Porcupine Property Expanded and Diamond Drilling Permit Received Porcupine Base Metal - Precious Metal - REE Property

Vancouver - Fort St. James Nickel Corp. (TSXV.FTJ.H) (“FTJ” or “The Company”) is pleased to announce that a diamond drilling permit has been received for its Porcupine Base Metal - Precious Metal - Rare Earth Element (REE) Property, located in central New Brunswick. The drilling permit is for up to 10 holes. The permit was granted by the New Brunswick Dept. of Energy and Resource Development to Great Atlantic Resources Corp., the Company’s option partner and operator on the Porcupine Property. Drilling is planned in the spring of 2018, the focus being an area of zinc, lead, copper and silver mineralization. Additional mineral claims have been staked, expanding the Porcupine Property to the north to cover an area of reported lead mineralization associated with Ordovician volcanic rocks.

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The Porcupine Property occurs within the Miramichi terrane which trends northeast-southwest through New Brunswick. The Miramichi terrane hosts numerous volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in northeast New Brunswick in the famous Bathurst Camp. Many of these deposits were mined, including the historic Heath Steele mine, located approximately 40km northeast of the Porcupine Property. Volcanic rocks are reported locally within the Porcupine Property.

Lead, zinc, copper and silver mineralization occurs in both boulders and bedrock in the central region of the Porcupine Property. Great Atlantic Resources Corp. discovered a mineralized zone in a trench (Line 4W Trench) in this region during 2012. A one meter channel sample across this zone returned 5.48% zinc and 1.08% lead. This zone was reported to be within sheared volcanic rocks. A qualified person has not verified this data as the sample location is no longer evident in the trench. A qualified person has verified lead, zinc and copper sulfide mineralization in stringers / veins in altered and sheared volcanic rocks within this approximately 25m long east-west trench. Great Atlantic collected grab samples of mineralized boulders during 2012 from another trench (Line 3W Trench), located 50 metres east of the Line 4W Trench. One grab sample returned 20.7% lead, 6.89% zinc, 2.04% copper and 122 grams / tonne (g/t) silver. A qualified person has not verified these boulders / data as the trench has been reclaimed. The 2012 trench samples and lab inserted blank, duplicate and standard samples were analyzed by Activation Laboratories Ltd. (Ancaster, Ontario) by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and Four Acid Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). (Activation Laboratories is independent of FTJ and Great Atlantic Resources Corp.).

Planned diamond drilling in 2018 will focus on the central region of the property in the area of the Line 3W and Line 4W Trenches including the area in the reported up-ice direction.

2012 Line 4W Trench (channel sample of 5.48% Zn & 1.08% Pb / 1m)

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Lead and zinc sulfide mineralization in Line 4W Trench

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Soil geochemical anomalies are reported locally in the southern region of the property including cobalt, lead, tungsten and REE anomalies. A qualified person has verified the soil geochemical  data. A qualified person managed the 2015 soil geochemical survey and verified associated data including sample locations and analytical data. The 2015 soil samples (and lab inserted blank, standard and duplicate samples) were analyzed by ALS Minerals in Sudbury, Ontario by Fire Assay – Atomic Absorption (AA) for gold and for 33 elements by four acid – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The sources of these anomalies have not been located. The Company is planning additional work in this region during 2018 to establish drill targets. ALS Minerals is independent of FTJ and Great Atlantic Resources Corp.

The Porcupine Property has been recently expanded further north through staking of additional claims. The new claims cover an area of reported lead sulfide mineralization (galena), reported to occur at the contact of Ordovician felsic volcanic rocks and interbedded sedimentary rocks (source: New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development Mineral Occurrence Database). A qualified person has not verified this reported mineralization due to winter conditions. The property currently covers an area of approximately 2,830 hectares. 

The Porcupine Property is located in central New Brunswick approximately 50 kilometres west of the city of Miramichi. Access is excellent with logging roads transecting the property.  

David Martin, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, is responsible for the technical information contained in this News Release.  Mr. Martin is the consultant for Fort St. James Nickel Corp. and VP Exploration for Great Atlantic Resources Corp.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Barry Brown,

President

Fort St. James Nickel Corp.: 604-488-3900

This News Release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the acquisition of certain mineral claims. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements and FTJ undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be successful.

Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates, including that: the current price of and demand for minerals being targeted by the Company will be sustained or will improve; the Company will be able to obtain required exploration licences and other permits; general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner; financing will be available if and when needed on reasonable terms; the Company will not experience any material accident; and the Company will be able to identify and acquire additional mineral interests on reasonable terms or at all. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. In particular, there is no guarantee that exploration work, as proposed, or otherwise, will be completed on the Property. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: that resource exploration and development is a speculative business; that environmental laws and regulations may become more onerous; that the Company may not be able to raise additional funds when necessary; fluctuating prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition; potential inability to find suitable acquisition opportunities and/or complete the same; and other risks and uncertainties.

Source: Fort St. James Nickel Corp. (TSX Venture:FTJ.H)