Giga Metals Corporate Update

0:03 Hello everyone and thank you for joining us today for this live Giga Metals corporate update. We're joined by Scott Lundrum, CEO and Mark Jarvis, President of Giga Metals. As always, this event is being recorded and will be made available shortly after we conclude here today. Now as this is a live event we encourage you to submit your questions using the chat feature which can be found in the bottom right corner of your screen. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today. This week the company announced the launch of the September Geophysics Program at the Turnagin project. Scott, care to provide further commentary on this latest release? Sure Kyle, thanks very much and it's a pleasure to be here. I just need to start off Kyle, what I would say is thank you to everyone who participated in the financing. As my first financing as the new CEO of Giga, it is encouraging to see people support the company. With the money in hand we have now and working with Mark and the team, we've got a really good plan set out for 2025, the balance of the year. So as you may have seen in our release on Monday, we're beginning a geophysics program this time next week up at site, which is going to be focusing on Copper mineralization as well as Palladium and Platinum

1:06 adjacent to the known Turnagain Nickel Cobalt deposit, which was part of the PFS released 2 years ago with Mitsubishi. So we're looking forward to a busy fall. We've got a lot of work to do. The geophysics program right now is MT-based. We expect results towards the end of the month, and we'll give ourselves a week or 2 to interpret that data, and that'll be papers entered to the market. And that will give us a great sort of indicator as the next steps as to what's there, what's within the realm of possible and what we can do to take the project forward. At the same time, we continue discussions on strategic pathways for Turnagain, which we'll talk to you later. So it's going to be a busy fall. We're looking forward to it. And it's been a very busy first couple of months with the company and it's going to be a great rest of the year. So Mark, as Scott mentioned, the program is targeting copper, platinum and palladium mineralization. Can you walk us through the potential impact of discovering these additional meadows on the overall economics and timeline of the Turnagain project?

2:03 Well, it's really interesting. It's always true when you've got what we've already got established, which is a very large, low-grade, open-pitable project. You know, It's with the $2 billion US CapEx.

2:20 Those projects are hard to get off the ground. They're challenging. If you could find within the system something smaller and more high-grade, that's easier to get off the ground. And so it's always been the case that if you could find a small high-grade nickel deposit in an underground mine, or Now we're realizing that copper is a legitimate target within the system. You can get a small project permitted much more easily simply because the surface impact is so much smaller.

3:01 And also the CapEx is a lot smaller. But these small high-grade deposits can be extremely valuable. And then that's kind of like leverage to get the large, low-grade surface deposit off the ground. So the impact would be incredible.

3:20 Thank you. So Giga Metals has selected Simcoe Geoscience to conduct the MT survey. Can you share what specific expertise and track record made Simcoe the right partner for this critical phase of exploration and how their capabilities align with maximizing the potential discoveries at Turnagain? Sure Kyle, thanks. I think first and foremost Kyle, what I would say is that our project manager Greg has a well-established relationship with Simcoe. So they're well known in the company as being great geophysicists. And they also came recommended from both our consultants and as well as outside parties. So from a technical skill perspective, they ticked the box. And as you know, we just raised just under $700,000.

4:02 And as the typical exploration development group, we have to be efficient with our capital. So they understand our needs and were able to customize a program for us. And maybe more, I mean, that most importantly is that given that we are in Northern BC, we are limited to an extent by the weather and by the conditions up there. And Simcoe, of the groups that we had talked to, Simcoe was the one group that could procure not only the skill team necessary to get up to site this month, but also procure the necessary equipment from literally around the world. So between the cost, the skillset that they offer us, as well as their ability to get on site in the next week, have results for us by the end of the month, and let us interpret those in October, Those all sort of came together as a great fit for us in terms of what we need and what we could reasonably do. So they sort of ticked all the boxes for us and so far they've been great and we look forward to working with them.

4:57 Excellent. Just a reminder for people entering the room, we are taking questions, so please do feel free to submit them in the chat box in the bottom right corner of your screen.

5:05 Now, beyond the current known resource, what geological indicators suggest there could be significant expansion potential at Turnagain and how might the MT survey results reshape our understanding of the deposit scale? Well, as some of you probably already know, last November I reached out to an international geologist named Stephen Beresford and Asked him to review all of our data. We've got just so much data on this ultramefic system and basically as While the question answered what are we missing here?

