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NINE MILE METALS LTD (CSE: NINE) (OTCQB: VMSXF) (FSE: KQ9) (the "Company" or "Nine Mile") announces that it has proceeded with its third anniversary payment under its option to Purchase the remaining 50% of the Nine Mile Brook Project, dated November 28th, 2021, (the "Option Agreement") with Fiddlehead Mining Corp. ("Fiddlehead"). On January 17th, 2025, the Company received an extension from Fiddlehead until March 28th, 2025. To maintain the Option, the Company was required to pay $50,000 cash payment and complete $150,000 work in expenditures by the anniversary date. The company has successfully negotiated the cash payment and issued 3,333,333 common shares as payment, at a deemed price of $0.015. In addition, Fiddlehead has agreed to add the annual $150,000 minimum work expenditure commitment to the 4th year requirements.
This successfully allows Nine Mile Metals to keep the Option Agreement in Good Standing and pursue its priority exploration of the Flagship Nine Mile Brook VMS Project and its goal to discover additional High Grade VMS Len's.
The Nine Mile Brook Project consists of 50.02 square kms over 229 mining claims, 10kms west of the World-Famous Brunswick #12 Mine. Below is a summary of the 2022 Drill Program Certified Assay Results, previously announced, displaying the exceptional grades of the Nine Mile Brook Lens. (see Table 1 below)
Table 1: Nine Mile Brook VMS Lens Drill Program Certified Assay Results
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Drill Certified Assays:
(Sample #683512) 18.30 % Cu, 0.40 % Pb, 0.17 % Zn, 119 g/t Ag, 0.84 g/t Au)
(Sample #683542) 15.42% Cu, 2.45% Pb, 2.03% Zn, 173 g/t Ag, 1.05 g/t Au)
(Sample #683534) 16.85% Cu, 0.98% Pb, 0.57% Zn, 125 g/t Ag, 1.13 g/t Au)
"The team is looking forward to returning to Nine Mile Brook in Fall of 2025. With abundant geophysical targets already defined, drill hole selection involves the integration of our extensive datasets including the UAV magnetics, I.P. and Borehole electromagnetics (BHEM) and previous drill hole data, into a 3D model to best leverage the information. The Bathurst Mining Camp is structurally complex and having less than 1% outcrop, the team is committed to following the science and in particular, the advanced geophysics to guide us to success," stated Gary Lohman, VPX & Director.
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About Nine Mile Metals Ltd.:
Nine Mile Metals Ltd. is a Canadian public mineral exploration company focused on Critical Minerals Exploration (CME) VMS (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au) exploration in the world-famous Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada. The Company's primary business objective is to explore its four VMS Projects: Nine Mile Brook VMS; California Lake VMS; Canoe Landing Lake (East-West) VMS and the Wedge VMS Projects. The Company is focused on Critical Minerals Exploration (CME), positioning for the boom in EV and green technologies requiring Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc with a hedge with Gold.
ON BEHALF OF NINE MILE METALS LTD.
"Patrick J. Cruickshank, MBA"
Chief Executive Officer and Director
[email protected]
"Jonathan Holmes"
Director
[email protected]
The disclosure of technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and reviewed and approved by Gary Lohman, B.Sc., P. Geo., VP Exploration and Director who acts as the Company's Qualified Person and is not independent of the Company.
Forward-Looking Information:
This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Nine Mile. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Nine Mile. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek, "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Although Nine Mile believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Nine Mile can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.
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FinEx Metals
Investor Insight
With a disciplined exploration strategy and a high-grade discovery focus, FinEx Metals is poised to become one of the most compelling new gold exploration companies in Europe. The company is led by a technically experienced and locally embedded team, backed by a tight share structure and strategic investor alignment.
Overview
FinEx Metals (TSXV:FINX) is an exploration-stage company focused on discovering Finland’s next high-grade gold deposit. Backed by NewQuest Capital Group, FinEx is strategically positioned near Europe’s largest gold mine, the Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine, and sits within one of the most prospective but underexplored terrains globally – the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt.
