Arctic Minerals: Exploration progressing towards mine planning

Flagship project with a “starter resource” and clear upside potential

Following the acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals in October 2024 and an intense year of restructuring, Arctic Minerals has clearly emerged as a company that has undergone a fundamental transformation. Today, the company is well positioned for exposure to key metals – copper and silver – which are increasingly recognised as critical to the ongoing electrification trend, driven by rising demand across industry, infrastructure, and technological development.

Over the past year, Arctic Minerals has established Hennes Bay as its flagship asset – a copper-silver project in Sweden with an initial JORC-compliant mineral resource of 55.39 Mt at 1.0% CuEq (0.8% Cu and 20.8 g/t Ag), corresponding to 543 kt CuEq (447 kt Cu and 36.99 Moz Ag). While the resource is at an early stage, classified as 100% Inferred, the company highlights that only a limited portion of the prospective area has been tested and that modern exploration activity has been sparse for an extended period. This leaves meaningful potential, in a favourable scenario, for both resource growth and new discoveries.

Experienced management increases the likelihood of success

Following a board reorganisation completed in 2025, the company has also strengthened its operational management team. Peter George has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while Erik Lundstam has been appointed Deputy CEO and Chief Geologist. Both bring experience from Nordic as well as international mining projects. Taken together, this is assessed to improve the company’s ability to advance Hennes Bay towards a producing mine.

Management’s ability to prioritise the right drill targets, maintain momentum in project execution, and deliver high-quality decision-making material should not be underestimated, as these factors often have a material impact on both project progression and how the market values the next development steps.

Clear steps towards mine development

Value creation at Hennes Bay is anchored in the existing starter resource, which is based on approximately 8,900 metres of historical drilling, and the opportunity to progressively strengthen the geological foundation through the addition of new data points. Continued drilling therefore represents the most important operational catalyst, as it can help confirm geological continuity, close data gaps, and over time enable an upgrade from Inferred resources to more robust classification categories. At the same time, drilling programmes provide the opportunity to test new targets and extensions which, if successful, could expand the footprint of the project and indicate a larger mineralised system than is currently defined.

The company has also communicated an ambition to materially increase the resource base over time. In interviews, CEO Peter George has outlined a long-term target of exceeding 300 million tonnes in resources, which, if achieved, would represent a substantial scale-up compared to the current level and position Hennes Bay in the upper range among new copper-silver projects, even from a global comparison perspective.

In parallel with resource expansion efforts, the company is progressing several workstreams that, upon reaching defined milestones, may influence market perception of the project. Among these, an initial underground concept study was presented in mid-2025. The study represents an early step towards a more structured decision-making framework and includes preliminary assumptions regarding mine design, processing routes and metallurgy, as well as an initial outline of operating cost parameters and logistics. The company has also stated that preparatory work for a future PEA has commenced, with indications that additional results may be presented during the 2026–2027 period.

We see an interesting year ahead, as the company is set to commence a drilling programme of approximately 4,000 metres, which appears to have strong potential to materially increase the size of the Hennes Bay resource.

Beyond company-specific developments, the project is advancing against a market backdrop where copper supply has struggled to keep pace with demand. This tight supply–demand balance has provided support for copper prices and creates a favourable macro environment for the advancement of new projects.