CoTec Holdings Corp. Provides Business Update

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 31, 2022 / CoTec Holdings Corp. (TSXV:CTH) ("CoTec" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update in respect of its portfolio and investment initiatives currently underway.

Julian Treger, CEO, commented: "The Company's portfolio continued to develop well during the past quarter and the macro global backdrop remains highly constructive for CoTec's business model. Our portfolio continues to increase in value and we expect some of this upside to be reflected in our future results. We are also actively pursuing a number of exciting new potential investments."

"The combination of renewed emphasis on carbon reduction, driven by a hot summer, the weaponization of commodities and a growing appreciation of their strategic importance and the continued decline of just in time globalization means that the demand for green commodities is rising rapidly. In turn there is now a more widespread appreciation of the important role which technology will play in producing the commodities needed by the world's emerging green economy needs.

"CoTec stands at the forefront of this trend, identifying unique, disruptive technologies which are scalable and have asset applications, investing in them, incubating and nurturing them and deploying them to develop and acquire a portfolio of attractive operating assets. Our technologies share the commonality of requiring less heat and water, are cheaper than traditional sources, are flexible and modular and as a result are closer to home and lighter on logistic requirements."

CoTec Portfolio

In the course of just six months since our change of business, the Company has invested in or committed to four significant opportunities.

Binding Solutions Limited ("BSL")

BSL estimates that its exciting technology for creating green pellets, could result in a meaningful reduction in global carbon emissions by replacing sintering and induration processes which account for approximately 15% of carbon emissions from the global steel industry. The low-cost and modular nature of BSL's process also means it can deliver significant reductions in capital investment costs when compared to traditional pelletization processes. BSL is now testing its technology with many of the world's leading steel and iron ore producers and year to date revenues have more than doubled over last year. The resulting increase in BSL's value has partly been reflected in CoTec's most recent quarterly results. The Company is particularly excited about the technology's ability to produce pellets for use in electric arc furnaces that could enable zero carbon steel and its applicability to waste dumps where it can extract metals and reduce environmental liabilities.

MagIron LLC ("MagIron")

CoTec owns approximately 16% of MagIron, which recently acquired an iron ore processing plant in Minnesota. Since the Company's investment, MagIron issued a convertible note with a conversion price that is more than double the price CoTec paid for its investment. MagIron's goal is to become an important strategic supplier of high quality, low carbon iron units to support the creation of a green steel industry in the United States. MagIron is currently exploring implementing the BSL pelletizing technology to produce green pellets - an example of the way CoTec's technologies can combine with assets to create additional value.

Mkango Resources Ltd. ("Mkango")

CoTec has entered into a non-binding term sheet for an investment in Mkango and provided interim financing to them. Mkango has two main assets - a rare earth development project in Malawi which, according to a feasibility study that Mkango published in August^[1], has a post-tax NPV_10% of US$559M and more interestingly to CoTec, an interest in a green process utilizing hydrogen to recycle rare earth magnets and extract the rare earth elements from them. During the quarter, a pilot plant was commissioned in the United Kingdom to scale up the technology. In connection with its investment in Mkango, CoTec and Mkango will enter into a co-operation agreement regarding future investment in rare earth processing technologies in the US. CoTec believes that the Mkango recycling technology will align well with the desire of the US to be strategically independent of China.

Basic Industries Venture Fund I, LP ("BIVF")

CoTec has entered into a subscription agreement to make an investment in BIVF, an Australian investment fund that will be focused on investments in industrial technologies. In connection with its investment, CoTec has also entered into an agreement with RFC Ambrian, the fund sponsor, under which CoTec will have certain co-investment rights with respect to investments by RFC Ambrian in projects that utilize technologies in which the fund has invested. The fund has yet to close.

CoTec Pipeline

In addition to the existing investments and commitments described above, CoTec is exploring numerous additional investment opportunities including disruptive technologies focused on, enhancing the efficacy of fertilizers, rapidly de-radiating nuclear waste, create hydrogen and utilize sequestered carbon to create green concrete. CoTec's ability to make further investments is subject to its ability to secure additional capital to fund these investments.

About CoTec

CoTec is an ESG-focused company investing in innovative technologies that have the potential to fundamentally change the way metals and minerals can be extracted and processed for the purpose of applying those technologies to undervalued operating assets and recycling opportunities, as the Company seeks to transition into a mid-tier mineral resource producer. The Company is committed to supporting the transition to a lower carbon future for the extraction industry, a sector on the cusp of a green revolution as it embraces technology and innovation. CoTec is a publicly traded investment issuer listed on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol CTH.V

For further information, please contact:

Braam Jonker - (604) 992-5600

Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the Company and its investments which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to management's expectations with respect to its current and potential future investments, the value of such investments and the benefits to the Company which may be implied from such statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. For further details regarding risks and uncertainties facing the Company please refer to "Risk Factors" in the Company's filing statement dated April 6, 2022, as well as its other disclosure documents, copies of which may be found under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

^[1] See "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Songwe Hill Rare Earth Element Project in Malawi", prepared for Mkango by SENET, a DRA Global Group Company dated August 18, 2022 with an effective date of July 1, 2022. The report can be accessed under Mkango's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: CoTec Holdings Corp.