First Atlantic Nickel Announces Acceptance into Defense Industrial Base Consortium (Dibc) - Pipestone Xl Smelter-Free Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project Addresses Midstream Smelting Bottleneck IN U.s. Defense Supply Chain Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador
FIRST ATLANTIC NICKEL ANNOUNCES ACCEPTANCE INTO DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE
CONSORTIUM (DIBC) - PIPESTONE XL SMELTER-FREE NICKEL-COBALT ALLOY PROJECT
ADDRESSES MIDSTREAM SMELTING BOTTLENECK IN U.S. DEFENSE SUPPLY CHAIN
GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, Newfoundland and Labrador, March 31, 2026 - First Atlantic Nickel Corp.
(TSXV: FAN | OTCQB: FANCF | FSE: P21) (the "Company" or "First Atlantic") is pleased to announce
that it has been accepted as a member of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (the “DIBC”).
The DIBC operates as a consortium -based contracting vehicle under the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, which manages key industrial base investment authorities,
including programs funded under Title III of the Defense Production Act (the "DPA") and the Defense
Industrial Base Fund under 10 U.S.C. § 4817. These authorities enable the Department of War (the
"DoW") to make direct investments designed to expand and sustain domestic industrial capacity,
particularly where supply chains are fragile or overly dependent on foreign sources. Canada has been
designated a "domestic source" under Title III of the DPA since 1992.
The DIBC aims to expand and diversify the defense industrial base, enable private -sector businesses
to work in partnership with the U.S. Government, provide financing for key contractors, and gives the
U.S. Government access to commercial solutions for defense requirements. Through these authorities,
the DoW utilizes various financing structures, including direct equity stakes, grants, offtake agreements
at guaranteed price points, purchase commitments, loans, and loan guarantees, to catalyze domestic
mineral production and processing.
Key Points
1. Nickel is the only battery metal listed among 13 defense-critical minerals in the DIBC's first critical
minerals Request for Project Proposals (“RPP”), (RPP -CM-26-01)1, released February 27,
2026.Awaruite addresses three Areas of Interest (“AOI”) outlined in the RPP.
2. In September 2023, the U.S. Department of War stated that nickel is "an essential mineral input
to produce high- temperature aerospace alloys, stainless steel, and chemicals for lithium -ion
batteries2."
3. The Pipestone XL Awaruite Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project addresses two sectors considered critical
to the defense industrial base: "Strategic and Critical Materials" and "Energy Storage and
Batteries."
4. Awaruite is a high-grade, naturally occurring magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy mineral containing
approximately 77% nickel and 1% cobalt3. It is neither a sulfide nor an oxide nickel ore. Awaruite
does not require smelting and can be processed at the mine site using magnetic separation and
1 https://www.dibconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/P02-Critical-Minerals-RPP-Final.pdf
2 https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3522652/department-of-defense-enters-an-agreement-to-strengthen-
the-us-supply-chain-for/
3 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0892687522003648
flotation to produce an ~60% nickel concentrate 4, offering large-scale processing capacity that
is not capped or limited by smelter availability.
5. Awaruite bypasses the midstream smelting bottleneck in North America. The United States has
zero nickel smelters, and only two remain in Canada 5, both of which are subject to capacity
limitations and technical constraints relating to penalty and deleterious elements. Awaruite's
~60% nickel concentrate can be sent for direct downstream battery chemical refining or for the
manufacture of specialty alloys or stainless steel.
6. Awaruite provides a pathway to direct downstream refining of nickel sulphate in the United
States, meeting the definition of qualifying nickel under Section 45X of the U.S. Advanced
Manufacturing Production Credit: nickel "converted to nickel sulphate" or "purified to a minimum
purity of 99 percent nickel by mass6."
7. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace paper Securing America's Critical Minerals
Supply (October 8, 2025) projects U.S. nickel import reliance of -9,275% by 2035, representing
a 740,000+ tonne annual shortfall7.
DIBC Issues First Critical Minerals Request for Project Proposals
On February 27, 2026, the DIBC issued RPP -CM-26-01, "Domestic Processing Capabilities of Critical
Minerals," its first RPP targeting critical gaps in domestic production capacity for thirteen defense-critical
minerals: arsenic, bismuth, gadolinium, germani um, graphite, hafnium, nickel, samarium, tungsten,
vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, and zirconium.
Nickel is the most critical battery metal on the list.
Pipestone XL Addresses Two Critical Defense Industrial Base Sectors and Three Areas of
Interest
First Atlantic's Pipestone XL Nickel Alloy Project directly addresses two sectors considered critical to
the defense industrial base - Strategic and Critical Materials, and Energy Storage and Batteries - and
three of the RPP's six Areas of Interest:
1. raw mineral sourcing and beneficiation, including extraction, concentration, and beneficiation of
mineral ores;
2. separation and processing of raw or beneficiated materials into intermediate chemical forms;
and
3. metal production, metallization, refining, and upscaling to achieve purified forms suitable for
critical applications.
