Fathom Nickel Inc.‘s (CSE: FNI | OTCQB: FNICF) September 2023 drilling program at Gochager Lake has marked a groundbreaking advancement in the field of high-grade nickel mineralization. CEO Ian Fraser, reflecting on the success, said, “We’re wiser as to exactly the orientation of this high-grade mineralization.” This exploration campaign has successfully unearthed steeply oriented chutes of semi-massive sulphide mineralization within extensive halos of disseminated mineralization. A particularly striking discovery in drillhole GL23008 was a massive sulphide vein, yielding an impressive 3.25% nickel over a span of 0.64 meters.

A pivotal role in this exploration feat was played by borehole electromagnetic surveys (BHEM), which Fraser aptly described as “the mine finder, the giant metal detector.” These surveys were crucial in identifying off-hole conductors, with drillhole GL23009 revealing 81 meters of consistent mineralization, including zones with elevated nickel content. This demonstrates BHEM’s precision in guiding the drilling process towards more significant discoveries.

The nickel tenor at Gochager Lake, estimated at approximately 3.5%, shows promising comparisons with the renowned Sudbury Nickel Camp. This metric is critical in understanding the metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, a factor vital for efficient extraction and garnering interest from major companies.

Looking forward, Fathom Nickel Inc. is poised to continue its trailblazing exploration efforts with a winter 2024 drill program, planning to drill between 3,000 to 5,000 meters at Gochager Lake. This ambitious program aims to further delineate the expansive mineralized halos and investigate zones of more conductive, higher-grade mineralization. “We are excited… this is all very, very positive developments,” Fraser remarked, indicating the company’s optimistic outlook and commitment to further exploration and potential discoveries at Gochager Lake.

In the innovative realm of nickel exploration, Fathom Nickel Inc. stands out, especially with its achievements at the Gochager Lake Project. The September 2023 drilling campaign was a resounding success, revealing significant mineral deposits and indicating the presence of high-grade nickel deep beneath the surface.

The utilization of BHEM has been instrumental in this exploration success, marking a new era in the detection and exploration of substantial mineralization. The comparison of the nickel tenor of Gochager Lake mineralization with the Sudbury Nickel Camp further underscores the promising potential of this site.

With the momentum gained from the 2023 campaign, Fathom Nickel Inc. is enthusiastically preparing for its winter 2024 drill program. Despite facing fluctuating market responses, the company remains steadfast in its vision and confident about the project’s potential. Understanding the true scale and structure of the mineralization is an ongoing journey, promisingly unfolding with each drilling campaign.

Fathom Nickel Inc. maintains rigorous QA/QC protocols in collaboration with TerraLogic Exploration Inc., ensuring the highest standards in sample collection and analysis. As the company looks forward to becoming a leader in nickel exploration, it continues to support the growing global electric vehicle market with its discoveries.

Fathom Nickel is dedicated to targeting magmatic nickel sulphide discoveries, with flagship projects like the Albert Lake Project and the Gochager Lake Project in Saskatchewan, positioning the company at the forefront of discovering high-quality nickel deposits crucial for the electric vehicle industry.

Disclaimer: The historic reserves at Gochager Lake are not NI43-101 compliant and require further verification. The information provided in this update is based on a news release dated November 21, 2023, and an interview with Ian Fraser, CEO of Fathom Nickel Inc.

Fathom Nickel Inc. (CSE: FNI | OTCQB: FNICF), targeting magmatic nickel sulphide discoveries pivotal for the growing global electric vehicle market, has furnished an exploration update for its 100% owned Albert Lake Project.

Recent geophysical activities saw the conclusion of a time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) survey within the Tremblay-Olson Claims Area, unveiling a robust multi-element-in-soil anomaly. Notable TDEM highlights include a strong conductor around 1,000 meters south-southwest of the historic Rottenstone Mine, indicating a conductive body spanning approximately 450m x 150m located about 300 meters below the surface. This conductor is associated with significant geochemical and gravitational anomalies, hinting at the presence of high-density rocks beneath.

