First Atlantic Nickel Receives Supplemental Exploration Permit Authorizing Drilling and In-Ground Wellbore Injection to Advance Stimulated Geologic Hydrogen Initiative at the Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Awaruite Project in Newfoundland
GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, Newfoundland and Labrador, May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp. (TSXV: FAN) (OTCQB: FANCF) (FSE: P21) (“First Atlantic” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received a supplemental exploration permit from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Industry, Energy and Technology, Mineral Lands Division, supplementing its existing drilling programs. The supplemental permit authorizes wellbore water injection with additional drilling for rock formation integrity testing, along with ground geophysics, at its wholly owned Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project, where the Company’s primary focus remains the exploration and development of awaruite (Ni₃Fe), a naturally occurring nickel-iron-cobalt alloy and the project’s primary mineral of economic interest.
The supplemental drill permits authorize drilling, wellbore water injection for repeated rock formation integrity testing, and ground geophysics using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). This in-ground wellbore injection allows the Company to advance its stimulated geologic hydrogen initiative, in-which water introduced into serpentinizing ultramafic rock drives the reaction that liberates molecular hydrogen (H₂) – the same reaction responsible for forming awaruite throughout the 30 km Pipestone Ophiolite Complex.
As noted by the Geological Survey of Finland in “Geology in the Hydrogen Era:”
“In Europe and in regions outside the crystal shield, only ophiolites are often referred to as a source of geological hydrogen.”1
The Company’s stimulated geologic hydrogen initiative is being advanced through collaborations with academic and private-sector partners. Its academic collaboration includes Colorado School of Mines, whose Center for Gravity, Electrical, and Magnetic Studies (CGEM) brings ARPA-E-funded expertise in geologic hydrogen systems and geophysical methods, including ERT, used to characterize and monitor hydrogen generation at depth.
On April 29, 2026, the Company appointed Dr. Douglas Wicks as a Strategic Advisor. Dr. Wicks is a globally recognized expert in critical minerals processing and geologic hydrogen, with more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across the U.S. government, industrial minerals, advanced materials, and academic research. From 2019 to 2025, he served as a Program Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), where he designed and led the MINER program (Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery), which funded research to increase domestic supplies of critical minerals including nickel and cobalt while reducing the energy intensity and emissions of mineral processing, as well as ARPA-E’s Geologic Hydrogen portfolio – the first U.S. federal program to competitively fund stimulated geologic hydrogen research. He currently serves as Strategic Director, ASCENT Japan at Renaissance Philanthropy and sits on the Advisory Board of its Chimaera Fund, a leading U.S.-based geologic hydrogen initiative.
With drilling and wellbore injections now authorized, the Company can advance stimulated geologic hydrogen as a secondary initiative by leveraging the existing support of its ongoing drill program, while remaining focused on its primary objective: drilling for awaruite in the Pipestone Ophiolite Complex. The Company expects to provide further updates as this secondary initiative progresses.
Drilling is currently underway at the Company’s Alloy Max Zone, a second large-scale awaruite target within the Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project, where the Company continues to advance its primary nickel-cobalt exploration across the 30-kilometre Pipestone Ophiolite Complex.
FIRST ATLANTIC NICKEL & COBALT LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
The Company has launched a new website at www.fanickel.com, providing investors with expanded access to news releases, project updates, technical information, and educational resources on awaruite and the Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project. Investors are encouraged to visit the site and sign up to receive Company news via email and SMS text.
AWARUITE (Ni₃Fe) – NATURAL MAGNETIC HIGH-GRADE NICKEL-IRON-COBALT ALLOY MINERAL
Awaruite (Magnetic Nickel-Cobalt Alloy) is the primary mineral of economic interest at Pipestone XL. Due to its metallic, sulfur-free composition, natural magnetism, and hydrophobic metallic surface, awaruite can be concentrated through magnetic separation and flotation and processed onshore directly into downstream nickel and cobalt products, avoiding the energy- and capital-intensive environmental impacts of secondary midstream nickel processing such as smelting, roasting, and high-pressure acid leaching, while reducing reliance on overseas processing. This positions Pipestone XL to contribute to a secure and reliable supply chain for the North American stainless steel, electric vehicle, aerospace, and defense industries.
This advantage was recognized by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in its 2012 Annual Report on Nickel, which noted:
The development of awaruite deposits in other parts of Canada may help alleviate any prolonged shortage of nickel concentrate.
”Awaruite, a natural iron-nickel alloy, is much easier to concentrate than pentlandite, the principal sulfide of nickel.”
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First Atlantic Nickel Receives Supplemental Exploration Permit Authorizing Drilling and In-Ground Wellbore Injection to Advance Stimulated Geologic Hydrogen Initiative at the Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Awaruite Project in Newfoundland, source
