Abitibi Metals Targets Up to 35 Million Tonnes at B26 as Drilling Shifts to Growth

• Abitibi Metals owns 100% of the B26 copper deposit in Québec, which hosts just over 25 million tonnes at more than 2% CuEq, after halving the government royalty to a 1% NSR.
• The company has met its resource conversion target and is now drilling for growth, aiming for 30 to 35 million tonnes in the next update.
• Environmental baseline, hydrogeology and metallurgical work is already underway, with 98% copper recovery and a 22-30% copper concentrate reported.
• About $34 million in cash funds 40,000 metres of drilling, development work and a potential acquisition through 2027.
• Discovery Silver is a strategic shareholder, and management views a takeover by a producer as the most likely route to full shareholder value.

Copper's investment case has shifted from a debate about the future to a question of where new supply will come from. Major banks are now publishing forecasts that support the supply-demand deficits long argued by the industry, and several copper developers have already been taken out in liquidity events. Against that backdrop, Abitibi Metals Corp. (CSE:AMQ) is attempting a transition that few juniors of its size manage cleanly. The company is moving from pure exploration to exploration and early development at its B26 polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in Québec, while building the team and balance sheet to make that transition credible. Founder and CEO Jonathon Deluce describes the goal as keeping both options open. The company wants to be able to advance, permit and potentially build B26 itself, while remaining attractive to a producer looking for its next copper asset.

From Government Project to 100% Ownership

B26 has an unusual history. Until Abitibi optioned it in November 2023, the deposit had never been held by a public company. It was explored for around 25 years by SOQUEM, the Québec government's mineral exploration subsidiary, which invested more than $30 million in work that defined an initial resource of roughly 11 million tonnes. Abitibi has since expanded that base by about 125% to just over 25 million tonnes. The current resource comprises 12.96 million tonnes Indicated at 2.08% copper equivalent (CuEq) and 12.34 million tonnes Inferred at 2.20% CuEq.

Abitibi completed the seven-year option agreement in two and a half years. In June 2026 it bought the remaining 20% interest, taking ownership of B26 to 100%. As part of that deal, the company also cut the net smelter return (NSR) royalty in half, leaving the Québec government with a 1% NSR. Abitibi also secured a 10-year right of first refusal on SOQUEM's surrounding land around the former Selbaie mine. According to Deluce, the government redirected its exploration budget to that surrounding portfolio after optioning B26 and has made further discoveries there.

The camp context matters for the growth case. Selbaie was a single producing asset of around 60 million tonnes that closed in 2004, and camps of this kind tend to host clusters of deposits rather than isolated ones. Deluce emphasised how close the potential additions sit to B26:

"This isn't upside 100 km away. This is within a 12 km circumference, which shows us and potentially the ability to really build a district."

Deluce attributes the strength of the government relationship to more than the transaction itself. Abitibi has First Nations-partnered drilling contractors and sponsors a training programme in the region. The Deluce family also has a track record in Québec as founders of a First Nations-partnered airline. For a small-cap company, that stakeholder groundwork is the kind of work that typically becomes a permitting advantage later.

Drilling for Scale, Not Just Conversion

Abitibi has drilled just under 30,000 metres at B26 so far this year and will continue running three rigs through year-end. The programme has been split across infill, expansion and regional targets. Deluce says the company has now met its internal conversion target, so the remaining 2026 drilling will focus on growing the Inferred resource. The stated goal for the next resource update is 30 to 35 million tonnes, up from about 25 million today.

Recent results support that direction. In a September 17 release, hole 1274-25-366-W1 returned 1.25% CuEq over 60.2 metres from 548.8 metres downhole. That included 2.45% CuEq over 18.8 metres and 3.72% CuEq over 9.2 metres, with an estimated true width of 52.1 metres for the full interval. The hole targeted a zone on the eastern side of the deposit and ranks among the strongest intercepts of the 2026 programme. In the Western Down-Plunge Zone, hole 1274-26-378-W2 intersected 1.45% CuEq over 14.1 metres from 985.3 metres depth.

Two further targets extend the story beyond the current resource footprint. The first is a deep step-out down dip, targeting the deposit at potentially 1.5 kilometres vertical depth with a pilot hole and possible wedge branches. The company believes a higher-grade source of the stringer mineralisation may sit at depth, guided by downhole geophysics. Deluce frames a successful 500-metre step-out as evidence of longer mine-life potential rather than tonnage to be infilled immediately. The second is a possible new zone about 1.5 kilometres to the west, identified in last winter's drilling. Management says follow-up is still needed to determine whether it is an extension of B26 or a separate zone.

Interview with Jon Deluce, President & CEO of Abitibi Metals

Early Development & Metallurgy

The more significant change this year may be what is happening away from the drill rigs. Abitibi has started environmental baseline studies and hydrogeology work, led by Dave Bernier, the former chief operating officer of Foran Mining. Bernier's team permitted Foran's McIlvenna Bay project in 18 months from scratch. Starting this work early is intended to compress the timeline once B26 moves towards an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Phase 2 metallurgical results have also been delivered. According to Deluce, testwork showed 98% copper recovery because the copper mineralisation is almost entirely chalcopyrite. The work indicated the ability to produce a concentrate grading 22% to 30% copper, which Deluce describes as premium product in a market where clean concentrate is increasingly sought after.