5:43 Because I know that we've explored volumetrically less than 20% of this whole ultramafic complex. And so he's the one that really pointed out a few things. 1 in particular, I think, perhaps the most fundamental thing, and this is what the MT is going to be addressing as well, is that he thinks that the original ultramafic complex, which is composed of 4 or 5 pulses of magma over several million years, is in its original configuration. In other words, it's upright, it's it hasn't rolled over 1 way or the other it's it's upright. And so what we're looking at is a system that tends to have a cloud of, you know, sort of low grade mineralization right to surface.

6:34 But underneath that is all the plumbing that delivered the magma and all the constriction points. And it's the constriction points where you tend to get massive sulfides and therefore higher grade. So that structural interpretation is key, I think, to this. Now let me caution the viewers, neither Scott or I are geologists.

6:58 I'm just a very interested person, listening to the geologists talk and sort of regurgitate. Our geologists are on site right now, getting ready for the geophysical crew to arrive and to support them. But then the other part that Steve also pointed out is that given this configuration, we've got this large area of copper mineralization next to our nickel deposit that we've already established. And it's like 2 and 1 1 by a kilometer and a half or 2 kilometers on surface.

7:38 It's persistent. It's everywhere. It's low grade at surface and near surface. But it's a case of we think where there's smoke, there's fire. And so the MT survey is going to be used to establish the structural setting, which is then the key for further targeting for high-grade copper beneath the low-grade copper at surface. Yeah, Kyle, if I could just interject something here. In talking with the team, what's interesting is that going back in time, and this would be, I think, Mark, in the early 2000s, I believe, when Giga was serving the property, looking for platinum group metals, like palladium and platinum,

8:23 just by almost coincidence, we found copper. And this was the genesis of this large copper anomaly that we have now. What's more relevant for us today is that the geophysics available 25 years ago was not really amenable to searching out deposits like that. The tools we have now that we can bring in teams like Simcoe 4 are much more suited for that. So it gives us a lot better confidence in the ability to source the feed as Mark was talking about, the source of this complex that we're looking for, which we believe is upright and not faulted or elongated on its side. Understood. Staying with you, Scott, following the 2023 Pre-Feasibility Study, what are the key technical milestones and de-risking activities that investors should be watching for as the project advances toward feasibility and development decisions?

9:08 Yeah, that's a complicated question, Kyle, just because of the unknowns. But I think to Mark's point about looking for this copper target and what it may become. I think the key technical milestones for us in the immediate term would be the geophysics results and what we can identify and what will lead us into a more exhaustive exploration program later this year and into next year. So that's the first milestone that I think we're going to hit. And as I mentioned earlier, we should have that data ready for

9:39 eyeballs in October. And that's going to lead directly into what we do towards the end of the year and into the spring of next year. So there's exploration focus, which as Mark pointed out, could be the makings, the early makings of a starter pit, or it could be a high-grade underground deposit that may be its own mine 1 day. We just don't know that yet, but at least we know that the Copper anomaly is there and is worth exploiting and looking at. I think stepping back a little bit, the path for this project, the Turnagain Nickel Cobalt project in itself, the next logical phase mark you'd agree would be environmental assessment. Now, that obviously is a significant capital expenditure for a company our size, and dovetails with the work that we will be doing looking for potential sources of feed with this exploration program. So there's a lot of pieces moving around together.

10:27 And with that capital need comes inherently the desire for a partner. I mean, we're obviously a small company and Ternagant itself would be a very large 30 plus year open pit mine. So this would be a massive undertaking. So we sort

10:41 of view it as a parallel path for the exploration to determine what else we've got adjacent to Ternagant and the partnership discussions that are ongoing and will continue to be ongoing into the into the new year. And we're a little bit spoiled for choice, I think you'd agree, Mark, that because of the nature of the Turnagain Nickel Cobalt project, it's, you know, it's 30 plus year mine produces a very clean nickel con. And it obviously requires a lot of infrastructure to build something like this. So we have a lot of optionality ahead of us in terms of what we could do with either a mining company, a financial partner, some combination thereof. So as we identify all these things and as the exploration evolves, we'll get a better understanding of what that's gonna look like. But for the near time, it's really gonna be just focusing on exploration and continue those discussions and those will evolve in parallel paths.

