Ascendant Resources Inc. announced the results of its recent high-resolution gravity survey completed over the Venda Nova North and South Deposits at its Lagoa Salgada VMS Project, in Portugal. As per the most recent NI 43-101 Feasibility Study published on July 25, 2023, the existing Primary Massive Sulphides at the Venda Nova North deposit represents 4.4 million tonnes of the total 14.6 million tonne Reserve, but given the high grade nature of this material it contributes significantly to the overall NPV of the project due to the significantly higher NSR value per tonne as compared to the average material including the other lithologies. As such, the ability to expand the overall massive sulphide ore content could enhance the overall project economics significantly.

The targets have been identified by their gravity signature that closely matches the existing high value, dense massive sulphide orebody they currently have at the Venda Nova North Zone. As a result, the Company is planning a drill program to more fully evaluate this potential in the near future. The high-resolution survey was designed to map the known gravity footprint of the existing Massive Sulphide Resource of Venda Nova at a much higher resolution than previous surveys, and then use the common characteristics to search for additional potential Massive Sulphide lenses within and surrounding the Venda Nova deposit.

The results outlined here have identified four high priority exploration targets each with the potential to add additional meaningful tonnage to the existing Primary Massive Sulphide endowment. The results of the survey also validate the targets suggested by previous IP/Res and TDEM surveys. SW of the North Zone the gravity anomaly bulges to the west of the southern half of the North Massive Sulphide ore body.

According to the geophysical interpretation, based on upward and downward continuation of the Bouguer Gravity, the high-density mass sits deeper than the known ore deposits. Its center coincides with the projection of a notable volume that has chargeability and resistivity features identical to the known massive sulphides. The Company believes this can be explained geologically by a faulted displaced block of the known ore body or by a new lens occurring in the western limb of the north zone anticline.

In both cases the potential massive sulphide source could extend for over 250 m along strike. The gravity anomaly in the Northern part of the South Zone is flanked by two discrete trends, i) The eastern flank is partially explained by two known semi massive Lenses (Pyritic) previously encountered by drilling, but suggests an extension to the north of the known area; and ii) the West Flank is untested and could represent an additional massive sulphide lens in the footwall of the south Zone trend up dip from the Stockwork mineralization. Interestingly, this Gravity anomaly sits above some of the higher- grade Copper and less transpositional mineralization intercepted at depth as part of the previous infill campaign.

This may suggest the potential to have a more copper rich massive sulphide lens in this area. The fourth gravity anomaly corresponds to a previously announced IP anomaly, Anomaly Delta. However, the new gravity data locate the target a few hundred meters to the north of previous drilling.

The survey was conducted between January and February of this year by McKeown Exploration Services, using a Scintrex CG-6 gravimeter and a Trimble real-time Differential GPS. It consisted of 788 unique gravity stations spaced at a nominal 25 and 50m station spacing on an inclined grid with an azimuth of 66.3°/246.3° true, with lines nominally spaced 100m and 200m apart. In areas of interest, e.g., the profiles across the known North Zone VMS deposit, the station spacing was tightened to 25m separation in order to permit detailing of the gravitational variation across the known mineralization.

A 25m station spacing can define the local profiles well enough to permit downward continuation filtering of the data, to sharpen the resolution of targets deeper than the base of the Tertiary cover. Data analysis was conducted by Intelligent Exploration. The overall axis of the gravity high is NNW-SSE, parallel to the inferred axial plane of a tight, near vertical fold long believed to host this deposit.

A saddle separates the mass excess over the North VMS zone from a clear second peak about 500m to the south-southeast in the South Zone. This peak extends farther toward the SSE where it is less intense but coincides with the known South Zone of re-mobilized stockwork mineralization. It should be noted that this gravity signature would typically not be explained by the density of the known stockwork mineralization and suggests that additional higher density material is present.