Power Metallic Mines Inc.'s Nisk PEA targets first half of 2027

Power Metallic Mines Inc. CVEPNPN OTCMKTSPNPNF said on Monday it appointed BBA Inc. to lead a preliminary economic assessment of its Lion and Nisk Main deposits in Quebec, targeting completion in the first half of 2027. The Sept. 8 resource estimate put Lion at 4.145 million indicated tonnes grading 3.86 per cent copper equivalent, which the study will test against capital costs and preliminary returns.

Shares closed unchanged at C$1.13 on the TSX Venture Exchange at 4 p.m. EDT on Oct. 2, according to the CVEPNPN quote page, before Monday's announcement.

The company has not selected a mine design. The commissioned study will assess mining sequence, processing options, infrastructure needs, capital spending and operating costs, with Lion as the main starting point and Nisk Main's role still to be determined.

Power Metallic said the PEA, environmental surveys and community engagement are funded from existing cash. Metallurgical studies on Nisk Main will inform how that deposit might fit into the initial development plan.

The resource estimate is effective June 19 and uses drilling completed through April 19. It also assigned Lion 601,000 inferred tonnes at 4.01 per cent copper equivalent, separate from the indicated resource that forms most of the deposit's estimated tonnes. The estimate used cut-offs of 0.35 per cent copper equivalent for open-pit material and 0.90 per cent for underground material.

At Nisk Main, the same estimate reported 2.703 million indicated tonnes and 2.016 million inferred tonnes. Power Metallic holds an 80 per cent interest in the project, so those resource totals describe the whole property rather than only its ownership share.

The PEA will be the project's first economic study; no initial development configuration or capital estimate has been announced. The company said it aims to establish a project size that takes account of capital requirements, operating complexity and surface disturbance without relying on future resource growth.

"Our immediate priority is to establish the basis of design so that the broader engineering can proceed efficiently," Power Metallic vice-president of operations Christopher Beal said in the release.

The technical report will combine engineering, resource estimates, metallurgy and preliminary economics. Power Metallic said independent qualified persons will review the geological and resource sections, while laboratory work on Nisk Main continues alongside mine design.

Results from drilling after the resource estimate's April 19 data cut-off, including results reported Sept. 22, will be reviewed for possible future resource updates. The company said the initial development case is being designed without requiring any such increase to support it.

Environmental baseline work began in January and its first field season runs from May through October 2026. The company plans a second season in summer 2027, with the survey results intended to inform a later environmental and social impact assessment.

Power Metallic expects the Nisk Main metallurgical studies before the end of 2026.