Grid Metals and Boliden Sign $10 Million Earn-In Agreement for the Thompson East Copper/Nickel Project in Northern Manitoba
Grid Metals and Boliden Sign $10 Million Earn-In Agreement for the
Thompson East Copper/Nickel Project in Northern Manitoba
April 15, 202 6 TORONTO -- Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV:GRDM ; OTCQB:MSMGF) ( "Grid" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce it has executed a definitive option and joint venture
agreement (the “Agreement”) with Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd. (“Boliden”), a wholly -owned
subsidiary of the Boliden Group to explore and develop the Thompson East copper/nickel project
(“Thompson East” or the “Project”) in northern Manitoba, Canada. The Thompson East project
sits ~15 km east of the eastern edge of the world-class Thompson Nickel Belt. The focus of the
Agreement will be the discovery of a Tier 1 magmatic copper -nickel-PGM-cobalt deposit at
Thompson East.
The Agreement grants Boliden an option to acquire an 80% interest in Thompson East by funding
cumulative expenditures of at least CAD$9,600,000 and making staged cash payments of
CAD$500,000 to Grid. The Agreement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Robin Dunbar , Grid’s CEO & President , stated , "We are pleased to announce a definitive
agreement with Boliden, an innovative and globally recognized diversified mine developer and
producer. This agreement provides Grid shareholders with exposure to a highly prospective
mineral belt in a stable North American jurisdiction with funding from a world -class European
mining company. We believe it is testament to the Province of Manitoba ’s ongoing efforts to
create an attractive mining jurisdiction , and this is Grid ’s second major earn -in agreement
announced in the province in the last 18 months. Boliden will be an invaluable partner providing
dedicated funding and expertise to help unlock the potential of Thompson East.“
Hans Årebäck, Director Business Development, Boliden stated, “We are excited to partner with
Grid on the Thompson East Project and look forward to working together and developing the
Project.”
“Our government is excited to see the growing private -sector investment in Manitoba’s mining
industry, which supports our goal of positioning the province as a global leader in the critical
minerals that will shape our future,” said Minister of Business, Mining, Trades and Job Creation
Jamie Moses. “We look forward to working alongside companies such as Grid Metals Corp. and
Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd. to grow the economy in northern Manitoba and across the
province.”
Transaction Terms
Pursuant to the Agreement, Boliden has the option (“Option”) to acquire an 80% interest in the
Thompson East copper/ nickel property which consists of two existing mineral exploration
licences (“MELs”) totalling 10,600 hectares and several new adjacent MELs (the “Additional
MELs”) under application totalling an additional 46,500 hectares.
Boliden may exercise the Option in the existing two exploration licences by making an aggregate
of CAD$500,000 in cash payments and incurring an aggregate of CAD$9,600,000 in exploration
expenditures over four years, according to the following schedule:
Applicable Timing Program Period
Minimum
Cumulative
Expenditures
Cash
Payments to
Grid Metals
Due Dates for
Expenditures and
Cash Payments
Effective Date N/A N/A $200,000 Upon Effective Date
First Annual Program Effective Date to
December 31, 2026 $581,000 $75,000 December 31, 2026
Second Annual Program January 1, 2027 to
December 31, 2027 $1,905,000 $75,000 December 31, 2027
Third Annual Program January 1, 2028 to
December 31, 2028 $2,189,000 $75,000 December 31, 2028
Fourth Annual Program January 1, 2029 to
December 31, 2029 $4,925,000 $75,000 December 31, 2029
Sub Total $9,600,000 $500,000
Total Funding Commitment $10,100,000
If Boliden elects to incorporate any mineral rights adjacent to the existing two mineral
exploration licences (see Figure 1) by the start of the third annual program then Boliden will be
required to increase expenditures and cash payments to Grid according to the following terms:
Program Period
Expenditures for
Additional Hectares
incorporated into
Annual Program
Cash Payments to Grid
Metals for Additional
Hectares incorporated
into Annual Program
Due Dates for
Expenditures and
Cash Payments
Commencing from the
incorporation of those
Additional Hectares into the
third applicable Annual
Program, and ending at the end
of such third applicable Annual
Program
$207 per Additional
Hectare incorporated
$7 per Additional Hectare
End of third
applicable Annual
Program
Commencing from the
incorporation of those
Additional Hectares into the
fourth applicable Annual
Program, and ending at the end
of such fourth applicable Annual
Program
$465 per Additional
Hectare incorporated
$7 per Additional Hectare
End of fourth
applicable Annual
Program
Grid will be the initial manager of the exploration activities and utilize its exploration team as
required to undertake the initial programs. A technical committee will be utilized to plan,
oversee, and complete the exploration programs. Provided that Boliden exercises the Option, a
contractual joint venture (the “Joint Venture”) will be formed between Grid and Boliden.
Thereafter, each Party would fund its pro -rata share of future expenditures on the Property or
incur dilution. The Agreement contains other standard terms for an option and joint venture
agreement including terms regarding replacement of the operator, sale of a participant interest
and the right of first refusal of the other party, a funding deferral for Grid after the Option has
been exercised, and dilution clauses. During the joint venture period, the party with the majority
interest has the right to become or designate the operator , and i f Boliden arranges project
financing for the project, it has the right to purchase a share of Grid’s offtake proportional to the
percentage of project financing that is being funded.
