Rio2 Provides Fenix Gold Mine Construction Update

Article content

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rio2 Limited (“Rio2” or “the Company”) (TSXV: RIO; OTCQX: RIOFF; BVL: RIO) today provides an update on progress made at Rio2’s 100% owned Fenix Gold Project (“Fenix Gold” or “the
Project”) currently under construction in the Atacama Region, Chile. At the end of Q1 2025, construction was 19% complete and remains on track and on budget for first gold production in January 2026.

Article content

Article content

Construction highlights for the five-month period from November 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, are as follows, with all amounts expressed in US dollars:

Article content

Article content

Health & Safety – A total of 657,048 person-hours have been worked on the Project to date, with one Lost Time Incident for a finger injury, resulting in a Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 1.52. The Total Incident Frequency Rate (TIFR) for the Project as at March 31, 2025, was 8.19.

Article content

Article content

Budget – Total spend to date since October of $30.1 million for works completed, vs budget of $30.5 million. These costs exclude corporate overheads and do not include pre-construction costs expended in 2022.

Article content

Schedule – Total Project is currently 19% complete, and we expect to achieve first gold production in January 2026. All long lead time procurement items are in hand.

Article content

Construction Progress – Work was initiated on Critical Path Items such as access road upgrade, ADR plant, leach pad Phase 1 and PLS pond.

Article content

Human Resources – a total of 1,240 personnel (including contractors) are currently employed at the Project. 94% of the workforce is comprised of Chileans, with 41% of the workforce from the Atacama Region and 11% of the workforce female.

Article content

Article content

Exploration – Grade control drilling activities have commenced focused on the pit areas covering the first three years of future production.

Article content

VIRTUAL SITE IMAGERY AND PHOTOS

Article content

Updated 360-degree photography showing construction progress is available at the Company’s website at:

Article content

Article content

A progressive photographic history of construction activities and grade control drilling is available at:

Article content

Article content

Timetable and Next Steps

Article content

Upcoming key milestones include:

Article content