Drawing upon a previous interview with InvestorIntel’s Tracy Weslosky, Ian Fraser, the CEO and VP Exploration, commented on the ongoing exploration. “Our strategic efforts at Albert Lake continue to reveal crucial drill target areas, notably the newly identified TDEM conductor. This aligns with both the surface geochemistry and previous gravity surveys,” said Fraser. He further emphasized the company’s vision, grounded in the belief of the Albert Lake and Gochager Lake projects evolving into significant nickel camps.

With plans underway for the Gochager Lake drill program post the impressive results from February 2023, Fathom is gearing up for a detailed announcement set for the week of August 21. Drilling is expected to kickstart by the week of August 28.

Saskatchewan remains an exploration hotspot, consistently ranked among the top global jurisdictions. The region remains largely untapped for nickel, copper, and PGEs, presenting Fathom with immense exploration potential. The company’s methodology, combining surface geochemistry, TDEM surveys, and other techniques, has successfully identified structural traps, as evidenced by the Bay-Island Trend discovery.

While no additional drilling is slated for Albert Lake in 2023, the company is gearing up for its winter drill program in Q1-2024.

Fathom Nickel Inc., with its two promising exploration projects in Saskatchewan’s Trans Hudson Corridor, continues to underscore the potential of nickel in bolstering the electric vehicle market. The company’s determination in leveraging Saskatchewan’s unexplored reserves, coupled with its innovative exploration approach, underscores its vision for a sustainable future driven by electric vehicles.

The global pursuit of key battery metals like nickel and copper appears to be reaching a fevered pitch. Mining M&A is being spurred on by investors betting on rising demand for critical minerals that are key for the global green energy transition.

The latest example came this past Monday when global miner Glencore PLC (LSE: GLEN) (who is also in hot pursuit of Canada’s Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A | TSX: TECK.B | NYSE: TECK)), Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA | Euronext Milan: STLAM | Euronext Paris: STLAP) and Volkswagen AG‘s (Xetra: VOW3 | OTCPK: VWAGY) battery unit PowerCo agreed to back a US$1 billion deal by special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) ACG Acquisition Company to buy two mines in Brazil. The UK-listed SPAC will buy a nickel sulfide mine in Santa Rita and a copper mine in Serrote from private equity funds. The nickel sulfide will be refined at Glencore’s facilities in Western Europe and North America once the sale has been finalized, with the final product used in EV batteries by Stellantis and PowerGo, along with other manufacturers.

It appears to be a great time to be in the nickel space as end users and mining majors continue to try and lock up key supply sources. One company looking to get in on the action is Fathom Nickel Inc. (CSE: FNI | OTCQB: FNICF), a publicly traded resource development and exploration company that is targeting high-grade nickel sulfide discoveries located in Saskatchewan.

The Company is accelerating exploration on its flagship Albert Lake Project, a 90,000+ hectare project that was host to the historic and past-producing Rottenstone deposit which is recognized as one of the highest‐grade deposits of its type ever mined in Canada. Also located in the prolific Trans Hudson Corridor in Saskatchewan is the Gochager Lake Project, a 19,560-hectare project that is host to a historic, open-pitable resource.

What makes Fathom Nickel stand out to me is the historical numbers that came from the Rottenstone Mine. The Mine operated from 1965 -1969 and produced very high-grade Ni-Cu+PGE-Au (26,000 tonnes; 3.28% Ni, 1.83% Cu, 9.63 g/t Pd, Pt-Au). Albeit, this information is not considered NI 43-101 Compliant, it certainly grabs your attention.

Fathom funded exploration programs at Albert Lake in 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022, with the 2021–22 drilling and borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) surveys leading to the discovery of the 300+ meter Bay-Island mineralized corridor which is open to the north and south. This new mineralized intrusive is located 400–500m west-northwest of historic Rottenstone deposit with consistent mineralized intervals up to 18 meters thick. Drill hole AL22052 intersected 0.62% Ni, 0.29% Cu, 0.58 g/t Pd-Pt over 13.3m (0.98% NiEq).