If a party’s interest in the Property is diluted below 10%, its interest would be converted to a
1.0% Net Smelter Return royalty on the Property, of which 0. 5% could be bought back by the
royalty payor at any time following the fifth anniversary of commercial production f or a cash
payment of CAD$1,000,000.
The Thompson East Copper/Nickel Project
The Thompson East project has a unique combination of attributes that make it prospective for
high-tenor, copper- and PGE-enriched magmatic sulphide deposits. Key features include:
1) The geological setting is at the margin of the Superior Craton where globally significant
base metal deposits occur.
2) Thompson East may be the copper- and PGE-rich ‘cousin’ to the Thompson Nickel Belt
(itself a world class belt) which is located 20 km to the west.
3) The belt is significantly underexplored compared to the nearby Thompson Nickel Belt.
4) There are numerous, significant base and precious metal occurrences on the Property.
5) Work done by Grid has identified several near-surface, strong conductors associated
with good outcropping copper, nickel, PGM, and gold mineralization.
6) Access to, and infrastructure for the project are very good and continue to improve with
upgrades to the rail line to the Port of Churchill and to the Port handling facilities – all of
which would support low-cost shipping of future project concentrate to Europe.
Detailed Project and Geological Description
The Thompson East Property currently comprises two mineral exploration licenses (MELs)
totalling 10,600 hectares. The licenses are located between 30 and 40 km from the City of
Thompson in north -central Manitoba. An additional seven (7) MELs capturing ap proximately
46,500 hectares were recently applied for (status is 'pending'). The property covers several
historical disseminated to massive magmatic sulfide occurrences associated with deformed mafic
and ultramafic intrusive rocks all with extremely limited drilling. Recent confirmatory field
sampling by Grid returned similar favourable grab sample base and precious metal grades to
those seen in the historical samples from the Property. Some of the new grab samples occur within
ultramafic bodies that are known to be coeval with the ultramafic intrusives that host the
numerous high-grade massive nickel sulfide deposits in the adjacent Thompson Nickel Belt (TNB).
The TNB is a world class nickel sulfide mining district that hosts the Thompson Mine, which has
been in continuous production since 1961.
A key similarity between the Thompson East mafic to ultramafic magmatic belt (herein referred
to as the 'TEMB') and the TNB is the character of their highly deformed and high metamorphic
grade sedimentary host rocks. In both belts, the mafic-ultramafic intrusions that host the known
magmatic sulfide deposits and occurrences were emplaced into a former rifted continental
margin containing sedimentary sequences featuring sulfur -rich shales and iron formation. The
host sediments were subsequently intensely deformed and recrystallized at high temperatures to
generate a sequence of paragneiss units. The S -rich members of these sedimentary sequences
are believed to have provided a critical source of sulfur that promoted the formation of magmatic
sulfides in both belts. In the TNB, the paragneiss host rocks are referred to as the Pipe Formation.
A key difference between the two belts is the high Cu and PGE tenors of the TEMB occurrences
relative to those in the TNB, which are strongly enriched in nickel relative to Cu and typically have
very low PGE grades. Examples of high tenor mineralization in the TEMB include: (1) local Cu- and
PGE-rich semi-massive sulfide mineralization such as the Murray Island showing on Wintering
Lake, that contains up to 5.2% Cu, 1.3% Ni, 2.05 g/t Pd, 1.53 g/t Pt and 2.0 g/t Au (Manitoba
Mines Branch Assessment File Num ber 94320); and, (2) Disseminated sulfide mineralization at
the margins of a major dyke -like ultramafic intrusion at Cuthbert Lake, with peak grades of >1%
Cu, >1% Ni , 2.29 g/t Pd, 1.26 g/t Pt and 0.63 g/t Rh (Manitoba Mines Branch Assessment File
Number 73740). Sampling completed by the Company last fall confirmed the high Cu and precious
metal tenors of the Wintering and Cuthbert Lake magmatic sulfide occurrences (see Table 1). Of
particular interest is the high Au and Pt tenor of the magmatic sulfide occurrences at Cuthbert
Lake.
The prevailing geological concept for the TEMB involves a proto -rift basin located inboard from
the TNB and formed during the same magmatic event that produced the TNB mafic and
ultramafic intrusives. In this sense, the TEMB is considered to represent the more deeply eroded
'roots' to the TNB magmatism. Taken together, the two belts represent the westernmost edge of
the continental-scale Superior Boundary Zone. The latter also hosts the Company's Fox River Belt
licenses in northeastern Manitoba, the curr ently producing nickel sulfide deposits in the Raglan
Camp in northern Quebec, and a number of advanced exploration stage magmatic sulfide
deposits in the Labrador Trough on the eastern margin of the Superior Craton.
In 2022, the Company completed an airborne EM + magnetic survey over the two existing MELs.
