Conico Targets REE and Gold-PGE at Kai and Lilloise in East Greenland

Conico Stakes Its Claim: Two New Greenland Projects Target REE and Gold-PGE in Underexplored Terrain

Conico Ltd (ASX: CNJ) has moved decisively to expand its footprint in East Greenland, lodging mineral exploration licence applications over two district-scale intrusive systems adjacent to its existing Ryberg Project. The Conico Greenland Kai and Lilloise projects in East Greenland — targeting rare earth elements and gold-platinum group elements respectively — represent large, geologically compelling systems that have seen little to no modern, commodity-focused exploration.

Subject to their grant, these licences would expand Conico's total Greenland land position to approximately 6,460 km², positioning the company as one of the largest landholders in East Greenland.

The strategic logic is clear: two large, underexplored intrusive systems, each with geological architecture analogous to world-class deposits, sitting immediately adjacent to a granted, 100%-owned project platform. Conico is moving early, with first-mover advantage in a region increasingly on the radar of major mining companies and governments seeking critical minerals supply outside of China.

Two Projects, Two Commodity Themes, One Strategic Vision

The applications reflect a deliberate broadening of Conico's commodity exposure — layering rare earth element prospectivity at Kai onto the gold-PGE and base metal profile already established at Ryberg.

The Kai Project: A World-Class REE System That Has Never Been Properly Explored

The centrepiece of the new applications, from a critical minerals perspective, is the Kai Project. At its core is the Kangerdlugssuaq Alkaline Intrusion — a ~33 km wide, ~800 km² circular syenite complex emplaced into ancient basement rocks at approximately 50 million years ago.

This places it firmly within the North Atlantic Igneous Province, a region recognised for hosting some of the largest undeveloped REE systems on Earth.

Geology Built for REE Concentration

The internal architecture of the Kai intrusion follows a zoning pattern that geologists associate with REE-fertile alkaline systems:

• The outer zones consist of quartz-bearing rocks (nordmarkites and pulaskites)
• The core transitions to nepheline and sodalite-bearing rocks (foyaites) — silica-poor rocks that concentrate incompatible elements including rare earth elements, niobium, and zirconium

This is the same mineralogical progression observed in the Ilímaussaq complex in southern Greenland, which hosts the Kvanefjeld deposit (JORC Resource of 1.01 billion tonnes at 1.01% TREO). The comparison is geological in nature — the zoning architecture, not the resource size, is what is being referenced here.

Furthermore, this structural parallel is the precise reason Conico views the Kai Project as a genuine priority within the broader Conico Greenland Kai and Lilloise projects in East Greenland portfolio.

REE-Bearing Minerals Already Identified

Historical work, focused on base metals and molybdenum rather than rare earths, nevertheless documented REE-bearing mineral phases including:

• Eudialyte-group minerals — notably kentbrooksite, a species first discovered within the Kai Intrusion itself
• Perovskite and titanite
• Apatite
• Late-stage REE-bearing veins in the inner margin, suggesting magmatic-hydrothermal overprinting

Eudialyte-group minerals are the primary REE host in the Kringlerne deposit in Greenland and the Lovozero massif in Russia — two of the most significant alkaline REE systems outside of China. Their presence at Kai, in a system that has never had a dedicated REE exploration programme, is a material observation.

Executive Chairman Guy Le Page commented: "The Kai Project is one of the most overlooked large alkaline systems in the North Atlantic Igneous Province. This is potentially a REE system of significant scale that has never been subject to modern, REE-focused exploration, providing Conico with a first-mover advantage."

The Lilloise Project: Skaergaard Geology, Zero Modern Drill Holes

The Lilloise Project hosts a ~10 km wide layered ultramafic intrusion with a three-part internal stratigraphy:

1. A Lower Zone of olivine and clinopyroxene rocks
2. A Middle Zone of olivine gabbros carrying liquidus Fe-Ti oxides
3. An Upper Zone of laminated amphibole and plagioclase cumulates

This layered architecture is directly analogous to the Skaergaard Intrusion, located approximately 100 km to the west and hosting a NI 43-101 resource of 25.52 million ounces palladium equivalent at 2.18 g/t PdEq.

The presence of Fe-Ti oxides and apatite in Lilloise's Upper Zone is consistent with the fractionation pattern that concentrates platinum group elements and gold in Skaergaard-style systems.

What Makes This a Genuine Exploration Opportunity?

The critical point for investors is the exploration gap: historical work at Lilloise was limited to reconnaissance campaigns in 1986 and 1989. Neither campaign included systematic sampling of the Upper Zone oxide horizons — the very layer now understood to be the primary target for Skaergaard-style Au-PGE mineralisation.

No drill holes have ever been completed at Lilloise.

This is not a project with a history of failed exploration. The Conico Greenland Kai and Lilloise projects in East Greenland represent genuine first-mover positioning in systems that have simply never been tested with the right tools, against the right targets, at the right time.

Guy Le Page added: "The Lilloise Intrusion is equally compelling, with geology comparable to the nearby Skaergaard Intrusion, that hosts over 25 million ounces of palladium equivalent. Historical work here was reconnaissance-only, and the Company believes that systematic mapping and geophysics has the potential to identify another world-class Skaergaard-style target."

Understanding Alkaline Intrusions: Why Geology Matters for REE Investors

What Is an Alkaline Intrusion?

