Nickel North Enters into Option Agreement with 1844 Resources to Sell a 100% Interest IN the High - Grade HAWK Ridge Nickel - Copper - PGM Project IN Quebec to 1844 Resources
1105
-
750 West Pender Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 2T8
http://nnexploration.com
Trading Symbol:
"
NNX: TSX.V
"
NEWS RELEASE
NICKEL NORTH ENTERS INTO OPTION AGREEMENT WITH 1844 RESOURCES
TO SELL A 100% INTEREST IN THE HIGH
-
GRADE HAWK RIDGE NICKEL
-
COPPER
-
PGM
PROJECT IN QUEBEC TO 1844 Resources
Vancouver, March
6
, 2023
-
Nickel North Exploration Corp. (” Nickel North” or the “Company”) (TSX
-
V:NNX) is pleased to announce that the Company
has entered into an option agreement (the “
Option
Agreement
”)
dated March
6, 2023
to
sell a 100% undivided interest
in the Hawk Ridge nickel/copper
project (the “
Hawk Ridge Project
” or “
Hawk Ridge
”) located in northeastern Quebec to 1844 Resources
(“
EFF:TSXV
), in exchange for a series of cash payments, share issuances and
funding of exploration
expenditures, separated into five phases.
CEO of Nickel North, Mr. Tony Guo, comments “This is a milestone transaction for Nickel North in
partnering up with Mr. Laberge and team at 1844 in advancing Hawk Ridge in a world in drastic
need for a
quality North American nickel resource, especially one surrounded like Raglan and Voisey Bay Nickel
Mines.”
The Hawk Ridge Property
Hawk Ridge comprises of 411 claims covering 179
km
2
over a 50km belt located on the Ungava Bay,
located North of Kuujjuaq, with direct access to tidewater on the east coast of Quebec. The project is
known for its Ni and Cu content, specifically:
NNX completed mineral resource estimates for the Falco 7, Gam
ma, Hopes Advance Main
and Hopes Advance North deposits. Metals included in the Mineral Resource estimate are
copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium and gold. The aggregate pit constrained
inferred mineral resource (the “
Historical Resource
”) for all four deposits as reported by
NNX using a $35/t cut
-
off was 29.44 Mt grading 0.20% Ni, 0.52% Cu, 0.012% Co, 0.19 g/t
Pd, 0.04 g/t Pt and 0.021 g/t Au, corresponding to 0.56% NiEq. 1844 is treating the
Historical Resource as a historical estimate
and not a current mineral resource. Please see
“Historical Resource Estimate Notes” below for further information.
The deposit contains an additional exploration target which was defined by NNX in its
technical report titled “Technical Report and Updated
Mineral Resource Estimate of the
Hawk Ridge Nickel
-
Copper (PGE) Property, Northern Quebec, effective July 5, 2022 with a
potential range of 35Mt to 60Mt with grades ranging from 0.35% to 0.40% Cu, 0.10% to
0.20% Ni, 0.01% to 0.02% Co, 0.03 g/t to 0.05 g/t
Pt, 0.15 g/t to 0.20 g /t Pd and 0.03 g/t
to 0.05 g/t Au. Exploration targets are based on estimated strike length, depth and width
of known mineralization supported by intermittent drill holes, geophysical data and
mineralized surface exposure observatio
ns. The potential tonnage and grade of this
exploration target are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to
define a mineral resource. It is uncertain whether further exploration will result in the
target being delineated as a m
ineral resource.
The Hawk Ridge Property hosts disseminated mineralization, and subordinate lenses of
massive sulphide that are hosted in porphyritic gabbro and olivine
-
rich gabbro. The
sulphide minerals are mainly pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pentlandit
e, with minor violarite
and cobaltite.
Localized concentrations of massive sulphides in gabbro and in remobilized sulphide
mineralization in footwall metasedimentary rock found on Hawk Ridge, are associated
with the presence of copper.
The majority of the
Hawk Ridge Property is subject to a 3% net smelter return royalty (“NSR”), of which
one third (i.e. 1%) may be repurchased at any time for $1,000,000. Another 1% of the NSR is subject to a
right of first refusal.
Terms of the Option Agreement
Phase
One
1844 is entitled to acquire a 10% undivided interest in Hawk Ridge on the date that is two business days
following the approval of the Option Agreement (the “
Effective Date
”) by the TSX Venture Exchange (the
“
Exchange
”) by paying $1,000,000 and
issuing 1,000,000 common shares in the capital of the 1844
(“
Common Shares
”) to NNX (the “
First Option
”).
