Dean's Newsletter

For anyone who hasn't received it here is Dean's letter to shareholders. Who else is excited about the year ahead?

One of my favourite moments in this job is being on the rig as it starts to drill a new hole.There’s nothing quite like watching a 40-tonne drill rig roll onto a freshly cleared and levelled pad, hearing the 850-horsepower diesel engine roar to life, and feeling the thunderous thumps as the hammer fires - blowing dirt and rock into the air as the hole is collared. That drill bit is starting its journey towards testing a target, a hypothesis that can deliver a discovery or new mineralisation. But it’s more than just the sensory thrill and the excitement of what could be. It’s also the culmination of months, sometimes years, of hard work. That drill hole, placed where it is and aimed in the direction it’s headed, is the result of a technical treasure hunt supported by multiple iterations of geochemical, geophysical, and geological data, combined with successful heritage and environmental surveys and government approvals (a process that seems to get longer every year). It’s a true moment of exploration zen. Over the past month, I had the pleasure of spending a fair bit of time with the team on the rig during the delivery of our first drill program of the year at Mangaroon. Thanks to technological breakthroughs like Starlink, a leaner team, and a razor-sharp focus on our “finding more gold, faster” strategy, I’ll be spending a lot more time in the field this year, and I couldn’t be more excited. Our focus remains on delivering the key objectives of our strategy:Getting the Star of Mangaroon into Production We remain on track to meet our next key milestones. While on site, we completed the final two environmental surveys and the last heritage survey - critical inputs into the Mine Proposal and Mine Closure Plan required for mining approvals. We have also commenced formal negotiations on mining, haulage, and processing agreements, which we aim to finalise this quarter. If all continues to progress smoothly, we anticipate receiving approval to commence mining in the September quarter. Adding Near-Term Production Ounces The primary objective of the recent drill program was to add near-term production ounces by targeting our granted mining leases. Gaining a mining lease can take years, but we already have granted leases over the Star of Mangaroon, Popeye, Lead Mine, Two Peaks, and Pritchards. Any gold identified and converted to resource at these prospects can quickly be added to our production pipeline, following the mining of the current Star of Mangaroon resource, which is expected to take 10–12 months. If we can add two, three, or four more years of production from these leases, it would materially strengthen Dreadnought’s ability to generate cashflow and inform capital allocation strategies - whether that’s self-funding exploration, share buybacks, or dividends. In the field, we were very pleased with how the drilling progressed - visually, it met or exceeded expectations. Of course, as this is gold drilling, visuals mean little until confirmed by assays. All samples are currently in the lab, and we expect results later this month. In the meantime, preparations are underway for the next program, which will include both RC and diamond rigs to follow up on mineralisation intersected in this campaign, test additional concepts on the mining leases, and drill new targets off the leases. Finding More Gold, Faster As part of our “finding more gold, faster” strategy, we’re preparing to drill priority targets including Steve’s Reward and Inevitable at Bordah. We’ve completed all necessary surveys and received approvals, and we’re pleased to have secured a co-funded drilling EIS grant from the WA Government to support the drilling at Inevitable. We’re also planning to test targets including Cullens, Midday Moon, Midnight Star, Lightning Ridge, and Nina. Heritage surveys for these areas have been requested and are expected to take place in June. In the background, our team is also progressing project-wide stream sediment surveys at Bordah, High Range North, and High Range South. These will be followed by soil sampling and geological mapping. We expect this work will generate new targets and look forward to seeing what turns up. We’re also conducting detailed airborne magnetic surveys and ground geophysics over newly acquired tenements to support lithostructural interpretation, target generation, and definition. In addition, we’ve kicked off a research and development project with RSC to develop and train machine learning algorithms using our geophysical, spectral, geochemical, and geological databases to automate lithostructural interpretation across Mangaroon. If successful, this could significantly enhance the efficiency and accuracy of geological interpretations while generating new datasets in greenfields settings like Mangaroon. We’re excited to be partnering with RSC on this. Teck Farm-In and Joint Venture We also recently announced the $15M Farm-in and Joint Venture with multinational mining company Teck over the Money Intrusion Ni-Cu-PGEs. This follows 15 months of detailed discussions and negotiations, and we’re thrilled to have this partnership formalised. The deal enables exploration to continue at the highly prospective Money Intrusion project, fully funded by a major partner, allowing Dreadnought to remain focused on executing our gold strategy. We look forward to working alongside Teck’s excellent technical team as we pursue a major Ni-Cu massive sulphide discovery. Looking Ahead Dreadnought is well funded to deliver on our strategy over the next 12–18 months: bringing the Star of Mangaroon into production, generating cashflow, extending our production profile, and pursuing a significant gold discovery. Meanwhile, we continue to advance our work with Teck toward a Ni-Cu discovery and explore commercialisation opportunities at the Gifford Creek Carbonatite Complex. 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for Dreadnought and our shareholders, with multiple opportunities to create value through production, discovery, and commercialisation.