An alkaline intrusion is a body of igneous rock that forms when magma with unusually low silica and high sodium or potassium content cools and crystallises underground. As the magma evolves through a process called differentiation — where minerals crystallise in sequence and the remaining melt becomes progressively enriched — incompatible elements such as rare earth elements, niobium, and zirconium become concentrated.

Why Does This Matter for REE Exploration?

The world's most significant hard-rock REE deposits outside of China — Kvanefjeld in Greenland, Kringlerne in Greenland, and Lovozero in Russia — are all hosted in alkaline intrusive systems. The mineralogy, zoning patterns, and geological indicators at Kai mirror those observed in these known deposits.

Size, grade, and continuity can only be determined through systematic exploration, but the geological foundation for REE prospectivity is firmly in place.

Glossary of Key Terms

The Broader Ryberg Platform: Existing Mineralisation, World-Class Neighbours

The two new applications sit adjacent to Conico's granted Ryberg Project — a 4,941 km² multi-element exploration tenure with confirmed surface mineralisation and multiple defined target areas:

• Miki and Togeda Prospects (Cu-Ni-PGE-Au): Magmatic sulphide targets with confirmed surface results including up to 2.2% Cu, 3.3 g/t Pd, 0.8% Ni, and 0.1% Co along dyke margins interpreted as geological continuations of the Skaergaard intrusive complex
• Sortekap Prospect (Au, Ni-Co): Dual-target prospect with orogenic gold, including 1 m at 43 g/t Au from 63 m depth, and magmatic sulphide mineralisation in a newly exposed Archaean greenstone belt
• Proximity to Skaergaard: The Ryberg Project sits just 3 km from the Skaergaard Intrusion, one of the most thoroughly documented PGE-Au layered intrusions in the world
• Infrastructure: Access to a deep-water fjord suitable for a port, a serviceable airstrip capable of accommodating large aircraft, and proximity of approximately 350 km to Iceland

Greenland as a Jurisdiction: What Investors Should Know

Greenland operates under a Western legal and regulatory framework with a well-defined permitting environment. The fiscal terms are notably attractive for a greenfields explorer.

Major mining companies including Anglo American and IGO have recently established presences in Greenland, reflecting the jurisdiction's growing credibility at an institutional level. In addition, infrastructure development is progressing, with a new international airport under construction at Ittoqqortoormiit, near Conico's Mestersvig Project, which is expected to meaningfully improve regional access.

Upcoming Catalysts and Planned Work Programme

Subject to the grant of licences, Conico intends to deploy modern exploration methodologies across both new projects, prioritising work that has not previously been conducted.

Kai Project (REE):

• Modern geological mapping of the alkaline intrusion
• Geophysical surveys to define internal zoning and structural controls
• Rock chip and stream sediment sampling targeting REE-fertile zones
• Generation of drill targets in an intrusion that has never been REE-focused explored

Lilloise Project (Au-PGE):

• Systematic mapping and sampling of the Upper Zone cumulates — the primary Au-PGE target horizon never previously sampled
• High-resolution geophysical surveys across the oxide horizons
• Structural and stratigraphic framework work to define drill corridors analogous to Skaergaard

Portfolio-wide:

• Continued advancement of existing Ryberg prospects (Miki, Togeda, Sortekap)
• Ongoing licence management across the Blyklippen Zn-Pb-Ag tenure at Mestersvig

Investment Thesis: Why Conico Deserves a Closer Look

Conico's latest move is about assembling a high-quality critical and precious metals portfolio in a jurisdiction that is structurally undersupplied with early-stage, first-mover exploration opportunities. The investment case rests on several reinforcing factors.

1. Scale of landholding: At approximately 6,460 km² subject to licence grants, Conico would be one of the largest landholders in East Greenland — a region that remains far less explored than southern Greenland despite hosting comparable geology.

2. Genuine first-mover advantage at Kai: A ~33 km wide alkaline intrusion with documented REE-bearing minerals, analogous architecture to one of the world's largest REE deposits, and zero history of modern REE-focused exploration.

3. Proven geological analogy at Lilloise: The Skaergaard Intrusion is one of the best-documented Au-PGE magmatic systems on Earth. Lilloise shares its layered architecture, sits within the same regional igneous province, and has never had its most prospective horizon systematically sampled or drilled.

4. Existing resource base at Ryberg: The platform is not starting from scratch. Ryberg hosts confirmed surface mineralisation at multiple prospects, with gold and base metal results already in hand.

5. Commodity relevance: REE, PGE, gold, copper, nickel, cobalt — the commodity suite across the Conico Greenland Kai and Lilloise projects in East Greenland is directly aligned with demand themes in clean energy, defence, and electrification.

6. Jurisdictional quality: A Western legal framework, clear permitting, no VAT on operations, and the presence of major mining companies in the same region — Greenland increasingly offers geological endowment and political stability that is difficult to find elsewhere at this scale.

Why Investors Should Keep Watching Conico

Conico Ltd has taken a decisive step toward building one of East Greenland's most diversified critical minerals portfolios. By applying for two large, underexplored intrusive systems, the company adds REE and Au-PGE exposure to an already compelling platform.

With first-mover positioning at the Kai REE system, a geological analogue to Skaergaard at Lilloise, and a granted 4,941 km² base at Ryberg with confirmed mineralisation, Conico is positioned across multiple commodity themes in a jurisdiction drawing increasing attention from major miners.

The upcoming exploration work programmes — applying modern tools to systems that have never been properly tested — represent a series of genuine discovery catalysts that investors in the critical minerals space would do well to monitor closely.

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