4 https://fpxnickel.com/projects-overview/what-is-awaruite/
5 https://transitionaccelerator.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/From-Rocks-to-Power-Nickel.pdf
6 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-27498/p-460
7 https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/10/securing-americas-critical-minerals-supply
The RPP encourages innovative commercial solutions that offer capabilities across multiple stages of
the value chain, as well as solutions that produce multiple minerals as co-products or by-products.
Awaruite Nickel -Cobalt Concentrate: Direct Alloy From Mine to Refinery Without
Smelting
Pipestone XL represents a large-scale, onshore source of nickel and cobalt in Newfoundland positioned
to supply the North American defense industrial base. Awaruite (Ni ₃Fe) is a naturally occurring, sulfur-
free magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy with nickel content of ~77%. Its unique magnetic properties and
amenability to flotation enable the production of a high-grade nickel-cobalt concentrate of ~60% nickel
that can proceed directly into downstream battery chemical refining or stainless steel and specialty alloy
manufacturing.
As stated in the August 2025 report From Rocks to Power: Strategies to Unlock Canada's Critical
Minerals for Global Leadership in Energy Storage, EVs, & Beyond from the Battery Metals Association
of Canada:
"Awaruite is not a sulfide nor an oxide nickel ore but a high-content native nickel-iron ore.
Simple beneficiation processes after mining could provide 60% Ni concentrate, ready for
leaching for battery cathode purposes and would yield MHP as a by-product. This process
would bypass pyrometallurgy or early hydrometallurgy stages and be among the lowest
carbon-intensive nickel production sites in the global nickel market."
Unlike conventional nickel sulfide deposits, which require pyrometallurgical smelting, or laterite deposits,
which rely on high- pressure acid leaching or roasting, awaruite can be processed using magnetic
separation and flotation, eliminating reliance on c onstrained or foreign- controlled processing
infrastructure.
As stated in the White House proclamation of January 14, 20268:
"Mining a mineral domestically does not safeguard the national security of the United
States if the United States remains dependent on a foreign country for the processing of
that mineral."
No Domestic U.S. Nickel Smelting Capacity - Only Two Nickel Smelters Remain in Canada
The United States has no operating domestic nickel smelters. North America has only two remaining
operational pyrometallurgical nickel smelters - Glencore's Sudbury Smelter and Vale's Copper Cliff
Smelter & Refinery, both located in Ontario. Vale's Thompson Smelter in Manitoba was permanently
closed in 2018, further constraining already limited processing capacity. This represents a critical
8 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/01/adjusting-imports-of-processed-critical-minerals-and-their-
derivative-products-into-the-united-states/
vulnerability in the North American defense supply chain that awaruite's smelter -free processing
pathway directly addresses.
The U.S. Geological Survey identified awaruite as a potential solution to nickel shortages in its 2012
annual report on nickel, stating:
"The development of awaruite deposits in other parts of Canada may help alleviate any
prolonged shortage of nickel concentrate. Awaruite, a natural iron-nickel alloy, is much easier to
concentrate than pentlandite, the principal sulfide of nickel."
Figure 1: Quote from USGS on Awaruite Deposits9
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Projects U.S. Nickel Deficit at 741,987 Tonnes
(-9,275%) by 2035
According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace paper Securing America's Critical
Minerals Supply (October 8, 2025), the United States could face an annual nickel supply deficit of
approximately 741,987 tonnes by 2035 under the paper’s scenario, with projected domestic supply of
8,000 tonnes against projected total consumption of 749,987 tonnes10.
9 https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/mineral-pubs/nickel/mcs-2012-nicke.pdf
10 https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/10/securing-americas-critical-minerals-supply
Table 1: U.S. Critical Minerals Supply and Demand Projections to 2035. Source: Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, Securing America's Critical Minerals Supply (October 8, 2025)
Figure 2: Domestic Mineral Extraction and U.S. Demand. Source: Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, Securing America's Critical Minerals Supply (October 8, 2025)
Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit
Section 45X of the U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit defines qualifying nickel as nickel
which is "converted to nickel sulphate" or "purified to a minimum purity of 99 percent nickel by mass11."
Awaruite concentrate may be directly converted to nickel sulfate without intermediate smelting or
roasting, positioning it favorably within this framework.
INVESTOR INFORMATION
The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol " FAN", the
American OTCQB Exchange under the symbol "FANCF" and on several German exchanges, including
Frankfurt and Tradegate, under the symbol "P21".
Investors can get updates about First Atlantic by signing up to receive news via email and SMS text at
www.fanickel.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
First Atlantic Investor Relations
Robert Guzman
Tel: +1 844 592 6337
DISCLOSURE
Adrian Smith, P.Geo., a director and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company is a qualified person
as defined by NI 43 -101. The qualified person is a member in good standing of the Professional
Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGN L) and is a registered professional
geoscientist (P.Geo.). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed herein.
