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Furnas Project

  • Overview
  • Reserves & Resources
  • Technical Report

Overview

Overview

The Furnas Copper-Gold Project is an iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposit located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Vale Base Metals’ Salobo operations and about 190 kilometers northeast of the Tucumã Operation. The project covers roughly 2,400 hectares within the Carajás Mineral Province and sits less than fifteen kilometers from extensive regional infrastructure, including paved roads, an industrial-scale cement plant, a power substation, and Vale’s railroad loadout facility.1

Currently 100% owned by Vale Base Metals, Ero holds the right to earn a 60% interest through a staged earn-in agreement signed in July 2024.

In July 2025, Ero announced the completion of the 28,000-meter Phase 1 drill program, confirming the potential for Furnas to become a significant large-scale, high-grade underground mining operation. The complete results from Phase 1 will form the basis for an updated National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate as well as a Preliminary Economic Assessment, which is on track for completion in the first half of 2026.

For more information on the Furnas earn-in agreement, please see the Company’s press releases dated October 30, 2023 and July 22, 2024.

¹The proximity of the Furnas Copper-Gold Project to world class copper, iron ore and other mineral deposits is not indicative of the continuity, scale, or presence of economic mineralization.

Primary Commodities

Copper and Gold

Ownership

Earn-in agreement with Vale Base Metals to acquire a 60% interest in the project

Classification Tonnage
(000 tonnes)		 Grade
(%Cu)		 Contained Copper
(000 tones)

Initial Mineral Resource Estimate and Cut-Off Grade Sensitivity(1)

Cut-Off Grade CuEq(2) (%) Category Tonnes (Mt) Grade Contained Metal
Cu (%) Au (gpt) CuEq(2) (%) Cu (kt) Au (koz) CuEq(2) (kt)
0.60 Indicated 66.4 0.84 0.55 1.10 555.3 1,179.9 730.5
Inferred 114.8 0.85 0.51 1.10 978.9 1,877.3 1,257.6
0.80 Indicated 51.2 0.93 0.60 1.22 477.9 984.5 624.1
Inferred 88.0 0.96 0.55 1.22 840.7 1,558.1 1,072.0
1.00 Indicated 35.2 1.04 0.69 1.36 364.7 775.3 479.9
Inferred 61.3 1.06 0.63 1.36 647.4 1,235.6 830.8

Note: For more information on the Furnas mineral resource estimate, please see the Company’s press release dated October 2, 2024, and the Furnas Technical Report dated November 18, 2024.

  1. CIM Definition Standards (2014) were used for reporting the Mineral Resources, which are effective at June 30, 2024 and presented on a 100% ownership basis. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have a demonstrated economic viability.
  2. CuEq grade calculated as Cu grade + (Au grade x 0.03215 x ($1,900 gold price x 61.50% gold metallurgical recovery / (0.01 x $9,259/tonne copper price x 85.00% copper metallurgical recovery)).

Mineral Resources Notes:

  1. Effective Date of June 30, 2024, and presented on a 100% ownership basis.
  2. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Summed amounts may not add due to rounding.
  3. Mineral Resources have been reported using a conceptual Mineable Shape Optimizer (MSO) constraint assuming an underground mining method and a modelled cut-off grade of 0.1% copper and 0.2 g/t gold. The MSO was determined using a five-year consensus forecast of industry metal prices and Ero’s internal benchmarks.
  4. A Mineable Shape assessment was conducted using the Mineable Stope Optimizer (MSO), incorporating resources and technical and economic parameters based on Ero’s mining operations in Brazil. The current Mineral Resources Statement excludes the crown pillar (50m below the surface). It includes the sill pillars, as there are additional studies to define a proper mining method and sill pillar recovery strategy. The sill pillars currently represent 10% of the total Mineral Resource tonnage. The metal price of US$9,259/tonne Cu and US$1,900/oz Au and the recoveries of 85.0% Cu and 61.5% Au have been used. CuEq formula: CuEq = Cu grade + (Au grade x 0.03215 x ($1,900 gold price x 61.5% gold metallurgical recovery / (0.01 x $9,259/tonne copper price x 85.0% copper metallurgical recovery).
  5. Mineral resources were classified according to the CIM Standards and the CIM Guidelines by Mr. Anderson Gonçalves Cândido, FAusIMM (990424), a “qualified person” as such term is defined under NI 43-101. Please refer to the “Furnas Copper Project – Pará State, Brazil – NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate Technical Report” for additional technical information.

 

Technical Report