the meantime, MSA are expected to undertake further assessment of the copper and zinc mineralisation potential and are now expected to be in a position to deliver a maiden MRE report based on all the drill data available on or around mid-September 2025.

Metallurgical samples are en route to Canada for testing to assist in the evaluation of a multi-commodity value stream at the Bisie North Project . In parallel, samples have been selected from holes MADD016 and MADD017 and will be assayed for germanium which is not included in the current multi-element suite in the laboratory. Germanium is a high value commodity which is associated sphalerite (zinc mineral) and given the high grades of zinc there is a strong possibility of identifying an association of germanium with sphalerite.  

The Company anticipates, therefore, to be able to report a maiden MRE for tin, copper and zinc along with a strategic update for the further value build for the project, on or around mid-September 2025.

For further information, please contact:

Subscribe to our news alert service: https://romeresources.com/auth/signup

Qualified Person Statement

Dr Deon Vermaakt is a consultant of Rome Resources plc, a qualified geologist and a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Geological Science) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP Reg. No. 400074/03). Dr Vermaakt is a qualified person (QP) under NI 43-101 and as defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

Dr Vermaakt reviews all the sampling procedures on an on-going basis. The handheld Niton XRF is frequently checked and calibrated to ensure accurate analysis and measurements.