Power Metallic: Digging for Green

Power Metallic’s flagship NISK project sits in Quebec’s James Bay region, a tier-one jurisdiction with stable rules and strong political support. The project is strategically positioned beside major infrastructure, including a Hydro-Quebec substation and provincial highway, keeping operations efficient as drilling expands across new high-priority targets. Quebec also offers exploration and development tax credits that stretch capital further. The polymetallic nature of the NISK deposit, nickel, copper, cobalt and PGEs, directly aligns with rising demand for battery metals, with recent drilling reinforcing the growing contribution of palladium, platinum and gold within copper-equivalent grades. With the latest drilling expanding the mineralised footprint at Lion and extending high-grade zones down plunge and to the west, Power Metallic’s position in a low-risk, hydro-powered region could offer a meaningful long-term advantage.

Unlike companies that add ESG later, Power Metallic is building sustainability in from day one. It has partnered with Karbon-X to offset drilling emissions and continues evaluating electric drilling equipment. At a future mine stage, the company plans to use bioleaching, a lower-impact extraction method that uses microbes instead of chemicals. The ultramafic tailings at NISK could also naturally lock away carbon. With new drilling success strengthening the long-term development case and supporting confidence in the scale and continuity of the Lion Zone, and management signalling confidence through its plan to pursue a U.S. listing, Power Metallic is positioning itself as a potential first-of-its-kind carbon-neutral nickel mine, a meaningful draw for OEMs and investors seeking clean, traceable supply.

Power Metallic’s exploration at the Lion Zone continues to show strong promise, supported by new drill hits that confirm thick, high-grade down-plunge extensions and consistent polymetallic continuity. Recent metallurgical testing shows that these metals can be recovered at exceptionally high rates, reinforcing the quality of the discovery. The results point to stronger rock quality and increasing continuity of higher-grade lodes than previously understood. The company is still only drilling a small one square kilometre portion of a much larger forty-five square kilometre land package, leaving significant room for new discoveries. A one hundred thousand metre drill program runs through 2026, covering both detailed and expansion drilling. Modern geophysics is improving target accuracy, and the combination of scale, grade and recovery strengthens confidence in a much larger system taking shape.

Borehole Electromagnetic (BHEM) surveying has proven to be one of the most effective tools for outlining high-grade mineralisation, playing a key role in guiding recent Lion Zone success and continuing to sharpen future drill targets.

• Drill Results (Lion & Tiger Zones): Continued drilling at the high-grade Lion Zone and adjacent Tiger Zone is expected to deliver follow-up intercepts, building on recent thick down-plunge extensions and western lenses. Step-out success could expand known mineralisation and show continuity across new targets, which would support a larger resource base and stronger economics.

• Geophysics & Targeting (Fall-Winter Update): Power Metallic will release a program update including results from its property-wide EM surveys. These findings could refine existing targets and identify entirely new zones, particularly extensions west and down plunge of Lion, supporting the company’s thesis that multiple high-grade pods may exist across the 45 km2 land package.

• Updated Resource Estimate: A revised and potentially much larger resource estimate incorporating the Lion Zone and new drilling from 2025 will be critical. Investors are watching for increases in tonnage and grade that validate the exploration model and support future economic studies.

• Metallurgical Testing & Economic Studies: Initial metallurgical results from SGS have already demonstrated exceptionally high recoveries across copper, PGEs, gold and silver, exceeding prior assumptions. The next phase of testing and early economic studies will focus on confirming recoveries at scale, refining processing flowsheets and translating these results into operating cost and margin assumptions. This work is expected to materially improve confidence in future project economics.

• Strategic Partnerships & Offtake Agreements: Following strong drilling and proven high recoveries from early metallurgical work, OEMs or battery-metal consumers may look to engage through offtake agreements or strategic investment. Demonstrated recoverability significantly lowers technical risk, improving the project’s appeal to long-term partners and helping de-risk the path to development.

• Advancement Toward Permitting: Moving NISK into formal environmental assessment and permitting stages would be a major milestone, showing Power Metallic’s readiness to transition from exploration to development. Stakeholders will be watching closely to assess timelines, community relations, and project scope.

As a pre-revenue exploration company, Power Metallic depends entirely on external capital to fund its operations. While recent placements have successfully supported ongoing drilling, exploration is capital-intensive, and advancing into development will require exponentially more funding. There is a risk that successive equity raises could dilute existing shareholders, especially if done at lower share prices. The company’s ability to attract strategic investors, secure joint ventures, or obtain grants could mitigate this, but funding risk remains a core concern as the project progresses.

Operating in Quebec brings advantages but also responsibilities. The NISK project is within proximity of First Nations territory, and while Power Metallic has secured initial access permits and actively engages with local communities, the permitting process for mine development is rigorous and can be politically sensitive. Delays can occur if community consultations aren’t managed effectively or if environmental assessments raise red flags. The company’s strong ESG commitments are helpful, but investors must factor in the possibility of timeline slippage due to regulatory or community issues.

Despite encouraging drill results, Power Metallic is still in the early stages of proving up its resource. Many technical questions remain: is the mineralisation continuous enough to support a mine? Will metallurgical testing confirm that the minerals can be extracted cost-effectively? Can the company validate its CO2 sequestration claims at scale? These factors can all affect project economics and feasibility. While management appears to be taking a methodical approach, early-stage exploration carries inherent uncertainty, and technical surprises can quickly derail otherwise promising projects.