Homeland Nickel Update on Patriot Nickel and Continued Property Acquisitions
Homeland Nickel Update on Patriot Nickel and Continued Property Acquisitions
Toronto, Ontario – March 17, 2026 – Homeland Nickel Inc. (“Homeland” or the “Company”) (TSX-
V: SHL, OTC: SRCGF), is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeffrey Strobel as CEO of Patriot Nickel.
Jeff is an experienced mining executive and former m ilitary officer. Homeland continues to consolidate
nickel laterite properties in Southern Oregon with the acquisition of Rough and Ready.
Commenting on the Patriot appointment, Homeland President and CEO Steve Balch said, “We are very
impressed with the high level of talent Patriot Nickel has attracted and we look forward to working closely
with Jeff to advance our properties.”
Patriot Nickel has optioned Homeland Nickel’s Cle opatra and Eight Dollar Mountain nickel laterite
properties subject to certain cash payments and exploration commitments. Upon completion of a pre-
feasibility study, Patriot will own 80% of the properties and Homeland will retain 20%. Homeland will also
acquire 20% of the common shares of Patriot upon an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Homeland has completed the acquisition of Woodcock Mountain and has signed an agreement to acquire
the Rough and Ready property located less than 4 km northwest of O’Brien, Oregon off Highway 199.
Commenting on Rough and Ready, Steve Balch said “The property covers 640 acres of previously outlined
nickel laterite with historical assays up to 2.0% ni ckel, with grade intervals from auger holes up to 1.58%
nickel over 6 feet at surface and excavations of laterite in places to a depth of 40 vertical feet. For Woodcock
Mountain, we have completed all payments and the mining claims have been transferred to Homeland. We
will continue to acquire the best nickel laterite assets in Southern Oregon as we consolidate these
resources.”
On the Cleopatra Property, the Forest Service has approved the Surface Use Determination portion of the
Plan of Operation and is proceeding with an envir onmental review. Homeland is preparing for a summer
2026 exploration program at Cleopatra, Red Flat, Woodcock Mountain, Josephine Creek, and Eight Dollar
Mountain. While the Forest Service will conduct an environmental review on Cleopatra and Red Flat,
Homeland will conduct its own review on the remaining properties listed above.
About Jeffrey Strobel
Jeff Strobel is a seasoned mining executive with dir ect operational experience with over 20 years of
experience in mining. He began his career as a U.S. Navy officer flying F-14 Tomcats and served as an
officer in electronic warfare, weapons and electrical engineering. Jeff has specialized in corporate
turnarounds and restructuring, notably leading In met Mining (now Bluegrass Natural Resources) through
a successful Chapter 11 reorganization. As CEO of Atlantic Carbon Group, Jeff oversaw the doubling of
coal production and processing, leading ACG to profitability. He also served as VP of Business
Development and Strategy for Arch Resources, mana ging over $1 billion in tr ansactions. Currently, Mr.
Strobel is based in Missouri and advises Javelin Global Commodities on international mining evaluations.
Jeff is a graduate of Columbia Business School.
About the Rough and Ready Property
The Rough and Ready Property is located 4 km west of the small town of O’Brien in Southern Oregon and
is accessed by local roads and trails (see Figure 1 for a map of all Homeland properties).
The geology at Rough and Ready consists of significan t nickel laterite overlying a partly serpentinized
peridotite of the Josephine ultramafic suite, the same geology hosting the historic Riddle Mine, America’s
largest ever nickel mine. The best laterite is develope d along ridge-tops and benches, but laterite has been
mapped across the entire mountain from 1,560 feet to 3,900 feet elevation.
Nickel exploration began at Rough and Ready in the 1950s. From 1968-1970 Cominco-American Inc.
conducted trenching, augering and churn drilling. Inspiration Devel opment Company was active during
1973-1978 with drilling, backhoe sampling and seismic surveys to estimate the depth of the laterite. In 1977
the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted extensive backhoe sampling.
The historical work at Rough and Ready identified zon es having an average grade of 1.0% nickel such as
Parker and South Flank and proved the laterite is up to 40 feet thick in some areas. Highlights from previous
augering included 1.58% nickel, 0.10% cobalt and 2.44% chromite over 4 feet from surface in AIG-78 and
1.45% nickel, and 2.24% chromite over 5 feet starting 1 foot below surface in AIG-64. These intersections
are located hundreds of metres apart.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Stephen Balch, President & CEO
Phone: 905-407-9586
Email: [email protected]
Qualified Person
Stephen J. Balch, P.Geo. (ON), the Company’s President and CEO and a “Qualified Person” under National
Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts res ponsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
References
Tognotti, K., Lederer, G., Parol, A., Marsh, E., and Foster, A., 2025, Historical nickel laterite regions and
assay samples in southern Oregon and northern Californi a, USA: U.S. Geological Survey data release,
https://doi.org/10.5066/P13J2ITX.
Ramp, L., 1978, Investigations of Nickel in Oregon: Miscellaneous Paper 20, State of Oregon, Department
of Geology and Mineral Industries.
About Homeland Nickel
Homeland Nickel is a Canadian-based mineral explor ation company focused on critical metal resources
with nine nickel projects in Oregon, United States and copper and gold projects in Newfoundland, Canada.
The Company holds a significant portfolio of mining securities including 442 thousand shares of Canada
Nickel Company Inc. (TSX-V: CNC), 9.960 million sh ares of Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:
NOB), 11.447 million shares of Benton Resources Inc. (TSX-V: BEX), 81,150 shares of Vinland Lithium
Inc. (TSX-V: VLD) and 2.761 million shares of Ma gna Terra Minerals Inc. (TSX-V: MTT). Homeland
Nickel’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Ex change under the symbol “SHL”. More detailed
information can be found on the Company’s website at:
http://www.homelandnickel.com
Cautionary Statement
This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding
future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to
factors, many of which are beyond the Company's contro l that may cause actual results or performance to
differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
Figure 1. Location map showing Homeland’s nickel laterite properties.