Results Of Comprehensive Preliminary Economic Assessment For Production Of High-grade Nickel Concentrate

VANCOUVER - Giga Metals Corp. reported the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) for the Turnagain Nickel-Cobalt Project located 65 km east of Dease Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The PEA is an update of the 2011 PEA confirming the ability of Turnagain to produce high-quality nickel concentrate, such as that needed to make pure nickel products for the electric vehicle (EV) market, in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. The PEA has been prepared by Hatch Ltd, a global engineering company with substantial expertise in the mining sector, with input from Hatch personnel and industry expert consultants including Wood Mackenzie (nickel and cobalt markets, smelter terms), Blue Coast Metallurgy (process design), Knight Piesold (tailings and water management), Kerr Wood Leidal (power supply and costs), and Kirkham Geosystems (resource model and estimates). Giga Metals' primary driver for this update was to deliver a reliable and comprehensive PEA incorporating all project-related components for use for discussion with strategic investors, for targeting improvement opportunities, and to serve as a base for future engineering studies.

The PEA indicates a long-life, large-scale project. With a projected build capital of US$1.4B (Phase 1) and US$0.5B (Phase 2) including significant investment for a powerline delivering low-cost, clean, low-carbon power from BC Hydro (mainly hydroelectric), the projected capital intensity is US$51,500 per annual tonne nickel at full rates (years 6 to 20). At full rate (years 6 to 20), the project is expected to deliver 37,149 tonnes per year of nickel in a high-grade nickel concentrate at an operating cost of US$3.20/lb nickel before by-product credits at the plant gate (all production data are metal in produced concentrate), or US$3.04/lb nickel after credits and shipping (in concentrate, delivered CIF Asia port). At metals prices of U.S. $7.50 per pound of nickel and smelter terms of 78% NSR as provided by Wood Mackenzie, Turnagain is expected to have a pre-tax IRR of 6.3%. At the environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-premium pricing1 case, the project is expected to have a pre-tax IRR of 9.4%. The base case pricing is based on a relatively conservative EV demand forecast creating a nickel shortfall after 2030 growing to 1.3 Mt/y by 2040. This projected deficit requires more than 35 Turnagain-scale projects to fill.

Based on the resources previously disclosed including 1.07 billion tonnes of Measured and Indicated and 1.1 billion tonnes of Inferred (respectively, 5.2 billion pounds and 5.5 billion pounds of nickel content), the project is expected to operate for at least 35 years, producing 1.2 million tonnes of nickel-in-concentrate at an average grade of 18% nickel and 1% cobalt, comparable to the best nickel concentrates currently produced in the world. At this stage, the PEA does not include valuation of potentially significant opportunities identified such as carbon sequestration from the waste residue (tailings) to be deposited in the Tailings Management Facility (TMF). The Company is actively working on quantifying carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration rates through independent scientific research currently ongoing at the University of British Columbia by Dr. Greg Dipple. Giga Metals is targeting to minimize the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of the Turnagain mine once operational and CO2 sequestration by the TMF is expected to help achieve the goal of CO2 neutrality in future years.