Subsequent modeling of the data identified several previously untested, near -surface, strongly
conductive anomalies associated with known magmatic sulfide mineralization and/or prospective
mafic-ultramafic bodies.
Despite its excellent geological pedigree, known similarities to the TNB, very favourable access
and significant infrastructure (e.g., major rail line and hydro power transmission lines pass thru
the Property), the Property has seen very limited historical exploration activity.
Initial Exploration Plans
Initial exploration activities being considered for the Property include: (1) new airborne EM and
magnetic surveys over parts of the new MELs, assuming they are approved by the Crown; (2)
detailed prospecting and sampling over priority geophysical targets; (3) Deep penetrating ground
EM surveys over the top-ranked airborne EM anomalies. The ground EM surveys do not require
an exploration work permit as was recently determined by the Manitoba Mines Branch Permit
Office. Given the large amount of geophysical surveying and field work planned, an initial drilling
campaign, focused on the highest-ranked targets, is unlikely to occur until later next year.
Figure 1: Map of Thompson East original two MELs (1134A & 1135A) and pending new MELS
Table 1: Recent Grid grab sample results from Thompson East
Sample
ID
Easting
(m)
Northing
(m) Location Occurrence Cu
(%)
Ni
(%)
Pd
(g/t)
Pt
(g/t)
Au
(g/t)
S
(%)
C282907 584805 6141533 Wintering Lake Murray Island 0.51 0.46 1.13 0.83 0.10 9.65
C282908 584807 6141533 Wintering Lake Murray Island 0.19 0.16 0.37 0.04 0.02 3.81
C282911 584809 6141539 Wintering Lake Murray Island 2.00 0.26 1.17 1.45 0.10 8.44
C282927 599921 6155615 Cuthbert Lake Howell 0.26 0.09 0.28 0.30 0.16 0.78
C282928 599922 6155651 Cuthbert Lake Howell 0.90 0.29 0.89 0.89 0.44 2.47
Qualified Persons Statements
Dr. Dave Peck, P.Geo ., is the Qualified Person for purposes of National Instrument 43 -101 and
has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.
About Grid Metals Corp.
The current focus of Grid Metals is its 100%-owned Falcon West property which is an emerging
cesium discovery. A summary of its mineral properties in southeast Manitoba include:
1) The Falcon West Property (Li -Cs) is located 110 km east of Winnipeg along the Trans -
Canada highway and contains highly anomalous cesium and lithium values in LCT
pegmatite including the Lucy South pegmatite dyke, the focus of Grid’s current
exploration efforts.
2) The Makwa Property (Ni-Cu-PGM-Co), which is subject to an Option and Joint Venture
Agreement with Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”). Teck can earn up to a 70% interest in
Makwa by incurring a total of CAD$17.3 million, comprising project expenditures
(CAD$15.7 million) and cash payments or equity participation (CAD$1.6 million) with Grid.
Makwa is located on the south arm of the Bird River Greenstone Belt.
3) The Mayville Property (Cu-Ni) is located on the north arm of the Bird River Greenstone
Belt. The property is owned subject to a minority interest. The project contains a NI 43 -
101 compliant open pit resource of 32 million tonnes grading 0.61% CuEq.
4) The Donner Property (Li-Cs) is adjacent to the Mayville Property, and Grid owns 75% of
the project. The project contains a NI 43-101 compliant resource of 6.8 million tonnes
grading 1.39% Li2O.
All of the Company’s southeastern Manitoba projects are located on the ancestral lands of the
Sagkeeng First Nation with whom the Company maintains an Exploration Agreement.
About Boliden
Boliden contributes to a sustainable future by extracting, producing and recycling metals that are
essential to improve society for generations to come. With care for people and the environment,
combined with experience gathered over a century and cutting-edge technology, Boliden’s 8,000
employees have achieved leading productivity and one of the lowest carbon footprints in the
industry.
On Behalf of the Board of Grid Metals Corp.
For more information about the Company, please visit our website at www.gridmetalscorp.com
or the Company’s Curation Connect showcase here or contact:
Robin Dunbar – President, CEO & Director – [email protected]
Brandon Smith – Chief Development Officer – [email protected]
David Black – Investor Relations – [email protected]
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We seek safe harbour. This news release contains forward -looking statements within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the
meaning of the Securities Act (Ontario) (togethe r, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward -looking
statements include the nature and objectives of the exploration to be undertaken pursuant to the
Agreement, the benefits of the Agreement to the Company, receipt of regulatory approvals, the potential
of the Project, the potential grant of additional MELs, the completion of the Option and creation of the
Joint Venture and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to
be materially different. Such factors include, among others, risks and uncertainties relating to Boliden’s
ability to meet its obligations under the Agreement, the results of exploration to be undertaken pursuant
to the agreement, potential political risk, uncertainty of production and capital costs estimates and the
potential for unexpected costs and expenses, physical risks inherent in mining operations, metallurgical
risk, currency fluctuations, fluctuations in the price of nickel, cobalt, copper and other metals, completion
of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, the inability or
failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis, and other risks and uncertainties, including tho se
described in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the most recent financial period and
Material Change Reports filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available
at www.sedarplus.ca.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press
release.