FinEx has defined a 2.7-kilometer-long anomalous gold zone through a combination of trenching, rock sampling, and top-of-bedrock (ToB) drilling. The ToB campaign yielded 29 samples with assays ranging from 0.1 to 4.2 grams per ton (g/t) gold and revealed broad pathfinder anomalies in tellurium, bismuth, silver and arsenic, highlighting a robust geochemical footprint consistent with orogenic gold systems.
Additionally, 263 grab samples were collected from trench exposures, 52 of which returned values above 1 g/t gold, including 19 samples exceeding 10 g/t gold. The highest grade recorded to date is 95.1 g/t gold from a quartz-carbonate vein system, located within a zone extending over 250 meters. Ruoppa is fully permitted and drill-ready, with the maiden core drilling campaign scheduled to begin in August 2025. With an experienced local team, high-grade mineralization and proximity to active operations, FinEx offers a unique opportunity to invest in an early-stage gold explorer positioned for rapid value creation.
Company Highlights
- High-grade Gold Focus in a Tier-one Address: Flagship Ruoppa project lies within 17 km of Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine, the largest gold-producing mine in Europe.
- Large, 100 percent Owned Land Package: FinEx controls a 100 percent owned, royalty-free portfolio of projects across the Central and Eastern Lapland greenstone belts.
- Drill-ready Flagship Asset: The Ruoppa project is fully permitted and will commence its maiden diamond drill program in Q3 2025.
- Exceptional Gold Grades: Rock grab samples from Ruoppa returned up to 95.1 g/t gold, with 52 samples over 1 g/t gold and 19 samples exceeding 10 g/t gold.
- Strong Local Technical Team: Deep exploration experience in Finland with former Agnico Eagle, FQM and Anglo-American personnel leading geological efforts.
Flagship Project
Ruoppa Gold Project
The Ruoppa project is FinEx Metals’ flagship exploration asset, situated approximately 17 kilometers from Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine, the largest primary gold producer in Europe. Located within Finland’s Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB), Ruoppa lies on the same structural and geological trend that hosts other major gold systems like Rupert Resources’ Ikkari discovery. The project is fully permitted and drill-ready, with a maiden diamond drill program scheduled to commence in Q3 2025.
The anomalous gold zone identified at Ruoppa extends over 2.7 kilometers and remains open in all directions. Ten trenches totaling 641 meters have been excavated across the highest-priority geophysical and geochemical anomalies, confirming both the lateral continuity and high-grade potential of the gold-bearing structures. This robust dataset has defined a compelling sulphide-rich gold target at depth, which will be tested during the upcoming diamond drill program.
Notably, the project will see its first-ever diamond drilling in Q3 2025. Ruoppa benefits from excellent access to infrastructure, including all-season roads, grid power and 5G connectivity.
Over the past four years, FinEx has conducted extensive early-stage exploration, including ToB drilling, trenching and rock sampling. A total of 263 rock grab samples have been collected from trench exposures, with 52 samples returning assays greater than 1 g/t gold and 19 samples exceeding 10 g/t gold. The highest recorded sample yielded 95.1 g/t gold, hosted in quartz-carbonate vein systems. ToB drilling, an efficient shallow drilling method ideal for glacially covered terrains, revealed additional gold potential with assays up to 4.2 g/t gold and strong pathfinder element anomalies in tellurium, bismuth, silver and arsenic.
Additional Projects
Luova Gold Project
The Luova project is located within the thickest core portion of the CLGB, less than 10 kilometers from the Kittilä Mine and adjacent to key exploration prospects such as Hanhimaa and Hakokodanmaa. This underexplored project shows all the hallmarks of a classic orogenic gold system, including thick sequences of Fe-tholeiitic basalts, large-scale shear zones acting as fluid conduits, and favorable trap rocks such as graphitic tuffs and banded iron formations.
Historical base-of-till sampling conducted by Outokumpu and Agnico Eagle revealed anomalous gold and copper values, including results up to 0.38 g/t gold and 0.49 percent copper. Despite these encouraging results, the Luova project remains undrilled, representing a significant near-surface gold discovery opportunity. Ionic leach soil samples and detailed magnetic surveys are planned to refine drill targets, with a focus on zones where interpreted thrust faults intersect favorable host rocks.
