Can you provide background on the genesis of Clean Air Metals?

Rio Tinto and Panoramic Resources collectively spent about C$100 million on the Escape and Current projects prior to them being consolidated into Clean Air Metals. The transaction was put together by Benton Resources, when Stephen Stares convinced Rio Tinto to sell the asset as part of a different opportunity they wanted to pursue with Benton in the region. To Steve's credit, he had the presence of mind to negotiate the purchase of the Escape deposit for C$6 million. Once he had Rio's signed consent, he went to Panoramic and convinced them to pitch their asset into the deal for C$9 million. This meant that Clean Air spent 15 cents on the dollar (C$15 million overall) for two high-grade platinum-palladium-copper-nickel assets.

Myself along with Jim Gallagher, our Executive Chairman, and former CEO of North American Palladium, who sold the Lac des Iles mine to Implats South Africa were recruited to bring the company public and progress the assets forward. We now had two assets in the same company that had previously been separate, but now could be developed at scale. Once we had that, we decided that this is going to be an underground situation instead of a potential open pit, which is what Panoramic had looked at. This strategic pivot allowed us to gain First Nation consent and support. Today we have a C$425 million project on something we paid C$15 million for two and a half years ago. That is clear value creation.

What have been some of the key milestones in 2022 for Clean Air Metals?

Our number one milestone was the publication of the PEA in January of 2022. That kicked off the year, and it confirmed that based on the mineral resource that we published in January of 2021, we could build out a 10 year mine plan on the two assets, providing feed to a single mill with fully discounted cash flows of C$425 million with a 31% IRR on initial capital of C$367 million. On a full after tax basis, we are running about C$300 million NAV with a 25% IRR, which is still robust, so we are confident we have a project here. The next step was to hire Mike Garbutt as COO who came to us from IAMGOLD where he was deputy general manager on the Côté mine build. To have an engineer of Mike's caliber join our team was our first validation moment. From there we initiated pre-feasibility studies with the hiring of DRA Global to do metallurgical optimization and process plant design. In January 2023, we announced the appointment of BBA as mining prime contract responsible for the ultimate mine design at Thunder Bay North. The next milestones ahead are to do pre-feasibility level engineering, and raise non-equity based strategic investment.

What makes your location just outside of Thunder Bay an advantageous one to explore, permit and build a mine?

There are big geopolitical advantages associated with being in Northwestern Ontario. All of North America is being driven by the climate change imperative, and President Biden is introducing legislation that will allocate US$350 billion of new spending toward incentives to promote climate mitigation technology. Where I live in Thunder Bay is about half an hour from the Thunder Bay North project. There are six operating mines including the Lac des Iles mine, only 60 kilometers to the northwest of us. To say we are mining friendly is an understatement. We are on a paved provincial highway and on a powerline, with some of the lowest capital intensity in our peer group. Moreover, the support of our indigenous partners for this green energy project is absolutely paramount. Nothing happens without their support, and we have an abundance of benefits to share with them as this project moves forward.

What is your strategy to raise the capital Clean Air Metals requires while minimizing dilution?

The market is waiting for Clean Air Metals to demonstrate proof of concept. These were orphaned assets sold at 15 cents on the dollar from what had been spent as sunk costs on the project. The market is skeptical that a couple castaway assets from major mining companies will lead to a successful outcome. The proof of concept is to demonstrate to the market with a pre-feasibility study that we hope to deliver in Q3 2023, that in fact, we can generate proven and probable reserves on these two assets together. This gives us scale, and by building out an underground mine on both, each supplying feed to a single mill, we will have a project with sound economics. There are various ways to provide validation moments and that includes strategic investment by a third party. The markets are in such a tough state right now driven by macroeconomic trends, that it is not the time for us to be raising equity financing, because it would do irreparable harm to our balance sheet. If we can leverage the asset now for a strategic financing, that is step number one. Step number two is to have a great asset with a team that can build it. The third aspect to this would be showing visibility on production financing, because as a C$25 million dollar junior, with a C$350 million project, that it owns 100% of, we need to establish partnerships, which are the time honored tradition in the Canadian mining industry. Joint venture with a strategic investor that can provide visibility to the market on project financing will ultimately enable us to reach production without potentially having to issue another share.

To what extent does the palladium-platinum mix at Thunder Bay North mitigate macro commodity price risk?

90% of the world's trend for the transportation fleet today is still internal combustion engines. Therefore, it is not going away anytime soon. This is a generational shift, and that is why I love Thunder Bay North with its 1:1 platinum to palladium ratio. We have perfect optionality no matter which way the economy goes.