Mr. Keith Morrison reports

PREMIUM NICKEL RESOURCES LTD. REPORTS ASSAYS ON HISTORIC CORE SAMPLES FROM SELKIRK PROPERTY AND BULK TONNAGE OPEN PIT POTENTIAL

Premium Nickel Resources Ltd. has released the first assay results from historic 2016 core sampling and has provided an update on its 100-per-cent-owned Selkirk nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum-group-elements (Ni-Cu-Co-PGE) sulphide mine in Botswana.

The Selkirk mine is located 28 kilometres southeast of the town of Francistown, and 75 kilometres north of the company's 100-per-cent-owned Selebi mine. The Selkirk mine was acquired through an asset purchase agreement with the liquidator of Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) (see the company's news release dated Aug. 22, 2022). The company has been carrying out due diligence on the project since 2021 for the purpose of supporting a redevelopment plan for the Selkirk mine. Most recently, the company announced that it had completed a concept-level metallurgical study that demonstrated the theoretical feasibility of producing separate nickel and copper concentrates with potentially significant PGE content (see the company's news release dated Aug. 24, 2022).

The samples submitted for the 2021 metallurgical study were obtained from unsampled 2016 TNMC core from drill hole DSLK278. DSLK278 is positioned 50 metres away from the previous underground production workings. The company assayed a total of five historic TNMC drill holes and assay results are pending from four remaining holes. The assay results from drill hole DSLK278 are reported herein.

Highlights include:

• DSLK278: 139.52 metres grading 0.46 per cent nickel, 0.54 per cent copper, 0.03 per cent cobalt, 0.210 gram per tonne platinum, 0.888 g/t palladium, 0.093 g/t gold, including:
  • 24 metres grading 0.64 per cent nickel, 0.64 per cent copper, 0.03 per cent cobalt, 0.289 g/t platinum, 1.139 g/t palladium, 0.116 g/t gold;
  • Four metres grading 0.90 per cent nickel, 0.58 per cent copper, 0.05 per cent cobalt, 0.373 g/t platinum, 1.664 g/t palladium, 0.096 g/t gold;
  • Eight metres grading 0.62 per cent nickel, 1 per cent copper, 0.03 per cent cobalt, 0.318 g/t platinum, 1.183 g/t palladium, 0.193 g/t gold.

Keith Morrison, chief executive officer, commented: "The Selkirk mine was operated as a high-grade underground mine by Anglo American from 1989 to 2002. This news release summarizes the subsequent technical work completed by previous operators to redevelop Selkirk as an open-pit mine by transporting the run-of-mine material 15 kilometres north to the Phoenix mine. There, the material would be crushed and processed to produce a low-grade concentrate to ship to the former BCL smelter in Selebi Phikwe. The former BCL smelter produced a Ni-Cu matte that was exported for further refining. However, we understand that BCL was not paid for the cobalt, platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold or silver in the matte; they were only credited the Ni and Cu values. The company's current strategy would be to justify, with further data, the redevelopment of the Selkirk deposit as an open-pit mine using modern technologies to produce high-grade and full-value concentrates for direct export or further local beneficiation not requiring local smelting. We will outline our plan to advance the current Selkirk data sets into NI 43-101 compliance in future news releases."

The Selkirk Ni-Cu-Co-PGE deposit is classified as a magmatic sulphide deposit, with massive and local vein-type sulphides, but primarily occurs as a homogenous, uniformly distributed, disseminated sulphide zone hosted in a taxitic metagabbro.

The massive sulphide body was historically developed between 1989 and 2002 using an underhand room and pillar mining method.

Prior to mining operations, the high-grade massive sulphides extended from near surface over a plunge distance of about 200 metres (150 metres vertical depth) and a strike length of about 150 metres and average thickness of 20 metres. On the hangingwall and footwall of this deposit lies a halo of disseminated sulphides, averaging approximately 100 metres in thickness, grading about 0.3 per cent Ni and extending down plunge to unknown depths.

This larger volume of disseminated sulphides was previously evaluated by operators of TNMC. Since 2003, a total of 71,775.35 metres in 273 holes have been drilled to evaluate Selkirk and its down-plunge potential.

Most recently, when TNMC closed operations at the Selkirk mine, Worley Parsons was working on a feasibility study with an intention of commencing operations in 2017. To that end, TNMC had received government approval for its environmental management plan (EMP) that included an archeological assessment in support of the foregoing.

The company has been conducting geological due diligence and collecting additional information and on the Selkirk deposit to justify, with further data, its redevelopment plan. The data verification efforts include examination and sampling of the underground workings, reviewing mineralized drill core, collecting DGPS co-ordinates of drill collars, and quality assessment of information in databases. The company intends to include these findings in its National Instrument 43-101 report, expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

As part of the core review, five unsampled, HQ-sized core (63.5 millimetres) holes, drilled immediately prior to the closure of Tati operations, were identified. These five holes were taken to the core processing facility at Phikwe, where they were sampled in approximately one-metre intervals, bagged and sent for assays. The results for DSLK278 are reported herein. A total of 56 half core samples were sent to SGS Canada in Lakefield, Ont., for metallurgical studies, with the pulps sent to ALS Global in Vancouver, Canada, for a wider analysis. In addition, 210-1/4 core samples were sent to ALS Global in Johannesburg.