11:27 To the end of the day, we'll get to a partnership decision ideally, and then a clear path towards an EA and then feasibility. You know, I might also add, if I could, Kyle, that

11:39 Scott talks about optionality. And in terms of potential strategic partners that we're talking to, Thanks to Scott coming on board, that list has now expanded. Scott's got 20 years in the business dealing with all sorts of companies ranging from small to the largest to the mid-sized producers and so forth. So he's got track record and contacts in an array of companies that I do not. And I think that's incredibly important going forward. We're already having discussions with people I've never been able to get a meeting with. So and then what Scott told me is, what's interesting to his contacts as well, the reason he got involved is you don't see

12:31 legitimate multi generation projects very often. And this is one of them. It happens to be a nickel-cobalt project. Nickel's not in favor right now. So Scott is getting involved at the bottom. And to that point, Mark, if I may, we talked about prior to me joining, I think the way we looked at it is there are sort of the pillars and the foundations of what you look for in a very strong development slash exploration group. Obviously, you need the project, you need infrastructure, you need a team, you need First Nations or local group relationships, and we have all that. We've got a great relationship with the Tallahassee and the Kiska up in northern BC, great relations with government both federally and provincially.

13:17 Between the team itself, we've got a massive network of groups across the world that we could potentially tap for partnership ideas and structures. And the team itself, we've got some of the best nickel people in the business on our roster. So you really can't ask for much more. And that's what really drew me to this opportunity. So for us, it's really a question of taking what we've got and realizing the potential of it. And that's what we're here to do. And that's this financing that we just finished and the plan for the geophysics is the first step of what will be many in the process. And I'm very confident that this next 18 months will be very exciting for us. Excellent. I'm glad we got off target there for a second, but I do want to bring it back to the fall geophysics program and how does it fit into GIGA's broader exploration strategy and what specific geological targets are you most excited about testing? And I thought it'd be good if I share a map here with Mark. Maybe you can provide commentary on this one.

14:16 Sure. OK, so that's a map of the planned view of our ultramafic intrusive complex. And you can see, and again, I'm not a geologist, so I'm not going to try and name the rock pipes, But there's several pulses of magma into magma chambers that happened over millions of years. And they think it's all from the same source, but the source of the magma evolved over time. So if you look down at the horse trail Northwest zone, that's where we've got our

14:52 Nickel and cobalt resource and that's the area that we did a pre feasibility study on Next to it in the sort of I'll call them the green rocks. That's the attic zone. And that mineralization there is unique within this system. It's completely different. And that's the area that we've got. The whole thing is a massive copper anomaly at surface. We've historically got a few shallow holes,

15:22 and there is persistent copper, platinum, and palladium mineralization in this area. It's persistent with the occasional flash of hydrate. So we're just looking at that and thinking now, thanks to Steve Beresford,

15:44 that if you go deeper, that's where we could find larger chunks of massive sulfides of copper. And they would likely, in his view, be associated with magnetite, because he thinks this is very similar to a mine called Bolkhovsky in the Soviet Union, in the Uralian ultramafic belt. So those 2 lines are primarily designed to look at structure. We've got a Megan version. We've got all sorts of geology and mapping done that Steve interprets

16:27 as this system being upright and in its original configuration. So we're validating that. That's something that the MT will show us. And we're specifically targeting that attic zone. But we're also looking at defining the whole ultramafic intrusive. And that's why the lines go off of the intrusive, is we have to see what's beyond the intrusive to know what's within the intrusive. And that will help us target the next phase of geophysics, which will involve ground-based EM surveys that can see up to 800 meters deep. So this is the start. Next phase would be EM to target deeper and higher grade chunks of massive sulfides with the copper.

17:25 And then the next phase after that, of course, is drilling. Kyle, If I may as well, I mean, I think just looking at this map, Kyle, but I think really is evident to Mark's point earlier, just the scale of this project. I mean, if you look at the addicts on the loan, as Marco alluded to, we've already we've only really developed to a great extent, 20% of the project here. So there's there's a significant amount of upside on the exploration front. And that's why we're prioritizing it for this year into next. Excellent. Thank you, John. Just on that point,

17:55 if you look at, in terms of low-grade surface nickel, if you look at the horse trail northwest, that's where our resource is. But look up at the highland, which is 3, 4 kilometers away from our established resource. The holes are mineralized in a roughly similar way to what's within the horse trail in Northwest. And between that and the ridge zone, we don't have a single hole. And it's just we think it's likely that this low-grade mineralization extends. We haven't proved that because you do have to drill it to prove it. But that's what we think. And so when we talk about a 30-year mine life, that's what we've got in proven and in reserves right now is a 30-year mine life. But if you look at all of our resources, if they were converted to reserves, that would double the mine life. And then if you look at, you know, if we continue drilling beyond that, you know, we could be looking at a hundred year mine or better. So when we talk about a multi-generational project, That's what we're talking about.