ABOUT FIRST ATLANTIC NICKEL CORP.
First Atlantic Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FAN) (OTCQB: FANCF) (FSE: P21) is a critical mineral exploration
company in Newfoundland & Labrador developing the Pipestone XL Nickel -Cobalt Alloy Project. The
project spans the entire 30- kilometer Pipestone Ophiolite Complex, where multiple zones, including
RPM, Alloy Max, Super Gulp, Atlantic Lake, and Chrome Pond, contain awaruite (Ni ₃Fe), a naturally
occurring magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy of approximately ~77% nickel with no-sulfur and no-sulfides,
along with secondary chromium mineralization. Awaruite's sulfur -free composition removes acid mine
drainage (AMD) risks, while its unique magnetic properties enable processing through magnetic
separation, eliminating the electricity requirements, emissions, and environm ental impacts of
11 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-27498/p-460
conventional smelting, roasting, or high-pressure acid leaching while reducing dependence on overseas
nickel processing infrastructure.
The U.S. Geological Survey recognized awaruite's strategic importance in its 2012 Annual Report on
Nickel, noting that these deposits may help alleviate prolonged nickel concentrate shortages since the
natural alloy is much easier to concentrate than typical nickel sulfides. The Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt
Alloy Project is located near existing infrastructure with year -round road access and proximity to
hydroelectric power. These features provide favorable logistics for exploration and future development,
strengthening First Atlantic's role to establish a secure and reliable source of North American nickel
production for the stainless steel, electric vehicle, aerospace, and defense industries. This mission
gained importance when the US added nickel to its critical minerals list in 2022, recognizing it as a non-
fuel mineral essential to economic and national security with a supply chain vulnerable to disruption.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-looking statements:
This news release may include "forward- looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on a number of estimates
and/or assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company, including with respect to the
Company’s exploration and financing activities, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding: the
significance of the Company’s acceptance into the DIBC; the Company’s eligibility to participate in, respond to, or
benefit from DIBC programs, init iatives, funding opportunities, financing structures, or future requests for project
proposals; the applicability of the Company’s Pipestone XL project to the sectors, AOI and objectives identified by
the DIBC and related U.S. industrial base policies; the potential for awaruite mineralization and awaruite
concentrate to support domestic or allied nickel and cobalt supply chains; the potential for smelter-free processing,
downstream refining, nickel sulphate production, specialty alloy manufacturing, stainl ess steel applications, and
onshore vertical integration from mining to refining; the relevance of the Company’s project to North American
defense supply chains, industrial base priorities, critical minerals strategies, and energy storage and battery supply
chains; the potential strategic, technical, economic, commercial or geopolitical advantages of awaruite; the
Company’s ability to advance the Pipestone XL project, complete further exploration and development activities,
obtain permits, financing, strategic partnerships, offtake arrangements or government support, and execute its
business plans; and statements regarding future supply, demand, shortages, import reliance, processing
constraints, and market opportunities for nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions, including, without limitation: that the Company
will remain in good standing with the DIBC and may be eligible to participate in future DIBC -related opportunities;
that the Company’s projects and proposed activities will continue to align with applicable government policies,
programs, priorities and eligibility criteria; that awaruite mineralization and concentrate may be processed as
currently expected; that metallurgical results, processing characteristics and technical assumptions will support
contemplated development scenarios; that the Company will be able to obtain required permits, approvals,
financing, services, equipment and personnel on reasonable terms and within expected timeframes; that market
fundamentals, including commodity prices, demand, supply constraints and policy support for critical minerals, will
remain favourable; and that the Company will be able to continue advancing its projects in a manner consistent
with management’s current expectations.
Readers are cautioned that forward- looking information is neither a promise nor a guarantee, and is subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Such risks and uncertainties
include, without limitation: t he risk that acceptance into the DIBC does not result in any specific opportunity,
funding, contract, partnership, commercial benefit or other advancement for the Company; changes in government
policy, priorities, funding levels, procurement processes, leg islation or program requirements in Canada or the
United States; the risk that the Company’s projects or products may not satisfy future technical, commercial,
strategic, legal or regulatory criteria for participation in government -supported initiatives; r isks relating to
exploration, metallurgy, development and mining; uncertainty of geological interpretation and results; the
speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; permitting and environmental risks; delays in obtaining
governmental approvals; risks relating to financing, capital markets and the availability of capital; commodity price
fluctuations; supply chain constraints; operating hazards; labour and contractor availability; title matters;
Indigenous and community relations; and gener al business, economic, competitive, political and social
uncertainties. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the Company’s public disclosure documents
available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
The Company is presently an exploration stage company. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves
many risks, requires substantial expenditures, and may not result in the discovery of mineral deposits that can be
mined profitably. Furthermore, the Company currently has no mineral reserves on any of its properties. As a result,
there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities laws.