Phase Two
If 1844 exercises the First Option, it can acquire an additional 10% undivided interest in Hawk Ridge by
paying $1,000,000 and issuing 1,00
0,000 Common Shares to NNX on the first anniversary of the Effective
Date, and incurring $500,000 of exploration expenditures before the first anniversary of the Effective
Date (the “
Second Option
”).
Phase Three
If 1844 exercises the Second Option, it can
acquire an additional 20% undivided interest in Hawk Ridge by
paying $1,000,000 and issuing 2,000,000 Common Shares to NNX on the second anniversary of the
Effective Date, and incurring $500,000 of exploration expenditures before the second anniversary of
the
Effective Date (the “
Third Option
”).
Phase Four
If 1844 exercises the Third Option, it can acquire an additional 40% undivided interest in Hawk Ridge by
paying $2,000,000 and issuing 3,000,000 Common Shares to NNX on the third anniversary of the Effect
ive
Date, and incurring $1,000,000 of exploration expenditures before the third anniversary of the Effective
Date (the “
Fourth Option
”).
Phase Five
If 1844 exercises the Fourth Option, it can acquire an additional 20% undivided interest in Hawk Ridge by
pa
ying $1,000,000 and issuing 3,000,000 Common Shares to NNX on the fourth anniversary of the
Effective Date, and incurring $1,000,000 of exploration expenditures before the fourth anniversary of the
Effective Date (the “
Fifth Option
” and, collectively with
the First Option, Second Option, Third Option and
Fourth Option, the “
Options
”).
Any exploration expenditure relating to an Option incurred by the Optionee following the Effective Date
but prior to the deemed date of grant of such Option will constitute a
valid exploration expenditure for
the purposes of the applicable exploration expenditure requirement of such Option. Any excess
exploration expenditure incurred by the Optionee in connection with the Second Option, Third Option or
Fourth Option will be ca
rried forward and credited to the exploration expenditure requirements of
subsequent Options.
The completion of the transaction is subject to several conditions, including, but not limited to, the
approval of the Exchange and all other necessary approvals
including shareholder approval by NNX
shareholders for the Fourth and Fifth Options. Pursuant to the terms of the Option Agreement NNX is
required to receive lock
-
up and support agreements from shareholders holding not less than
60%
of
NNX’s common shares.
Neither the Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tony Guo, P.Geo.,
Nickel North Exploration Corp's President and CEO, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National
Instrument 43
-
101.
About Nickel North Exploration
Nickel
North Exploration is a Canada
-
based exploration company focused on defining a Cu
-
Ni
-
Co
-
PGE
mineral resource at its Hawk Ridge Project in Northern Quebec. The board of directors, advisor
committee and management team are experienced, successful mine finders
. The property consists of a
50 km long belt of strong magmatic Cu
-
Ni
-
Co
-
PGE occurrences covering 179.67 km2. Quebec is a mining
-
friendly jurisdiction. Nickel North Exploration is a conscientious corporate citizen maintains good relations
with local Inuit
communities and is committed to sustainable development. For more information on the
company, please visit
www.nnexploration.com
or follow Company on Twitter at
ht
tps://twitter.com/nickelnorth
.
Nickel North Exploration Corp. has been identified as a key player in
the Critical and Strategic Minerals
value chain by Quebec's Ministry of Economics and Innovation
(MEI) in 2021 (Quebec Plan for the
Development of Critical
and Strategic Minerals 2020
-
2025 (quebec.ca), which is part of Quebec's Plan for
the Development of Critical and Strategic Metals (QPDCSM) and aims to stimulate the exploration and
mining of SCMs, their transformation and recycling.
Per:
"
Tony Guo
"
Tony Guo
Nickel North Exploration Inc.
Tony Guo. P. Geo, Chief Executive Officer (Tel: +1
-
778
-
877
-
5480)
E
-
mail:
North America IR / PR
Jemini
Capital
Jorge Galindo
Tel:
+1
(647) 725
-
3888
x703
For further information please visit
http://www.nnexploration.com
This news release may contain forward
-
looking information, which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward
-
looking information
involves risks, uncertainties and other factors th
at could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward
-
looking information. Forward
-
looking information in this news
release may include, but is not limited to, t
he
Company's
objectives, goals or future plans. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from such forward
-
looking information include, but are not limited to, those risks set out in the
Company's
public
documents filed on SEDAR. Althou
gh the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward
-
looking
information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies
as of
the date of this news release,
and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames, or at all. The
Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward
-
looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events
or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither 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 acc
uracy of
this release.
The
securities being offered have not been, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amende
d,
or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S
. p
ersons
absent U.S. federal and state registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release d
oes not
constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States.