Osisko Metals Incorporated (TSE: OM) (OTCMKTS: OMZNF) (FRA: 0B51) plans to create a standalone critical-minerals exploration company around its non-core New Brunswick properties.
The Canadian miner said on Thursday that the proposed Osisko Critical Minerals Corporation, or OCMC, will hold exploration assets covering about 645 square kilometres. John Burzynski will lead OCMC as chief executive officer.
Osisko Metals intends to examine financing alternatives before completing the transaction. The company expects to retain a minority interest in OCMC after any financing.
The proposed structure would give investors indirect exposure to the New Brunswick properties through Osisko Metals’ remaining ownership. Additionally, it would separate those exploration assets from the company’s flagship Gaspé Copper Project in Québec.
Osisko Metals said the separation could allow capital markets to value the New Brunswick portfolio independently. Meanwhile, the company would concentrate its resources on expanding and advancing Gaspé Copper near Murdochville.
The transaction remains subject to several conditions and has not yet been finalized. Osisko Metals must complete legal, tax and financial analyses before determining the final structure.
The company must also decide how much funding OCMC requires and settle its management team and board. Furthermore, regulators must provide any required approvals before the transaction can proceed.
Osisko Metals cautioned that OCMC may not ultimately list its securities on a stock exchange. The company has not yet disclosed the exact consideration for transferring the properties.
OCMC would receive 2,972 mineral claim units that Osisko Metals either staked or can acquire under option agreements. The three option agreements date from January, April and September 2026.
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Miners can target both styles with the same geological system
Osisko Metals plans to assign those agreements to OCMC in exchange for shares in the new company. Additionally, the portfolio contains targets prospective for copper, silver and gold.
Burzynski said the New Brunswick properties could host a large porphyry-skarn mineral system. He also pointed to geological similarities between northern New Brunswick and the nearby Gaspé Copper area.
Porphyry deposits form around large bodies of cooling magma and can contain enormous volumes of relatively low-grade metal. Skarns form when hot mineral-rich fluids chemically alter surrounding rocks, often near intrusive bodies.
Consequently, miners can target both styles within the same broader geological system. Osisko Metals believes previous explorers largely overlooked that broader opportunity in northern New Brunswick.
Burzynski said OCMC plans an aggressive exploration campaign once the transaction and financing are complete, with drilling forming part of that program.
The largest property in the proposed portfolio is the NB Copper Project in northern New Brunswick. It covers approximately 430 square kilometres and sits on Crown land.
Road access includes paved highways and gravel roads, which could simplify field programs. In addition, Osisko Metals said the Crown-land setting could reduce exploration and permitting costs.
NB Copper lies within the Popelogan–Victoria Arc, immediately south of the Gaspé Belt. The area contains several Devonian-age granodiorite intrusions associated with prospective host rocks.
Those intrusive rocks cut through sedimentary and volcanic formations, creating geological conditions Osisko Metals compares with its Gaspé Copper Project.
However, historical explorers primarily searched the area for smaller zones of high-grade skarn mineralization. Their programs generally relied on sparse, shallow drilling rather than broad testing for lower-grade systems.
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New Brunswick portfolio includes properties in Bathurst Mining Camp
Most historical holes reached depths of less than 200 metres, while only two deeper holes extended approximately 500 to 600 metres.
Both deeper holes encountered skarn or related porcellanite alteration throughout their lengths. Additionally, near-surface sections produced anomalous copper and gold results where historical operators completed analyses.
Previous drilling also encountered several copper-bearing zones and areas of skarn mineralization. Much of that work remained concentrated around mineral showings close to surface.
Osisko Metals interprets the known alteration footprint at roughly five kilometres by two kilometres. That scale gives OCMC a broad area to test for a connected mineral system.
The company compares the footprint with the alteration surrounding the Gaspé Copper deposit, which measures roughly 3.5 kilometres by 2.5 kilometres.
Furthermore, NB Copper contains 21 additional porphyry intrusions that have not received systematic testing for bulk-tonnage copper potential. These targets could become part of OCMC’s planned exploration campaign.
Bulk-tonnage mining generally depends on processing very large amounts of rock containing lower metal grades. Consequently, explorers evaluate the size and continuity of mineralization rather than focusing only on narrow high-grade zones.
The New Brunswick portfolio also includes properties in the Bathurst Mining Camp. Key assets there include Key Anacon, Gilmour South and the Mount Fronsac occurrence.
Key Anacon already has a mineral resource estimate completed in 2019. The indicated category contains 1.96 million tonnes averaging 5.77 per cent zinc and 2.38 per cent lead.
That resource also averages 0.22 per cent copper and 68.9 grams per tonne silver. Combined, the metals correspond to a reported zinc-equivalent grade of 9.00 per cent.
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Osisko Mining published technical report in May
Additionally, Key Anacon contains 3.85 million inferred tonnes averaging 5.34 per cent zinc and 1.49 per cent lead. The inferred resource averages 0.32 per cent copper and 47.7 grams per tonne silver.
Its reported zinc-equivalent grade stands at 7.96 per cent. Mineral resources represent estimates of potentially economic mineralization and do not constitute reserves.
The proposed spinout comes as Osisko Metals concentrates on the past-producing Gaspé Copper mine in Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula. The company is currently conducting work aimed at expanding the project’s resource.
Gaspé Copper contains pit-constrained measured and indicated resources of 1.83 billion tonnes averaging 0.32 per cent copper equivalent. In addition, inferred resources total 239 million tonnes averaging 0.46 per cent copper equivalent.
The current estimate has an effective date of January 17, 2026. Osisko Metals published the associated technical report in May under Canadian mineral-disclosure standards.
Separating the New Brunswick portfolio would leave Osisko Metals focused primarily on that larger Québec development opportunity. Meanwhile, OCMC would pursue earlier-stage discoveries across a separate group of critical-minerals properties.
Burzynski has previously worked within the broader Osisko group on major Canadian exploration projects. He compared OCMC’s approach with earlier Osisko-led exploration at Canadian Malartic and Windfall in Québec.
He said the team sees similarly underexplored potential in New Brunswick, particularly for copper systems. However, OCMC must first secure its structure and financing before field work can begin.
Osisko Metals has not provided a completion date for the proposed transaction, with further details dependent on financing, corporate structuring and regulatory approvals.