These assays are relevant as they provide the company with an expanded suite of analytical data through a critical part of the historic resource, providing an indication of the abundance of other elements.

For the metallurgical study samples sent to Canada, each of ALS Global in Canada and SGS Canada reported on select intervals between 63 metres and 177 metres. While the reliability of such assays cannot be confirmed as no quality assurance/quality control protocols were adopted, the results of two independent labs (both testing for copper and nickel) have subsequently been confirmed by Sharon Taylor, chief geophysicist of the company, to be consistent.

Separate from these samples, ALS Johannesburg reported on select intervals between 74 and 214 metres, in two separate batches, where QA/QC protocols were adopted.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ms. Taylor, chief geophysicist of the company, who is a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

Historical estimates

The mineral resource estimates presented herein are considered to be historical in nature and should not be relied upon as a current mineral resource estimate. While management believes that these historical mineral resource estimates could be indicative of the presence of mineralization on the Selkirk mine property, a qualified person (for purposes of NI 43-101) has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical mineral estimate as a current mineral resource estimate and the company is not treating the historical mineral estimates as current mineral resource estimate.

QA/QC

Drill hole DSLK278 assay results were cut in half by a diamond saw at the core processing facility in Phikwe, with select intervals cut into quarter core. The remaining half or three-quarters of the core is retained for reference purposes. Samples are generally one-to-1.5-metre intervals or less at the discretion of the site geologists. Sample preparation and lab analysis were completed at the ALS Global in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The samples submitted to the South African branch had commercially prepared blank samples and certified Cu/Ni sulphide analytical control standards with a range of grades inserted in every batch of 20 samples or a minimum of one set per sample batch. Analyses for Ni, Cu and Co are completed using a peroxide fusion preparation and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy finish (ME-ICP81). Analyses for Pt, Pd and Au are by fire assay (30-gram nominal sample weight) with an ICP-AES finish (PGM-ICP23).

SGS Minerals Lakefield and ALS Geochemistry sites are accredited and operate under the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 for specific tests as listed on their scope of accreditation, including geochemical, mineralogical and trade mineral tests.

About Premium Nickel Resources Ltd.

Premium Nickel is a Canadian company dedicated to the exploration and development of high-quality nickel-copper plus cobalt resources. Premium Nickel believes that the medium- to long-term demand for these metals will continue to grow through global urbanization and the increasing replacement of internal combustion engines with electric motors. Importantly, these metals are key to a low-carbon future.

Premium Nickel maintains a skilled team with strong financial, technical and operational expertise to take an asset from discovery to exploration to mining.

Premium Nickel has focused its efforts on discovering world-class nickel sulphide assets in jurisdictions with rule of law that fit strict criteria that comply with Premium Nickel's values and principles which stand up and surpass the highest acceptable industry standards. Premium Nickel is committed to governance through transparent accountability and open communication within its team and its stakeholders.

On Jan. 31, 2022, Premium Nickel closed the acquisition of Premium Nickel's flagship asset, the Selebi mine. The Selebi mine includes two shafts (Selebi and Selebi North shafts) and related infrastructure (rail, power and water). Shaft sinking and plant construction started in 1970. Mining concluded in October, 2016, when the operations were placed on care and maintenance due to a failure in the separate and off-site processing facility. The Selebi mine was subsequently placed under liquidation in 2017.

The proposed work plan for the Selebi mine includes diamond drilling, which is expected to be continuing for up to 18 months. During that time, additional metallurgical samples will be collected and sent for more detailed studies. The underground infrastructure at Selebi North will be upgraded to support an underground drilling program as well as improve health and safety.

In addition, Premium Nickel is evaluating direct and indirect nickel asset acquisition opportunities globally, and also: (i) holds a 100-per-cent interest in the Selkirk mining licence and four prospecting licences in Botswana; (ii) holds a 100-per-cent interest in the Maniitsoq property in Greenland, which is a camp-scale permitted exploration project comprising 3,048 square kilometres covering numerous high-grade nickel-copper plus cobalt-sulphide occurrences associated with norite and other mafic-ultramafic intrusions of the Greenland norite belt; (iii) holds a 100-per-cent interest in the Post Creek/Halcyon property in Sudbury, Ont., which is strategically located adjacent to the past-producing Podolsky copper-nickel-precious-metal sulphide deposit of KGHM International Ltd.; (iv) holds a 100-per-cent ownership of property in the Quetico region near Thunder Bay, Ont.; and (v) is expanding its area of exploration interest into Morocco.

We seek Safe Harbor.