Magna Mining Approves Levack Mine Restart Following PEA Outlining C$227 Million After-Tax NPV

• Base Case Economics: The Levack Mine study estimates an after-tax value of C$227.0 million, a 92.4% after-tax return and a payback period of 0.6 years.
• Net Funding Requirement: Initial capital of C$70.1 million is expected to be offset by pre-production cash flow and tax credits, leaving a net funding requirement of about C$8.6 million.
• Restart Approved: The Board of Directors has formally approved the restart of Levack, with underground development and surface construction expected to increase over the coming months.
• Spot Price Scenario: Using September 2026 average metal prices, the after-tax value rises to C$313.6 million with a 115.8% return.
• R2 Zone Not Included: The R2 Footwall Zone is excluded from the study, and three underground drill rigs are currently testing it.

Magna Mining Inc. (TSX: NICU) is a Canada-based producing company with copper, nickel and precious metals assets in the Sudbury mining district of Ontario. Its McCreedy West Mine is in production, and the neighbouring Levack Mine is being restarted. The company also holds three past-producing properties, Crean Hill, Podolsky and Shakespeare, as part of its development pipeline.

Levack Study Outlines C$227 Million After-Tax NPV, 92.4% IRR and Mid-2028 Production Start

Magna has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), an early-stage study that estimates the potential economics of a mining project. The study gives Levack an after-tax net present value (NPV) of C$227.0 million at a 7% discount rate. NPV is the estimated present-day value of the mine’s future cash flows after costs and taxes. The after-tax internal rate of return (IRR), a measure of annual return on investment, is 92.4%, with payback estimated at 0.6 years.

The mine plan covers 5.75 million short tons over 7.3 years of commercial production, at a target rate of about 2,200 short tons per day. Average annual payable output is estimated at 36.8 million pounds of copper equivalent (CuEq), which combines all metals produced into a single copper-based figure. All-in sustaining costs (AISC), the full cost of producing each pound including ongoing capital, are estimated at US$3.71 per pound of CuEq. Nickel accounts for 46.0% of expected revenue and copper for 34.8%, with the balance from platinum, palladium, gold, cobalt and silver.

Initial capital of C$70.1 million, including a C$12.6 million contingency, covers spending from January 2027 to the start of commercial production. About C$55.9 million in pre-production operating cash flow and C$5.6 million in refundable tax credits reduce the net outlay to around C$8.6 million. A separate scenario including Canada’s proposed Productivity Mega Deduction, a tax measure allowing immediate deduction of eligible capital costs, raises the after-tax NPV to C$232.1 million and the IRR to 99.2%, subject to the legislation being approved.

Board Approves Levack Restart as Development and Construction Ramp Up

Based on the study results, Magna’s Board of Directors has formally approved the plan to restart production at Levack. The work includes rehabilitating and recommissioning existing underground infrastructure and equipment, refurbishing the production hoist and loading pocket (the underground station where material is loaded for hoisting to surface), and establishing underground access and exploration platforms.

Levack last operated in 2018. Much of its surface and underground infrastructure has been maintained since then because the mine serves as a secondary exit route for the adjacent McCreedy West Mine. Existing assets include the No. 2 production shaft, an internal No. 3 shaft, an underground ramp and a paste backfill plant, which fills mined-out areas with a cemented mixture. Mined material will be crushed on site and shipped to third-party processing facilities in Sudbury.

CEO Jason Jessup said:

“The PEA demonstrates Levack Mine’s potential as a low capital cost, high IRR project with a clear pathway to a rapid ramp-up to commercial production. The low capital intensity reflects the significant capital previously invested in the mine, as well as the current state of its existing infrastructure. The mine plan outlined in the study prioritizes higher-grade copper-precious metal footwall zones early in the mine life, generating meaningful pre-production revenue and supporting a strong IRR.”

R2 Footwall Zone Remains Outside the Study as Three-Rig Drilling Programme Continues

The R2 Footwall Zone is not included in the study’s mine plan or economics because it has not yet been incorporated into a mineral resource estimate. Discovered through surface drilling in July 2025, R2 is a copper and precious metals-bearing vein system about 600 metres northeast of the Morrison Footwall deposit. The term “footwall” refers to the rock beneath the main mineralised contact of the Sudbury Basin.

Drilling at R2 has returned 29.7% CuEq over 3.4 metres in hole MLV-26-14A W1, including 9.4% copper, 2.3% nickel and 28.7 grams per tonne of combined platinum, palladium and gold. Hole FNX2038-W1 returned 23.5% CuEq over 2.1 metres. For reference, the current Levack resource uses cut-off grades of 2.0% to 2.5% CuEq. The cut-off grade is the minimum grade at which material is counted as a resource.

Three underground drill rigs are testing R2, two of them from the new 2950 Level exploration drift, which extends to within about 300 metres of the zone. 

CEO Jason Jessup said:

“The Levack team embodies Magna’s core value of the Relentless Pursuit of Excellence, and I am confident we will continue to optimize the mine plan while incorporating new mineralized zones, including the R2 Zone, with the objective of extending mine life and further enhancing project economics.”

Milestones and Next Steps

Magna will file the technical report supporting the Levack PEA within 45 days of the October 7, 2026 announcement. Go-forward capital spending is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027, with commercial production targeted for mid-2028. Further assay results from the R2 Footwall Zone will be released as they become available, while McCreedy West continues in production alongside the Levack restart.

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