First Nickel Completes $2 Million Private Placement

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 06/01/11 -- First Nickel Inc. ('First Nickel' or the 'Company') (TSX: FNI) announces that it completed a private placement offering (the 'Offering') of $2,046,000 through the issuance of 11,370,000 common shares of the Company issued on a flow-through basis at a price of $0.18 per share.

The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for funding of the Company's exploration programs. The Company paid a 7% cash finder's fee to Pope & Company Limited and issued 795,900 common share purchase warrants (the 'Finder's Warrants') to Pope & Company Limited. Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.18 per share until May 31, 2013.

About First Nickel

First Nickel is a Canadian mining and exploration company. Its current activities are primarily focused on the Sudbury Basin in northern Ontario, the location of the Company's redevelopment stage property (the Lockerby Mine) and two of its exploration properties. First Nickel also has exploration properties in the Timmins region of northern Ontario and the Belmont region of Eastern Ontario. First Nickel's shares are traded on the TSX under the symbol FNI.

Some of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements, such as statements that describe First Nickel's future plans, intentions, objectives or goals, and specifically include but are not limited to future expenditures on the Company's exploration properties. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements depending on, among others, such key factors as described in the Company's most recently filed Annual Information Form under the heading 'Risk Factors' which has been filed electronically by means of the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ('SEDAR') located at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements included in this document represent First Nickel's views as of the date of this document and subsequent events and developments may cause First Nickel's views to change. Readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

First Nickel Inc.

William Anderson

President & CEO

(416) 362-7050

(416) 362-9050 (FAX)
wanderson@firstnickel.com