REG - First Class Metals - Additional Visible Gold at Roy, Sunbeam

FIRST CLASS METALSAnnouncement

Today 09:45

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RNS Number : 9690W  First Class Metals PLC  17 March 2026

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the
Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK
law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the
UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.

FIRST CLASS METALS PLC

17 March 2026

Additional Visible Gold at Roy, Sunbeam

 

First Class Metals PLC ("First Class Metals", "FCM" or the "Company") the UK
listed company focused on the discovery of economic metal deposits across its
exploration properties in Ontario, Canada, is pleased to report further
visible gold has been identified in core from the drilling at the Roy prospect
on the Sunbeam Property.

Highlights

 

·    Visible gold ('VG') observed in two separate sections of core from a
second drill hole at Roy, further confirming the presence of gold
mineralisation within the targeted structure

·    The planned drill programme has now been successfully completed with
12 holes drilled at Roy.

·    Total meterage exceeded the 1,000m contractual minimum.

·    Current drilling has confirmed the mineralised structure over a
strike extent exceeding 300m.

·    Detailed geological logging and sampling is ongoing with the logging
of 6 holes now complete.

·    Eight drill holes remain to be cut and sampled.

·    Holes 1-2 have been dispatched to the laboratory in Thunder Bay for
assaying.

 

 

 

Marc J. Sale CEO First Class Metals Commented:

"The drill programme at Roy has to date been a resounding success. I was
fortunate to be on site when the first visible gold was identified. The
identification of a second occurrence, in two sections of core, while we are
still barely halfway through the logging and sampling is incredibly
encouraging and furthers the credibility of the Sunbeam property as a whole."

 

Roy structure

The lineament that the Roy occurrence / development is located on is a
district scale structure and has now been traced through historic work and
Emerald Geological Services ("EGS") prospecting towards the 111ppb lake
sediment sample some 5km northeast along strike of the mine shaft. The
structure also hosts historic shafts B43 and B45, which further enhances the
potential see Figure 1.

Figure 1 illustrating the soil (VLF) grid and locations of historic shafts,
including Roy, drilling has focussed on the area immediately around the Roy
shaft and the strike extension to the NE.

 

Drilling

The planned 1,000m minimum programme has been successfully completed with 12
holes drilled for a total of 1,030m, see Figure 2

Figure 2 showing the location of the locations of the 12 drill holes at Roy,
note hole 26-01 was abandoned at 26m.

 

All holes intersected the targeted 'structure' or the potentially mineralised
package which is now confirmed over a strike length exceeding 300m, see Figure
2 and 3

 

Figure 3 boxes of core from drill hole SUN-26-06, drilled on an azimuth of
200(o), in order to test the plunge of the mineralsied structure. It shows the
mineralised 'package' of altered (variously quartz veined) tonalite on the
margins of deformed chloritic schist containing / alternating with quartz
veins and veinlets. This hole contains two separate occurrences of VG.

The observation of further visible gold in the core in two separated locations
is extremely significant, see Figure 4-8.The gold grains are scattered
throughout a small area of the quartz vein and again associated with galena.

Figure 4 showing the quartz vein with the visible gold

Figure 5 showing closer view of the visible gold grains in one of the quartz
veins.

 

Figure 6 showing visible gold grains in the quartz vein.

 

Figure 7 showing visible gold grains and galena in the quartz vein.

The gold is intimately associated with a lead mineral, galena, which appears a
slightly metallic grey in the images.

Figure 8 showing a second occurrence of visible gold grains and galena in the
quartz vein, less than a metre from the initial observation.

 

The EGS team will continue to diligently log and sample the remaining six
holes and keep keen eyes open for further instances of VG.

 

Qualified Person

The technical disclosures contained in this announcement have been drafted in
line with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards
and guidelines and approved by Marc J. Sale, who has more than 30 years in the
gold exploration industry and is considered a Qualified Person owing to his
status as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

 

Glossary of Technical Terms

 

