New Age Metals Launches 2026 Exploration Program at River Valley PGM Project
Rockport, Ontario — February 4, 2026 — Leads & Copy —
New Age Metals Inc. has commenced its 2026 platinum group metal exploration program at its 100%-owned River Valley Project, located approximately 100 km east of Sudbury, Ontario.
The exploration program is part of NAM’s growth strategy to expand its PGM portfolio through strategic acquisitions across North America, highlighted by the company’s recent acquisition of the Northern Shield Project in Ontario’s Ring of Fire.
Phase 1 of the two-phase exploration program will focus on a DasVision 3D Induced Polarization (IP) survey over the Mustang Zone, southeast along strike from the main River Valley mineralized trend on NAM’s mining leases.
Abitibi Geophysics of Val-d’Or, Québec, is carrying out the survey. The program is designed to generate high-priority drill targets and support the expansion and upgrading of mineral resources within the underexplored Mustang Zone.
Highlights of the program include:
A 3-year exploration permit is in place for the River Valley Project, covering geophysical surveys and drilling on the Mustang Property.
A contract has been signed with Abitibi Geophysics for the DasVision 3D IP survey and interpretation, which is now underway. Survey results will generate priority targets for drill testing in 2026.
Platinum and copper prices are at recent multi-year highs, with palladium and rhodium rebounding strongly from lows in early 2025, reinforcing the strategic value of PGM-Cu exploration.
NAM is advancing a joint venture strategy for the 4.5 km Mustang Zone to bring in a strategic PGM partner while the Company prioritizes development of its core River Valley resource area.
The Company maintains ongoing engagement with Nipissing First Nation pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding at River Valley.
According to Harry Barr, Chairman and CEO, the company is utilizing the first-ever DasVision 3D IP survey on the property, marking the first systematic exploration work on the 4.5-kilometre-long Mustang Zone since 2002.
Barr said platinum and copper prices are at recent highs, while palladium and rhodium have rebounded strongly from their 2023–2025 lows, adding that the macroeconomic backdrop for critical metals has rarely been more supportive for the mining industry.
As exploration advances on the Mustang Zone, the survey is expected to generate high-quality drill targets that will help unlock additional value for shareholders and further enhance River Valley’s standing as one of North America’s premier development-stage PGM assets, Barr added.
DasVision 3D IP is a ground distributed array system that utilizes independent receivers, avoiding wiring between receivers. The setup surveys large systems at depths exceeding 1,000 metres, while retaining high resolution and still performing well on shallower targets.
Unlike traditional 2D IP surveys collected along individual lines, the 3D IP survey is conducted over a grid, providing improved resolution and subsurface modeling in geologically complex environments.
The goals of the DasVision Survey at Mustang are to:
Generate Mineral Resource targets for in-fill drilling and conversion of Inferred to Indicated Mineral Resources.
Generate exploration targets along strike and at depth for expansion of the Mineral Resources.
Cover gaps in historical 2D IP surveys completed by a prior operator; and map the location and the geometry of the Mustang Zone in 3D space.
The IP survey is designed to cover the mineralized domains in the Mustang Mineralized Trend that are included in the current Mineral Resources. The survey length is 53 line-km, which started in January, and is slated for completion in February 2026.
The survey is designed to achieve a depth of investigation of at least 350 m below surface, which is approximately 200 m below the average depth of the historical (2000 to 2002) drilling completed at Mustang.
The IP survey will provide high-resolution 3D depth inversions of chargeability and resistivity features with advanced interpretations and recommendations for priority targets and drill testing.
PGM-Cu mineralization at Mustang was discovered by Mustang Minerals in 1999 and appears to be hosted in the same geological unit of the Paleoproterozoic River Valley Intrusion that hosts the 11 km-long PGM-Cu mineralized zones along strike to the north of Mustang on NAM’s original River Valley Property.
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (“Implats”) signed an option agreement in 1999 with Mustang Minerals to earn 60% interest in the Mustang Property, but ceased work in February 2003 after spending $3.8 million.
Drilling traced the mineralized zone from the Razor Zone in the northwest for a distance of 4.5 km to the southeast along strike within the River Valley Intrusion. New Age Metals acquired the Mustang Property in August, 2016.
Mineral Resources Estimates for the Mustang Zone were generated for the 2019 and 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessments of the River Valley Project. The current (2023) Mineral Resource Estimates for the Mustang Zone are summarized in Table 2 of the original release.
The restart of exploration in 2026 at Mustang is driven largely by metal prices and resurgent metals prices of Pd and Rh. The 4.5 km long Mustang Zone has not been subject to systematic exploration since 2002.
New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery, exploration, and development of critical green metal projects in North America.
The company has three divisions: a Platinum Group Element division, a Lithium/Rare Metals division, an Antimony-Gold Division as well as an investment in MetalQuest Mining’s (TSXV:MQM | OTC:MQMIF) high purity Lac Otelnuk Iron Project.
The PGM Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce, district-scale River Valley Project. In addition to River Valley, NAM owns 100% of the Genesis PGM-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.
New Age Metals’ Antimony–Gold division is located in Newfoundland and comprises a land package across 11 properties. Management has completed Phase 1 exploration and has now finished Phase 2 fieldwork.
On January 21st 2026, New Age Metals announced the acquisition of the Northern Shield PGM-Copper-Nickel Project located in Ontario’s Ring of Fire Region.
The Bonanza Ridge Gold and Critical Metals Project has been significantly expanded with the option agreements for the Lavender Lake and South Gibi Lake properties, adding ground in the Kenora Gold District of northwestern Ontario.
The company is establishing a Kenora, Ontario based field operations hub to support exploration activities across Northwestern Ontario and Eastern Manitoba.
The Company’s Lithium Division is exploring hard rock lithium and various rare elements and is developing its lithium division in conjunction with its Farm-in/Joint Venture agreement with Mineral Resources Ltd.
New Age Metals Inc. is supporting a Mitacs research grant through its contribution. This academic partnership with the University of New Brunswick and the University of British Columbia is focused on understanding the origin and controls of lithium pegmatite mineralization in the Cat Lake–Winnipeg River field.
The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for its Genesis PGM-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska.
On August 6, 2025, New Age Metals announced an additional investment in MetalQuest Mining inc. MetalQuest Mining inc. is developing one of North Americas largest iron projects.
MetalQuest Mining has secured the ROF-1 Project, a district-scale critical minerals land package in Ontario’s Ring of Fire totaling 1,034 claim cells. Management is currently aggressively seeking new mineral acquisition opportunities on an international scale.
Source: New Age Metals Inc.
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