What have been the main developments for Osisko Metals over the past 12 months?

In partnership with Appian Capital Advisory, Osisko Metals is developing the Pine Point lead-zinc project in Canada’s Northwest Territories, and we are fully financed and have free carry-to production decisions on a four-year timeline. The project is advancing well, and we recently announced a new resource estimate which will allow us to move to trade-off studies for the feasibility that have already begun.

Gaspé Copper is also advancing quickly, and we have recently announced an updated MRE at Copper Mountain which comprises an open-pit Indicated Resource of 495 million t grading 0.37% CuEq, representing a 30% increase in copper-equivalent metal content over the previously reported copper-only Inferred Resource of 2022. We have completed the first stage of metallurgical work and are extremely happy not only with the copper recoveries and the quality of the copper concentrate, but are also now confident that we can produce a valuable molybdenum byproduct, with the price of molybdenum by weight now being worth approximately six times that of copper. The recovery rate for the molybdenum was approximately 65%, which is good because if we had not been able to separate the molybdenum from the copper, our copper concentrate would have had high molybdenum and would have therefore carried a penalty.

Osisko Metals is advancing both projects in parallel, but in terms of investment, Pine Point benefitted from Appian’s C$75 million investment to advance it to a final investment decision. Gaspé Copper is approximately a year behind the Pine Point timeline; in 2024 we will complete a drill program that will give us the resource base we need to complete the PEA by Q1 2025, and then we will be in a position with Measured and Indicated resources to move directly into feasibility. Molybdenum is a critical mineral in Europe. Are Canada and North America treating it the same way?

North America does not characterize molybdenum as a critical mineral as it is not critical to the energy transition. Molybdenum is used mostly for specialty steel alloys for the aerospace industry and pipelines. What are the impacts for local communities?

The local economy in the Gaspé region of Québec is struggling as the shrimp industry has recently been hit by a moratorium, resulting in the shutdown of the biggest shrimp factory in the area, and aside from tourism, all the industries are hit hard. The socio-economic development offered by a project such as Gaspé Copper is what the region needs now as it creates huge amounts of jobs and generates significant wealth. The cost of developing a mining project is an expenditure to the company, but it is money injected into the region’s economy. In the case of Gaspé Copper, if we produce 3.2 billion lb of copper at C$5, it is C$15 billion worth of wealth created in the economy. The challenge is always how that wealth is going to be redistributed amongst shareholders, workers, taxes, government, etc., but the wealth creation remains real. How do you assess Québec’s ability to spearhead the energy transition in North America?

Québec is in a position where it still has access to relatively inexpensive industrial energy, although those budgets are getting tight as well. Secondly, in terms of production, Québec might not be a leader in copper production, as to my knowledge, Gaspé Copper is the last big copper resource left in the province, but from a lithium and graphite perspective there is enormous potential, and the province could certainly become a leader in the production of these critical resources. What are the key priorities for Osisko Metals in 2024 and beyond?

Copper, and to a lesser extent zinc and lead, are all critical minerals in demand, and Osisko Metals remains extremely bullish on the pricing of these commodities. We will continue to drive both our projects to production, and if the right offer comes along, we will certainly look at it. The value for potential sale significantly increases with permitting, and Osisko Metals will thus focus on getting our projects to FID and permitted, all this will be done over the next four/five years in the context of rising metal prices, which makes the company a good long term investment and bet on critical minerals.