Kero Gold Project
The Kero project, explored in the early 2000s by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), is another advanced gold target in FinEx’s portfolio. GTK completed an extensive dataset that includes 7.7 kilometers of diamond drilling, trenching, bedrock mapping and multiple geophysical surveys (including IP, VLF-R and ground magnetics). Historic drill intercepts at Kero include 1.05 meters at 12.6 g/t gold and 3.3 meters at 2.3 g/t gold, while surface grab samples returned up to 25.6 g/t gold from carbonate-sulphide veins.
The gold mineralization is associated with hydrothermal alteration and complex structural settings, including fold hinges and lithological contacts. A 1.2-kilometer-long gold anomaly has been defined, and the structural complexity – characterized by multiple deformation orientations – indicates strong potential for structurally controlled high-grade zones. Kero is accessible year-round via gravel roads and is a strong candidate for follow-up trenching and re-logging of the historical core.
Tulppio Ni-PGE Project
Located in the Eastern Lapland Granite-Greenstone Belt, the Tulppio project represents FinEx’s entry into critical mineral exploration, specifically targeting nickel sulphides and platinum group elements (PGE). The project is positioned adjacent to the Sokli project, a world-class phosphate, iron and REE deposit operated by Finnish Minerals Group. Tulppio contains a large (5 km x 2 km) ultramafic intrusive complex, with a gravity signature suggesting the body extends to 2 kilometers in depth.
Historic shallow drilling (less than 100 meters depth) has already intercepted 3 meters at 1.12 g/t platinum+palladium and 0.49 percent nickel (including 1.5 meters at 1.54 g/t platinum+palladium), and 24 meters at 0.33 percent nickel with sulfur content up to 4,600 ppm. Ionic leach soil sampling across the project has identified multiple significant nickel-cobalt-copper-palladium-gold anomalies, underscoring the project’s polymetallic potential. According to the Geological Survey of Finland (2010), Tulppio’s PGE and nickel potential should be factored into future development of the Sokli region.
Ukko Gold-Copper Project
The Ukko project targets orogenic and potentially metamorphosed epithermal gold systems in an Archean greenstone setting. The geology comprises komatiites, mafic volcanics, massive sulphide lenses and mica schists – favorable hosts for both gold and base metal mineralization. Historical drilling by Outokumpu in 1985 intersected 2.05 meters at 2.25 g/t gold. Recent soil sampling has revealed a new gold-copper anomaly in the southeastern portion of the property, coinciding with high magnetic and conductive geophysical zones. Further geochemical and IP surveys are planned to constrain the structure and assess the potential for deeper epithermal or orogenic systems.
Management Team
Tero Kosonen – Chairman and CEO
A seasoned venture capitalist and natural resources investor, Tero Kosonen brings more than 30 years of experience in private equity and management. As co-founder of NewQuest Capital, he has led numerous early-stage ventures across energy and mining. He provides strategic leadership and capital markets expertise to FinEx.
Dr. Petri Peltonen – Chief Geologist
A globally respected exploration geologist with over 30 years of experience in gold, nickel and iron ore exploration, Dr. Petri Peltonen is the former exploration manager – Europe for FQM. He is an Associated Professor at the University of Helsinki. Peltonen ensures technical rigour and exploration success at FinEx.
Sandra Wong – CFO
With over 20 years in financial leadership roles across publicly listed companies, Sandra Wong brings deep experience in accounting, compliance and governance – critical for a newly listed entity with aggressive exploration goals.
Eetu Jokela – Project Manager
A local geologist with direct exploration experience with Agnico Eagle, Eetu Jokela is responsible for day-to-day field operations and geological planning, combining practical know-how with deep regional knowledge.
Olli Silvonen – Exploration Geologist
Experienced in regional greenfields exploration, Olli Silvonen supports mapping, sampling and trenching programs with a strong focus on gold and nickel-copper-PGE systems within the CLGB.