19:04 And that's just the surface. Yeah, and Mark, to that point, I mean, a lot of companies do talk about like creating these districts of mineral potential and trying to find those. And we've got what looks to be, or at least it's shaping up to be just that. So, we've got so much work to do with this, but we've got all the indications that this could be, as Mark said, potentially a hundred year, nickel copper cobalt operation. So short stories, we're very excited about the fact that we can explore this and that's going to be our focus. Excellent. Thank you, guys. There's a question going back to financing. You speak to a possible JV. Where does Mitsubishi fit into that conversation as they're already a significant investor?

19:51 Well, Mitsubishi, if I can leap in there, since I was there when they first got involved, they backed this project full stop. And they're very, very interested in getting other partners in. That's what they see as critical. The critical next step in particular, in their mind, is to get a larger operating mining company involved, although a battery company would be a good partner as well. Ultimately, this could have 3 or 4 partners to develop this whole thing, including us. So that's what they're looking for next, is for another partner to get involved.

20:42 And they're being extremely helpful, by the way, with introducing us to people, large companies that are very high level. There's another question in the chat that weaves into the question I prepared here. Ben's asking, can you comment on the nickel price and market right now? And I'm just going to add on to that, and maybe Scott can take this one away. What factors will influence the timing of major development decisions at Ternagant and how does the company view the current market environment for advanced and large-scale critical mineral projects? Actually, Mark, if you don't mind, would you mind taking the nickel market first and I'll dovetail that with the fast forward. Sure. Well, you know, the nickel market right now is dominated by Indonesia. So you've got demand and supply. And demand, it is the fastest growing demand of any of the base metals by a wide margin, actually.

21:37 And it's because of the combination of stainless steel, batteries, and all the other uses as well. So the demand is extremely solid, and the growth is actually quite incredible. It has been met by a supply response from Indonesia that has overwhelmed the demand for the last couple of years. And if things carry on exactly the way they are, you know, it's going to dominate for another couple of years, we think. There is a wild card in that deck, which is the Indonesian government. If they were to decide to get serious about supply side discipline, and even if they were just to decide to get serious about environmental impacts, that would slow things down in terms of how much ore is mined in Indonesia.

22:34 And it would slow things down significantly enough that you would see a very fast response, I believe, in the price of nickel. And suddenly, it would be game on, just out of the blue. That could happen tomorrow if the Indonesian government decided to get serious about those 2 things. But in the meantime, to answer the other part of the question is that I believe myself that the time to develop really large deposits is when prices are low. So the logical next step, which Scott referred to earlier, is to launch an environmental assessment. That's a major capital commitment.

23:20 And so we've delayed doing that until we get the right next partner involved that also believes that, you know, that's the long lead time item is to actually get an environmental assessment done and get permits. That would be the logical next step to me. Yeah, and Mark, if I could add to that, I mean, just in terms of the, you know, national versus geopolitical factors affecting the nickel market, I mean, it's very encouraging for us to see both the B.C. Government and the federal government taking initiatives in critical minerals. And obviously, the security of domestic supply for this continent, and for Canada in particular, is going to be vitally important going forward. And at the end of the day, we are going to be a very stable long-term supply of Nickel for not only Canada, but for North America.

24:07 So we're very encouraged by that. So as Mark mentioned, there could be a supply issue or an Indonesian government movement at some point, but in the long term, we view it all positively and that Canada is making the right moves and BC is obviously very supportive. So the factors are there for at least a long-term positive move in Nickel and we're well positioned to capture that. Thank you for that, Scott. With the recent financing completed, can you outline how Gigamedals plans to systematically unlock value over the next 12 to 18 months and what catalysts should investors be anticipating? Sure. Yeah, I mean, I think we've already covered that a bit, Kyle, but I'll just to rephrase, I mean, just to go over. So with the financing closed, I guess a little over a week ago. Our priority now is the geophysics program, which as Mark mentioned, our team's already at site.

24:52 The team from Simcoe will be there in the next week and we'll have some results in a few weeks. We'll obviously take time to analyze those results and interpret those. So the next catalyst would be evolving the geophysics and what the next steps would be there. They are contingent to a degree on what the MT survey tells us, but we're still, we're obviously very encouraged by that so far. And then as we proceed through the end of the year, that exploration for us will continue. So we would expect to have activity in the new year on that front. And then as a side to that, and in a parallel path, there may be catalysts with other partners coming into the project, whether it's for exploration or project development, as well as discussions with various governmental or sort of non-traditional sources of capital.