Team & Strategic Partner

Abitibi has built a leadership group that reads more like a developer than an explorer. Ben Pullinger, formerly CEO of ATEX Resources, recently joined and brings a track record across multiple companies and takeovers, as well as reach with funds and banks. Keith Gorman has joined as CFO from Foran, and Louis Gariépy serves as VP Exploration.

The strategic partner is Discovery Silver, which participated in Abitibi's May financing. Deluce points to Discovery's position in the region, including its acquisition of the Kidd Creek complex and two concentrators in the province, as a potential processing and smelting fit for B26. He was clear about how he sees the most likely end-state, while keeping the option of building the project itself:

"But if I was betting today in the market that we're in, we believe that we'll create enough value that there will be a sweet spot that a [Discovery Silver] or another producer ... takes us over to take it the rest of the way."

Deluce cited Foran as the model. That company secured its liquidity event while on the cusp of production, and Deluce believes Abitibi is starting from a stronger point in the copper market.

Funding & Valuation

Abitibi has about $34 million in cash and expects to finish the year with $28 million to $29 million. Management says that is enough to fund 40,000 metres of drilling next year, the early development work and a potential acquisition. The May financing was structured to carry the company through to the end of 2027 while it builds towards an updated resource and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

The market has started to respond. Deluce notes the company's market capitalisation was around $40 million at the Beaver Creek conference last year, compared with about $170 million now, against $34 million in cash. The company recently marketed to Australian funds for the first time, and Deluce says some of those funds began building positions immediately. Recent liquidity events at Foran and Arizona Sonoran have added to investor appetite for copper developers with grade.

2027 Catalysts

The first quarter of 2027 is largely set. One to two rigs will drill regional targets, following up hole 383 and a new extensional target north of the former Selbaie mine. Work will continue at the deposit with extensional and infill drilling. The acquisition pipeline, including the SOQUEM land covered by the right of first refusal, is the main open question. Deluce says the rest of 2027 remains to be determined, but he is confident the company can add meaningful properties and internally generated prospects, including its Beschefer gold project.

Investment Thesis for Abitibi Metals

• B26 hosts just over 25 million tonnes at more than 2% CuEq, split roughly evenly between Indicated and Inferred, with a stated target of 30 to 35 million tonnes in the next update.
• Full ownership, a royalty cut to a 1% NSR and a right of first refusal on surrounding government land give Abitibi a cleaner asset and a potential district-scale land position within a 12-kilometre radius.
• Early baseline, hydrogeology and metallurgical work led by a proven mine builder could shorten the path to permitting relative to typical explorers.
• A cash position of about $34 million funds a 40,000-metre programme and development work through 2027, which limits near-term dilution risk.
• Risks include the early stage of economic study work, the unproven status of the deep and western targets, and dependence on copper prices holding at current levels.
• Watch the regional drill results in Q1 2027, the outcome of the acquisition pipeline and the timing of the updated resource estimate as the next potential re-rating catalysts.

Macro Thematic Analysis

Copper remains one of the clearest structural stories in the resource sector. Demand from electrification, grid investment and data centres continues to rise, while new supply is constrained by declining grades at existing mines, long permitting timelines and a shortage of development-ready projects. Deluce noted that forecasts published by major banks in recent days now broadly support the deficit outlook. He also described projections of $10 per pound copper as realistic in the current market.

For juniors, that backdrop changes the value of certain attributes. Grade matters because it improves economics at any price and reduces sensitivity to cost inflation. Jurisdiction matters because producers and investors increasingly favour stable, infrastructure-rich regions. The Abitibi region of Québec offers roads, power, water and existing milling capacity, along with some of the largest mining companies in the world already operating nearby. Concentrate quality is also becoming a differentiator, as smelters look for clean feed with high copper content.

Investor appetite reflects these dynamics. Deluce said the company's first virtual marketing trip to Australia drew immediate interest from funds that had never seen the story:

"So I think it's very motivating to us that there is a huge demand for copper and copper investments especially with grade and still a lot of markets that we need to hit"

The broader lesson from recent transactions is that producers are willing to pay for copper assets that are de-risked and positioned near infrastructure. Abitibi's strategy is built around that pattern. By advancing permitting groundwork, metallurgy and resource scale in parallel, the company aims to present B26 to acquirers as a project that is already well along the path to production. Whether that value is captured through a takeover or a self-build decision, the macro environment is currently supportive of projects with the combination of grade, location and team that Abitibi is assembling.

TL;DR

Abitibi Metals now owns 100% of B26, a polymetallic VMS deposit in Québec hosting just over 25 million tonnes at more than 2% CuEq, after buying out SOQUEM's remaining interest and halving the royalty to a 1% NSR. Having met its conversion target, the company is drilling for growth, aiming for 30 to 35 million tonnes in the next update and testing a deep step-out at about 1.5 kilometres depth. Early baseline, hydrogeology and metallurgical work is underway, with 98% copper recovery and a 22-30% copper concentrate reported. About $34 million in cash funds 40,000 metres next year. Discovery Silver is a strategic shareholder, and management sees a producer takeover as the most likely outcome.

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