Calgary, Alberta — February 24, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Fathom Nickel Inc. is set to commence drilling at its Gochager Lake project during the first week of March, following the completion of the winter trail and mobilization of necessary equipment.
The company (CSE: FNI) (FSE: 6Q5) (OTCQB: FNICF) is fully funded for the proposed 3,000-to-4,000-meter drill program.
Ian Fraser, Fathom CEO and VP Exploration, acknowledged the field crews’ efforts in establishing the winter trail despite weather and wildfire-related challenges. He noted the company plans to begin drilling by the first week of March. The initial drillholes will target the ‘Camp’ multi-element soil/rock geochemical anomaly, located 1.5km along strike of the historic deposit.
The expanded footprint and potential scale at the project is supported by the mapped Gochager-like geology/mineralization recognized 3.5km along strike east-northeast of the deposit. Drillholes will also assess the strike extension of the historic deposit to the immediate east-northeast, targeting an area of favorable geology and geochemistry extending over 500 meters towards Scurry Lake.
If the entire drill program is not completed by spring break-up in mid-April, the company intends to conclude it in late-May/early-June 2026.
Figure 1 highlights the >8km trend defined by the Ni in-soil geochemical anomaly, supported by anomalous Cu, Co, Mg, and Cr. The east-northeast trend aligns with mineralized variable-texture gabbro mapped in outcrop up to 3.5km along trend of the deposit.
Figure 2 shows initial drill target priority areas, including:
Area A – The Camp anomaly is defined by the >900m long multi-element soil geochemical anomaly associated with mapped outcrops of variable-texture gabbro and mafic to ultramafic rock. Elevated Cu, coincident with elevated Ni in rock samples, strongly indicates control by magmatic sulphide processes. A mapped and sampled outcrop occurring between Scurry and Rainbow Lakes that mimics the deposit stratigraphy and, specifically, mineralized variable-texture gabbro, has a Ni-tenor of 4.51% Ni* (Fathom Press Release January 28, 2026). Furthermore, rock grab samples collected in this area returned anomalous Pt values (40-60ppb), and Pd values (20-30ppb).
Area B – Gochager East Extension Anomalies cover the >500m distance along strike east-northeast of the Gochager Lake deposit to the shore of Scurry Lake. Within this area, the soil anomalies exhibit a stronger response than the Gochager deposit. EM anomalies, defined by surface geophysical surveys remain untested, and off-hole BHEM anomalies from drillhole GL23011 remain untested. Mapped geology confirms the extension of mineralized variable-texture gabbro, and Ni-tenors up to 5% Ni* in outcrop have been recorded. Coincident with elevated Ni in outcrop, elevated Cu is prominent which strongly suggests a magmatic sulphide control.
Area C – The North Gochager Lake Anomaly defines the highest Ni in-soil geochemical anomaly observed to date (1650 ppm Ni, 116.5ppm Cu, 373ppm Co). Rock samples collected (grab, and pXRF chip samples) at this anomaly returned elevated Ni, Cu, Cu but in a non-mafic to ultramafic rock type. Drilling here is designed to better understand the geology and to ascertain a possible subsurface, mineralized mafic-ultramafic body as the source of the multi-element soil geochemical anomaly.
Area D – The Wolf Lake Anomaly is a standalone multi-element (Ni, Cu, Co, Mg, Cr) soil anomaly measuring 1500m x 400m (note: the anomaly not fully defined due to the gap in data caused by the 2025 wildfire). Drilling in this area is designed to gain an understanding of the underlying geology. An initial understanding of the Wolf Lake Anomaly will impact follow-up summer field activities and surface geophysics in the area. It is unlikely that this target will be tested during the winter drilling campaign due to logistical and time constraints.
Fathom uses a portable Vanta™ XRF Analyzer to provide real-time lithogeochemical, multi-element data on surface rock chip samples and rock grab samples collected in the field.
Ian Fraser, P.Geo., CEO, VP Exploration and a Director of the Company and the “qualified person” as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of the Company.
Fathom Nickel Inc. is focused on magmatic nickel sulphide discoveries to secure North American Critical Minerals and support the global green energy transition. The company has three exploration projects in Saskatchewan: the Albert Lake Project, the Gochager Lake Project, and the Friesen Lake Project.
*Ni-tenor is the quantity of nickel contained within the sulphide component of the rock. At the Gochager Lake deposit, various styles of sulphide mineralization in gabbroic and ultramafic rock demonstrate Ni-tenors ranging from 2% to 5%. Ni-tenor is the percentage of nickel in sulphide only and is reported as the weight percent nickel in 100% sulphide. Fathom only reports Ni-tenor calculations in drill core and rock assay samples where assays report ≥1% sulphur. Calculations on samples below 1% sulphur tend to be inaccurate with respect to contained nickel in the sulphide component.
Source: Fathom Nickel Inc.