This is all a pretty good starting point but where is the catalyst for investors going forward? The Company is finalizing its summer plans for the initial phases of exploration at both Gochager Lake and Albert Lake. Geophysical crews are expected to mobilize to Gochager Lake on June 6 and initiate a geophysical program expected to last two to three weeks. A separate geophysical crew is expected to mobilize to Albert Lake later in June. The results from the summer program will lead to additional drilling to be conducted in Fall-2023/Winter-2024.

And to fund all this activity, Fathom recently closed the second and final tranche of its upsized non-brokered offering of flow-through units and non flow-though units, previously announced on May 8, 2023. Together with the previously closed first tranche, the total gross proceeds of the offering is C$2.96 million. This includes participation by a key strategic investor Crescat Capital LLC, bringing Crescat’s ownership/control position in Fathom to approximately 17.4% of the common shares currently outstanding.

With a bright long-term outlook for nickel used in the manufacturing of batteries needed for energy storage in the high-growth renewable energy and EV industries, companies like Fathom Nickel should have ample opportunity to raise funds and continue to pursue prospective opportunities in mining friendly jurisdictions. Perhaps sometime in the future, Fathom will be yet another Canadian mining company to be courted by Glencore.

Fathom Nickel trades with a market cap of C$23.6 million following the closing of its latest equity offering.

The nickel market has been red hot in 2022 as Russian supply chain risks intensified. Russia is a major nickel exporter. The huge spike in the chart was caused by a short-seller squeeze that resulted in the London Metals Exchange having to halt nickel trading.

Nickel one year price chart showing nickel’s steady rise on strong demand and constrained supply , particularly with concerns over Russian supply

Source: Trading Economics

Nickel miners have naturally benefited from higher nickel prices over the past year. The nickel miners that tend to do best are those with growing nickel sulphide projects in safe jurisdictions. Today’s company has 4 projects (nickel sulfide and copper-gold) in the safe jurisdiction of Canada.

Fjordland Exploration Inc. (TSXV: FEX) (Fjordland) is an exploration stage miner with a focus on nickel, copper, and gold in Canada.

Fjordland’s four projects in Canada include:

• South Voisey’s Bay Project (currently owns 75% with an option to earn-in to a 100% interest). 29,400 hectares (29.4 Sq.Km) prospective for nickel, copper and cobalt. Note: Ivanhoe Electric is a private company led by Robert Friedland, which has the right to earn 65% of the project from Fjordland once Ivanhoe Electric has spent $5 million.
• Renzy Nickel-Copper Project (option to earn-in to a 100% interest). 86 km2 property with the past producing Renzy Mine and a Historical NI-43-101 Resource estimate (indicated 51,000 tonnes 0.79% Ni and 0.72% Cu) not yet to be relied upon. Past drilling included 10.8 m of 1.3% nickel and 1.8% copper.
  
• Milligan West Project (43% JV partner with Northwest Copper Corp). Copper-gold porphyry potential. The Project lies immediately west of Centerra’s Mt. Milligan Mine.
  
• Witch Project (100% interest) – 100 km2 property about 35kms from the Milligan West Project. Copper-gold porphyry potential.

A summary and location map showing Fjordland’s four exploration projects in Canada

Source: Fjordland Exploration Inc. company presentation

Next steps for Fjordland

In 2022 Fjordland will be reviewing data from their Witch Project acquisition. They also expect to receive project funding from Ivanhoe Electric as part of their agreement at the South Voisey’s Bay Project. Fjordland is also currently drilling at their Renzy Nickel Copper Project with a $1 million fully funded program which is expected to be completed by the end of Q2 2022. Results to follow.

Closing remarks

For investors, key attractions of Fjordland are the current low market cap of just C$7 million and the potential exploration upside in some of the best land positions in Canada. Voisey’s Bay is world renowned for nickel with the world’s largest nickel producer Vale operating there. Fjordland has four well-located Canadian projects with potential for nickel, copper, cobalt, and gold.

As of March 2022, management and insider ownership (includes Friedland’s Ivanhoe Electric) is an impressive 45%.

Due to the early stage investors will need plenty of patience while we wait to see what exploration success Fjordland has. Drill results from the Renzy Nickel Copper Project are a key potential stock catalyst in the coming months. Risk is therefore higher due to the early stage, however so is the potential reward. Stay tuned.