Jukka Jokela – Senior Advisor
The former CEO of Anglo American Sakatti Mining, Jukka Jokela offers more than 35 years of exploration and ESG leadership in the Nordic region, adding valuable permitting and stakeholder engagement capacity.
Dr. Pasi Eilu – Senior Advisor
With 40 years in academic and field exploration, Dr. Pasi Eilu is a recognized expert on greenstone-hosted gold and critical minerals in Finland. His work has shaped much of the geological understanding in Lapland.
Phil Smerchanski – Senior Technical Advisor
Phil Smerchanski brings more than two decades of experience in nickel and gold systems. A former senior technical lead at Oxygen Capital and Anglo American, he provides technical guidance across project pipeline development.
High-grade gold exploration in Finland’s prolific Central Lapland Greenstone Belt
Extensions and New Zones of High Grade Tin at Bygoo North
HIGHLIGHTS
- Scale of Bygoo Tin Project continues to grow with the discovery of new zones of tin mineralisation during the Company’s second RC drilling campaign
- Very broad zone of tin mineralisation at the Stewart’s Lode extended along strike with:
- 118m @ 0.32% Sn from 44m in BRC015 (unconstrained internal dilution); including
- 29m @ 0.53% Sn from 44m, including 8m @ 1.17% Sn from 45m
- 12m @ 0.45% Sn from 116m; and
- 28m @ 0.52% Sn from 146m
- Caspin’s maiden drilling at the Smith’s Lode returns further high-grade tin with:
- 16m @ 0.68% Sn from 49m (BRC013); including
- 5m @ 1.73% Sn & 1.45% Cu from 53m;
- Drilling identifies a further new zone of mineralisation named ‘Radius’, between Dumbrell’s and Smith’s, with:
- 16m @ 0.48% Sn from 124m (BRC016); including
- 2m @ 2.05% Sn & 0.37% Cu from 128m
- Wide zones and high-grade tin mineralisation now drilled over +1,000m of granite contact zone with large gaps in drilling and open along strike.
- High resolution aerial magnetic survey covering ~800km2 to commence shortly
Caspin’s Managing Director, Mr Greg Miles, commented “These results are an exciting epilogue to our maiden drilling program at the Bygoo Project. We are delighted with intersecting 16m @ 0.68% Sn in our first drill hole at Smith’s, including a high-grade zone of 5m @ 1.73% Sn, coupled with 1.45% Cu, the highest-grade copper result by Caspin to date. Another 100m-plus intersection of tin mineralisation at Stewart’s also confirms continuity of ‘bulk’ mineralisation, at very shallow depths. And finally, a new zone of tin mineralisation at ‘Radius’ result demonstrates verifies Caspin’s geological model and growing understanding of key controls to tin mineralisation.
“Most importantly, we now recognise the tin mineralisation potential over greater than 1,000m of shallow granite contact strike at Bygoo North. Drilling is quickly demonstrating that Bygoo North has excellent potential to grow into a tin project with substantial scale. Drilling will continue to target new zones of tin mineralisation and extensions of known areas of shallow tin mineralisation along strike.”
Since acquiring the project, the Company has invested considerable time to understand the geology and controls on mineralisation at Bygoo North. Using the previous exploration data as a base and steadily importing other legacy data such as drilling from the 1970s, the Company is developing a new geological model for the prospect. The Ardlethan Granite contact can now be traced over 1,000m at the prospect, with greisen-style mineralisation developed variably along its entirety (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Location plan of mineralisation and relationship to granite contact at Bygoo North, with significant intercepts. The prospective granite horizon represents the potential for greisen mineralisation on the granite contact to approximately 100m below surface.
These latest results provide further evidence that mineralisation is constrained only by drilling. There are obvious additional drill targets for further exploration. A planned high-resolution aerial magnetic survey, commencing in the following weeks, will further assist refinement of the geological model and hence the targeting process, particularly the several kilometres of untested granite contact to the north and south.
