Mont Sorcier BFS Extended for Optimization, ESIA Work on Track

Cerrado Gold has pushed back the completion date on the bankable feasibility study for its Mont Sorcier high-grade iron ore project in Quebec, choosing instead to run a series of optimization and trade-off analyses that could shift the project's economic profile. The extension was disclosed Monday by Chibougamau Independent Mines, which holds a 2% gross revenue royalty on the deposit.

Cerrado identified several opportunities during the BFS process that could materially raise the value of Mont Sorcier. The company said it will study those options before delivering the final feasibility document. A new timeline for the BFS was not specified.

The delay does not affect the environmental and social impact assessment filings. That work continues on the original schedule, according to the same release. The ESIA is a separate regulatory track tied to the project's permitting timeline in Quebec, where mining projects face a multi-agency review process overseen by the provincial environment ministry.

Mont Sorcier sits in the Chibougamau region, roughly 600 kilometers north of Montreal. The deposit hosts vanadium-bearing magnetite, a type of iron ore that carries a premium in steelmaking markets because vanadium strengthens steel alloy without adding significant weight. Cerrado's pre-feasibility study, published in 2024, outlined a 20-year mine producing 9 million tonnes of concentrate per year.

Chibougamau said David Christie, a consultant to the company, reviewed the information in the disclosure as the qualified person under NI 43-101.

Cerrado shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker CERT. Chibougamau trades under CBG on the same exchange.

The optimization review will look at changes to the mine plan, processing flowsheet and infrastructure layout, among other variables. Cerrado's pre-feasibility work assumed a 40,000-tonne-per-day mill feeding a concentrator circuit designed to produce a 65% iron-grade pellet feed. Any changes to throughput or grade targets would shift the capital cost estimate, which stood at roughly $1.1 billion in the pre-feasibility study.

A junior developer deferring a feasibility study to chase higher returns is a common pattern in mining. The risk is that the optimization loop extends past the point where market conditions have shifted – iron ore prices have cycled sharply since Mont Sorcier's original pre-feasibility was published. The benchmark 62% iron ore price averaged $108 per tonne in 2025, down from $120 the prior year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Vanadium prices, which drive the premium for Mont Sorcier's concentrate, have been more volatile. The metal's spot price in China, the largest market, ranged from $8 to $12 per pound in 2025, compared with a five-year average near $10. Steel demand in China, which consumes roughly 60% of global vanadium output, remains soft as the property sector contraction continues.

Cerrado is also advancing the Minera Don Nicolas gold mine in Argentina, which generates cash flow that could fund Mont Sorcier's development costs. The company's balance sheet at the end of 2025 showed roughly $45 million in cash and equivalents against $62 million in total debt, according to its annual filing.

Chibougamau's royalty structure means it collects 2% of gross revenue from any production at Mont Sorcier, with no deduction for operating or capital costs. The company has no obligation to fund the project. Its exposure to Cerrado's timeline decisions is limited to the timing of first cash flows from the royalty, which would begin no earlier than the projected three-year construction period following the BFS and permitting.