 Term                         Explanation
 Visible Gold (VG)            Gold that can be seen with the naked eye in drill core or rock samples.
                              Visible gold does not necessarily indicate economic grades but is considered a
                              positive indicator in gold exploration.
 Drill Hole                   A hole drilled into the ground to obtain rock samples (core) for geological
                              logging, sampling and analysis.
 Core                         Cylindrical rock recovered during diamond drilling, used to examine geology
                              and mineralisation.
 Strike Length                The horizontal distance over which a geological structure or mineralised zone
                              can be traced.
 Mineralised Package          A sequence of rocks containing minerals associated with potential economic
                              metal deposits.
 Quartz Vein                  A fracture or crack in rock that has been filled with quartz. Quartz veins are
                              commonly associated with gold mineralisation.
 Galena                       A lead sulphide mineral (PbS) that can be associated with precious metal
                              mineralisation in some geological systems.
 Structure / Structural Zone  A geological feature such as a fault or shear zone that may control the
                              movement of mineralising fluids and the location of mineral deposits.
 Logging                      The detailed geological description and recording of drill core, including
                              rock type, alteration and mineralisation.
 Sampling                     The process of cutting and collecting sections of drill core for laboratory
                              analysis to determine metal content.
 Assay                        Laboratory analysis used to determine the concentration of metals within a
                              rock sample.
 Alteration                   Chemical changes to rock caused by mineralising fluids, often associated with
                              ore-forming processes.
 Schist                       A metamorphic rock characterised by strong foliation and alignment of
                              minerals.
 Tonalite                     A coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, commonly found in
                              mineralised geological terranes.

 

 

 

For Further Information:

Engage with us by asking questions, watching video summaries, and seeing what
other shareholders have to say. Navigate to our Interactive Investor hub here:

https:www.firstclassmetalsplc.com (https://fcm-l.investorhub.com/link/MP7o0P)

For further information, please contact:

James Knowles, Executive Chair

Email: JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com (mailto:JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com)

Tel: 07488 362641

Marc J Sale, CEO

Email: MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com (mailto:MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com)

Tel: 07711 093532

AlbR Capital Limited

David Coffman / Dan Harris

Website: www.albrcapital.com (http://www.albrcapital.com/)

Tel: (0)20 7469 0930

Axis Capital Markets (Broker)

Lewis Jones

Website: Axcap247.com (http://www.axcap247.com)

Tel: (0)203 026 0449

 

 

First Class Metals PLC - Background

 

First Class Metals listed on the LSE in July 2022 and is focused on metals
exploration in Ontario, Canada which has a robust and thriving junior mineral
exploration sector. In particular, the Hemlo 'camp' near Marathon, Ontario is
a proven world class address for gold exploration, featuring the Hemlo gold
deposit owned by Hemlo Mining Corp., (>23M oz gold produced), with the past
producing Geco and Winston Lake base metal deposits also situated in the
region.

FCM currently holds 100% ownership of seven claim blocks covering over 250km²
in northwest Ontario. A further three blocks are under option and cover an
additional 30km(2).FCM is focussed on exploring for gold but has base metals
and critical metals mineralisation. FCM is maintaining a joint venture with GT
Resources on the West Pickle Lake Property a drill-proven ultra-high-grade
Ni-Cu project.

The flagship properties, North Hemlo and Sunbeam, are gold focussed. North
Hemlo has a significant discovery in the Dead Otter trend which is a
discontinuous 3.5km gold anomalous trend with a 19.6g/t Au peak grab sample.
This sampling being the highest known assay from a grab sample ever recorded
on the North Limb of Hemlo.

In October 2022 FCM completed the option to purchase the historical high-grade
past-producing Sunbeam gold mine near Atikokan, Ontario, ~15 km southeast of
Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef gold deposit (3.3 Moz of open pit probable gold
reserves).

FCM acquired the Zigzag Project near Armstrong, Ontario in March 2023. The
property features Li-Ta-bearing pegmatites in the same belt as Green
Technology Metals' Seymour Lake Project, which contains a Mineral Resource
estimate of 9.9 Mt @ 1.04% Li2O. Zigzag was successfully drilled prior to
Christmas 2023 and results have now been released.

The Kerrs Gold property, acquired under option by First Class Metals in April
2024, is located in northeastern Ontario within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt,
one of the world's most prolific gold-producing regions. The project holds a
historical inferred resource of approximately 386,000 ounces of gold,
underscoring its potential as a meaningful addition to FCM's expanding gold
portfolio. Kerrs Gold complements the Company's exploration strategy and
provides exposure to a well-established mining district. FCM is currently
reviewing plans to advance the project and further unlock its value.

The significant potential of the properties for precious, base and battery
metals relates to 'nearology', since all properties lie in the same districts
as known deposits (Hemlo, Hammond Reef, Seymour Lake), and either contain
known showings, geochemical or geophysical anomalies, or favourable structures
along strike from known showings (e.g. the Esa project, with an inferred
Hemlo-style shear along strike from known gold occurrences).

For further information see the Company's presentation on the web site:

www.firstclassmetalsplc.com

 

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements
which are based on the Company's expectations, intentions and projections
regarding its future performance, anticipated events or trends and other
matters that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements can be
identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current
facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as 'aim',
'anticipate', 'target', 'expect', 'estimate', 'intend', 'plan', 'goal',
'believe', or other words of similar meaning. These statements are not
guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as
required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

 

 

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