Announcement • Feb 26
Buyer Group International, Inc. Provides Shareholder Update on Metallurgical Advancements and Permitting Momentum
Buyer Group International, Inc. provided additional detail on its metallurgical collaboration with Big Blue Technologies ("BBT"), which originated from an early anomalous rhodium response observed during preliminary screening of material collected from the Company's Joker Area and around #71 in Wyoming. The initial rhodium indication was derived from a single homogenized sub-sample taken from Bucket #1 of BYRG's 2024 bulk sampling program. Using screening-level analytical techniques, this sub-sample returned positive rhodium (oxide basis). While this result is preliminary, non-compositional, and requires full laboratory confirmation, it is considered anomalous in a natural rock context and materially elevated relative to background expectations. Importantly, this early rhodium signal was not interpreted in isolation. It was accompanied by: Elevated silver responses; Supporting base-metal and hydrothermal pathfinder elements; A geochemical signature consistent with a silicic, altered host environment; taken together, these factors provided the technical justification to expand analytical work beyond screening-level methods and into full laboratory validation and metallurgical evaluation. Hazen Research analytical results from initial 20-sample subset, confirming silver enrichment. Rhodium analysis remains ongoing across broader sample inventory. To advance this work under controlled laboratory conditions, BYRG submitted representative rock samples to Hazen Research Inc., one of North America's most respected independent metallurgical laboratories. Hazen has now completed analytical work on the first 20 rock samples from BYRG's broader 235-sample Shambhala Claim Block dataset. These samples represent an initial analytical subset, selected to establish baseline geochemical behavior rather than to exhaustively test the system. Key observations from the Assay/XRD results include: Consistent silver enrichment, with multiple samples returning multi-ppm to tens-of-ppm Ag, including values up to 55.5 ppm silver; Corroborating ICP-MS silver responses, confirming analytical reliability; Presence of associated hydrothermal pathfinder elements, including Ni, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Sn; Select samples analyzed for rhodium (Rh) returned results below detection limits in this initial subset. Critically, the absence of confirmed rhodium in this limited 20-sample subset does not negate the earlier anomalous screening response. Rather, it reflects the early stage of laboratory testing, with over 200 rock samples remaining unassayed and the bulk material yet to be fully evaluated. From a geological and metallurgical standpoint, this leaves the rhodium opportunity open, particularly within a system already demonstrating: Strong silver enrichment; Coherent hydrothermal alteration; Pathfinder chemistry consistent with refractory metal association. The combination of a laboratory-confirmed silver-dominant system and an earlier anomalous rhodium screening response provides important context for BYRG's collaboration with Big Blue Technologies, whose aluminothermic reduction platform was designed specifically to process refractory oxide materials. Big Blue's system: Operates as a high-temperature oxide-reduction platform; Is capable of processing complex, refractory mineral assemblages; Was designed for industrial-scale deployment, not bench-scale experimentation; Has received support from the U.S. Department of Energy and Wyoming Energy Authority; A 600-ton-per-year magnesium facility is the current plan and will make Big Blue the primary magnesium producer in North America; Because aluminothermic systems can, with appropriate configuration and feed characterization, reduce other refractory metal oxides, including those associated with platinum-group metals, Big Blue is evaluating whether its platform could be adapted to silver-rich material with potential rhodium association, pending continued analytical and metallurgical confirmation. This work is focused on process behavior and recovery pathways, not resource definition, and reflects BYRG's disciplined, data-driven approach.