25:38 So it's gonna be a busy 12 to 18 months, and those are sort of the near-term catalysts that we see for the market. Thank you. A question just slipped in here, I'll address it. Are the governments looking at improving the infrastructure, i.e. Roads, hydro, et cetera, in your district, which could help with your CapEx? Yes, is the answer. The BC government is doing a feasibility study, in fact, on extending the hydro line all the way up Highway 37 into the Yukon to access potential sources of power in the Yukon and kind of balance out the grid. Our infrastructure costs are, you know, as I recall, Our infrastructure costs are, as I recall, somewhere between $200-$230 million US.

26:27 And a lot of that is the BC Hydro line to access cheap electricity, which is part of what makes this whole project go. So it's basically infrastructure, in our case, means power lines and roads. And the road is less expensive than the power line. This is easy road building country. But it's not insignificant. If you could take a couple of hundred million dollars off our CapEx, which is if the government, both the province and the federal government, you know, did what they're talking about, that significantly improves the economics of this project and the payback period for the CapEx that's remaining.

27:20 And Mark, if I could just on that point as well, I mean, part of the groups that are part of the process review that we're doing for this partnership angle is to talk to non-conventional groups of financing. And that would include groups that could potentially be sources of capital for infrastructure that are looking for long-life steady cash flow assets. And so they've been involved. They're starting to get more involved, which is encouraging to see. But we're still having those discussions. And they could be also a potential viable source for not only capital, but expertise on other fronts too. And if I can go a little further, I mean, I'm very encouraged by what's happening politically at the federal level. I think what our Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to do is to create an environment that makes it easier for big, big pools of capital, like the pension funds, for example, invest in Canada and invest in infrastructure in Canada, like a power line, for example, is that type of investment where it's large capital, it's low risk, you've got a known rate of return.

28:30 That's the sort of thing. And to lure those pension funds back into investing in Canada, you've got to create a regulatory environment that is compelling for them. And I believe that that's the plan. And it's going to have to be, because I think our government is facing a significant deficit from years of overspending. And you have to attract the private capital if you want infrastructure built within the country. And I believe that Mark Carney is well aware of that. Yeah, and Kyle to that point, I mean, that would also include the likes of private equity groups that are increasingly getting more active in natural resources. So they would look for this exact same sort of framework around stability and but the acid profile exactly fits the mold. So there are also groups that we could potentially talk to as well.

29:29 Another question slipped in here and you might have addressed it, but I always like addressing the questions in the chat here. With recently launched geophysics program at Turnagain and results expected in early October, could you walk us through how these findings will influence the next phase of Turnagain's development? Specifically, how might they affect exploration, drill targeting, capital planning, and your strategy to address forecasted supply shortages in critical battery metals? Well, you know, it's an iterative process. So first you get the MT, the Magneto... Teleric. Here's Mark the pretend geophysicist. Magneto... Teleric. MT. Yeah.

30:17 So, first we need... The reason we're doing this this confirmation of our structural model. And then part of that is you know what is within the ultramafic complex and what is outside of it. Because ultimately, EM targets outside of it are of very little interest. But inside of it, they're of great interest. And then it's also to confirm this model that the whole system is upright. And also, there can be subtle clues, I'm told, within the MT that can help us to decide, well, that looks like a good place to do an EM survey, a ground-based EM survey that would be deep penetrating.

31:09 And that is the next step, is EM surveys. And then assuming that all of this generates targets, which we think is likely, then you go and drill. You design a drill program to do that. At every step, we'll be talking to potential partners. Excellent. Gentlemen, thank you so much for this update and everyone that joined us today live, especially the ones that addressed or asked questions rather. If you did come in a little late, no worries. This is being recorded and our team will have it up and available for review in the next couple of hours here. But any final remarks from you, Scott or Mark, before we close off here today? If I could, I would say, you know, again, thanks for the support on the financing from all of our current and new investors.

31:59 It's going to be exciting fall and we're looking forward to what our geophysics program gives us and what it's going to lay out for 2026. And I just want to say what a pleasure it is to have Scott on board. This is really exciting. We've got a new CEO who, the more I work with him, the more I realize how capable he is and good ethics, all that. I mean, he takes every box from me. So again, thanks for joining the team. Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time today. Thanks very much, Kyle. Enjoy your events.