Excelsior, with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture is in the process of restarting operations of the Johnson Camp open pits, incorporating sulfide leaching technology to improve recoveries. Under the Agreement, Excelsior remains the operator and Nuton funds Excelsior's costs associated with a two-stage work program at Johnson Camp.

The Stage 2 work program is anticipated to take up to five years and mining is expected to commence in year one with first copper produced from Nuton technology in 2025.

The completion of all milestones would result in full scale commercial production of Nuton copper over several years at Johnson Camp. Revenue from operations will first be used to pay back Stage 2 costs to Nuton and will then be credited to Excelsior's account after fulfillment of Excelsior's applicable royalty and stream obligations.

After the completion of Stage 2, Nuton will have the right to form a joint venture on Johnson Camp per mutually agreeable terms whereby Nuton will hold an initial 49% and Excelsior an initial 51% interest.