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This article includes content from Caspin Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Lake Hope HPA Pre-Feasibility Study and Maiden Ore Reserve
- Very strong economic metrics and low-cost production: NPV10 A$1.165 billion (with no by-product revenue)
- Capex A$259 million
Opex US$5,860 per tonne excluding by-product credit - Potential Opex of <US$4,500 with by-product credit
- Maiden Probable and Proved Ore Reserve of: 1.7 Mt at 26% Al2O3 for 450,000 tonnes of contained Al2O3.
- Election to proceed to an 80% interest in Playa One Pty Ltd providing Impact with 80% ownership in the Lake Hope resource and intellectual property.
- Definitive Feasibility Study to commence with construction of pilot plant and investigation into the integration of Lake Hope with the HiPurA process.
The PFS highlights the project's exceptionally strong economics and outlines a pathway for Lake Hope to become a global supplier of low-cost, low-carbon HPA, benefiting both the local Ngadju Aboriginal Native title holders and the broader community. The robust economics stem from the unique characteristics of the Lake Hope deposit, which facilitate cost-effective mining and processing.
The PFS confirms that, to the best of Impact's knowledge based on published data, the Lake Hope project could be among the lowest-cost producers of HPA globally, potentially by a significant margin of at least 30%.
Given these strong fundamentals, Impact will issue 120 million shares, escrowed for 12 months, to exercise its option to acquire an 80% interest in Playa One Pty Ltd, which owns the Lake Hope assets and intellectual property, including two patents for metallurgical processes (ASX Release March 21st 2023).
Work will now commence on a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), which will include the construction of a pilot plant to produce HPA samples at scale for discussions on offtake agreements. The pilot plant project, currently underway, will be part-funded by the recent federal government grant awarded to Impact Minerals in collaboration with CPC Engineering and Edith Cowan University (ASX Release October 22nd 2024).
In addition, as part of these studies, Impact will focus on the potential integration of the Lake Hope ore and its associated metallurgical processes with the assets and intellectual property related to the HiPurA process, which were recently acquired through Impact’s 50% share in Alluminous Pty Ltd (ASX Release April 23rd 2025).
As the acquisition occurred near the end of the PFS, the study only pertains to Lake Hope as a stand-alone project and does not consider integration with HiPurA. Impact believes the HiPurA acquisition will accelerate the Company’s entry into the HPA market by several years, potentially enhancing the economics of the combined projects.
Lake Hope PFS Summary
Impact Minerals’ Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones, said, “The Lake Hope PFS clearly demonstrates that Impact Minerals is now on the cusp of delivering a significant, low-cost and highly scalable HPA project. In just over two short years since acquiring the rights to the project, we have proven that Lake Hope’s unique natural feedstock, combined with a straight-forward flowsheet, offers one of the most capital-efficient and environmentally responsible pathways to high-purity alumina production globally. The Project’s strong margins, minimal carbon footprint, and ability to deliver 4N product without critical reagents or complex processing provides us with a clear competitive advantage as the HPA market enters a phase of rapid growth.”
“Importantly, the PFS positions Lake Hope to potentially be the upstream foundation of our vertically integrated HPA business. Through our recent acquisition of a 50% interest in Alluminous Pty Ltd and the HiPurA® downstream processing technology we are now accelerating plans to seamlessly integrate Lake Hope feedstock with HiPurA’s potentially modular HPA production capacity. This unique model offers Impact the flexibility to scale production in line with market demand and customer qualification, while minimising capital intensity and de-risking the path to early revenues.”
“With the PFS now complete, our next steps are clear: we will advance the detailed engineering required to bring Lake Hope into production, which will revolve around our exciting federal government co-funded membrane research project now underway in conjunction with Edith Cowan University and CPC Engineering. We believe very significant improvements to our flow sheet will emerge from that work. We will also progress approvals and initiate off-take discussions. At the same time, we will help fund and rapidly develop the HiPurA® modular production pathway to establish near-term capacity and position Impact as a differentiated, vertically integrated supplier of high-purity alumina to the global market. The opportunities in front of us are significant and today marks a major milestone in what is shaping up to be an exciting future for Impact Minerals and our shareholders.”
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This article includes content from Impact Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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