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

FIRST CLASS METALSAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 3108W  First Class Metals PLC  12 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

12 March 2026

Visible Gold Intersected 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 provide an update on
the ongoing drilling programme at the Roy prospect on the Sunbeam Property,
where drilling has intersected a broad mineralised structure and visible gold
has now been identified within drill core.

Highlights

 

·    Visible gold ('VG') has been observed in core from one of the drilled
holes

·    Drilling is ongoing with all holes to date intersecting the
(mineralised) 'package'

·    Currently the strike of the drilled structure is over 250m

·    Emerald Geological Services remain on site supervising all aspects of
the drilling.

·    Drilling programme nearing completion with further results expected
shortly

 

 

Marc J. Sale CEO, First Class Metals, Commented:

"The drilling at Roy is progressing satisfactorily with all holes intersecting
a sulphide bearing, potentially mineralised 'package' of deformed and quartz
veined chloritic schist and altered tonalite. This package has a true width of
several metres. The identification of visible gold is a huge uplift for the
exploration team. This vindicates the enthusiasm demonstrated over the Roy
prospect by FCM and EGS. In my experience, visible gold identifiable to the
naked eye within drill core is often associated with potentially high gold
grades, I would anticipate the assay being in the order of an ounce, depending
on the length of core in that sample."

 

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 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

The planned 1,000 metre diamond drilling programme is nearing completion.

Drilling to date has consistently intersected the targeted mineralised package
(see Figure 2), which comprises altered tonalite and deformed chloritic schist
with quartz veining and sulphide mineralisation. Based on current drilling,
the structure has now been traced over more than 250 metres of strike, and
could extend beyond 350 metres once the final holes of the programme are
completed.

The consistent intersection of this mineralised package across multiple drill
holes provides encouraging evidence of structural continuity within the Roy
prospect.

 

Figure 2 boxes of core from a drill hole drilled on the new azimuth of 110(o),
showing the potentially mineralised 'package' of altered (variously quartz
veined) tonalite on the margins of deformed chloritic schist containing /
alternating with quartz veins and veinlets.

 

The observation of visible gold in the core is considered extremely
significant, (see Figure 3). The gold grains and micro veins are scattered
throughout a small area of the quartz vein. There are several, possibly 5,
distinct areas in the core sample that have gold grains (see Figures 4-8).

Figure 3 showing visible gold grain in one quartz vein.

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

This association could prove valuable as a pathfinder going forward in
expanding the soil sampling grid.

Figure 4 showing visible gold grains in one area of the quartz vein.

 

Figure 5 showing visible gold grains in another area of the quartz vein.

 

Figure 6 showing visible gold in separate area of the quartz vein.

 

Figure 7 showing visible gold grains in a separate but associated area of the
quartz vein.

 

Figure 8 showing visible gold grains in another area of the quartz vein.

 

EGS has a portable XRF machine and it 'analysed / probed' a very small area of
the core including an area of the gold grains and galena. The machine
repeatedly confirmed the presence of both gold and lead, conforming beyond
doubt that the visually identified gold is indeed gold.

The EGS team will now have a renewed diligence in looking for further evidence
of visible gold in other core samples from the mineralised package.

 

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                          Definition
 Au                            Chemical symbol for gold.
 Assay                         Laboratory analysis used to determine the concentration of metals within a
                               rock sample.
 Diamond Drilling              A drilling method that uses a diamond-tipped drill bit to recover a
                               cylindrical core of rock for geological examination.
 Drill Core                    Cylindrical sections of rock recovered during drilling which allow geologists
                               to examine rock types and mineralisation.
 Galena                        A lead sulphide mineral (PbS) that can occur in hydrothermal mineralised
                               systems and may be associated with gold mineralisation.
 Mineralisation / Mineralised  The presence of economically important minerals within a rock formation.
 Mineralised Structure         A geological feature such as a fault, shear zone, or vein system that hosts
                               mineralisation.
 Outcrop                       Exposure of bedrock at the Earth's surface.
 Quartz Vein                   A vein composed primarily of quartz that forms when mineral-rich fluids fill
                               fractures in rock; these veins can host gold mineralisation.
 Strike                        The length or horizontal direction of a geological structure or mineralised
                               zone.
 Sulphide Minerals             Minerals containing sulphur combined with metals such as iron, lead, or
                               copper; commonly associated with gold deposits.
 Visible Gold                  Gold that can be observed with the naked eye within a rock sample or drill
                               core.
 XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence)      A non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental
                               composition of rocks and minerals.

 

 

 

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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