Garrett Ainsworth

District Metals - Viken Project: New Drilling at Target Areas A & B

• Top takeaway The guest argues the goal at Viken is not to grow the world's biggest uranium resource or find higher grade — grade continuity across the alum shale is similar — but to pick the shallowest, thickest area with the best strip ratio and social/environmental fit.
• He says Target Areas A and B score well on siting: mostly woodland rather than the woodland-farmland mix of the PEA area, and far from the lake, while historical holes near Target Area A already hit 50 metres or more of mineralized alum shale.
• He contends the deposit's scale means a resource comes cheaply — about 9 holes on 300m spacing over 600m x 600m with 150m thickness could replicate the ~130 million tonnes underpinning the June PEA — so this program tests the best ridges before stepping out later.
• He points out the company is not chasing the Viken deposit's full 4.3 billion inferred tonnes; the 'sweet spot' is a mid-sized project with positive preliminary economics and better social acceptability, with alum shale optionality across about 150,000 hectares in Sweden.
• On Sweden, he was surprised by the post-election stock downdraft because the largest centre-left party is pro-nuclear, pro-mining, and on record supporting domestic uranium mining as a byproduct; he flags the pending national-interest designation (delayed from June to August and now 'soon') and government-form clarity as the key catalysts.

District Metals has started drilling Viken's target areas A and B, large conductive anomalies from an airborne MobileMT survey that outshine the known deposit. Alum shale continuity means a 600m by 600m area 150m thick can match the 130-million-tonne resource behind the project's positive preliminary economics. The company picks its mine area on more than geology: shallow, thick shale optimizes strip ratio (waste moved per unit of ore), plus woodland sites away from lakes ease permitting. Regional drilling hit graphitic black shale in all 15 holes across the Osterkalen and Malgomaj licenses, validating the geophysical model, though a lab method change may delay assays. Catalysts ahead include Viken drill results and a Geological Survey of Sweden national-interest decision; Sweden's largest center-left party is pro-nuclear and pro-mining.

District Metals - Swedish Election Recap, Uranium Policy Outlook, Fall Exploration Plans

• Top takeaway Argues it is very unlikely Sweden reverses on nuclear energy or on securing a domestic uranium supply, pointing to the Social Democrats' stance, their decades leading Swedish governments, and EU milestones for domestic critical raw materials that the Alum Shale deposits could help meet.
• Believes the Geological Survey of Sweden delayed the Beacon deposit's national interest designation to avoid swaying the election and now expects that decision sooner rather than later.
• Expresses confidence the designation will proceed, citing a neighbouring company that received the proposal for its Hagen deposit in April.
• Says about C$15 million in cash and full 2026 funding position the company to not just survive but thrive through the period of political uncertainty.
• Calls the current market cap of roughly C$83 million painful given the company's position, attributing the weakness to election-driven uncertainty.

Sweden's hung parliament leaves coalition talks open for months, and the outcome will steer mining and uranium policy that District Metals depends on. The guest argues the likely lead governing party, the Social Democrats, is pro-nuclear, pro-mining, and backs uranium mining as a by-product. The Viken deposit's national interest designation was delayed past the election and only takes effect at the mine permitting stage. Alum Shale drilling is done with results released, and Viken drilling should start in October after a pause for moose hunting season. District Metals holds about C$15 million in cash against an C$83 million market cap and says it is fully funded for this year.

District Metals - Viken Economic Impact Study: Explaining The US$7.66 Billion Economic Contribution

• Top takeaway Argues the BDO-prepared Economic Impact Study answers local concerns about receiving no benefit, showing substantial economic and social gains for Jämtland county, including about US$22 million to landowners over the 13-year Phase 1.
• Stresses the US$7.66 billion headline is conservative because the PEA mines only about 3% of the Viken resource, meaning a comparable contribution could potentially recur roughly every 13 years.
• Maintains the operation would not be fly-in-fly-out, letting people in high-unemployment, industry-light Jämtland live and work locally.
• Says the study is not mandatory for permitting but should help regulators and policymakers, with BDO's presentation and meetings with municipalities and landowners planned from September 2026.
• Prioritizes drilling Viken target areas A and B before committing to a PFS location and is searching the alum shale portfolio for another shallow, thick Viken-type deposit.

District Metals' third-party Economic Impact Study pegs the conceptual 13-year Phase 1 Viken mine's contribution to Sweden at US$7.66 billion. The figure rests on June's PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early, conceptual mine study), which would mine only about 3% of the Viken resource. The breakdown includes roughly US$1.6 billion in corporate taxes, about 1,065 direct and indirect jobs, and US$22 million for landowners. CEO Garrett Ainsworth highlights Sweden's state mineral fee — effectively a 0.2% gross royalty split 25% to the state, 75% to landowners. Drilling Viken's target areas A and B comes before a pre-feasibility study (PFS), with alum shale exploration running until mid-October.

District Metals - Details On The Swedish Parliament Passing Permitting Reform

• Top takeaway He argues the municipal veto removal clears a major permitting obstacle by putting uranium on the same footing as other critical raw materials, while maintaining that strong municipal influence on projects should remain.
• He says Sweden should legally require consultation with Sami and other stakeholders, comparing that with how he describes First Nations consultation in Canada.
• He reads the Social Democrats' vote for the bill, while leading the polls, as a positive signal but not a guarantee, noting Sweden's opposition led before the last election and still lost.
• On the alum shale inquiry whose scope was announced on June 11, 2026, he says the scope looks quite positive and covers municipalities, mining companies and critical raw materials; he expects it to finish in late 2026 and warns a new municipal veto could still come out of it.
• He says he is deliberately keeping the drilling pace measured to build relationships with landowners rather than push the budget harder.

Sweden's parliament voted 280-66 to remove a 50-year municipal veto on uranium processing, cutting a late-stage permitting risk. The change levels uranium permitting with other metals, but only binds when a project seeks the final environmental permit to build. Ainsworth argues Sweden should make Sami and landowner consultation a legal requirement, mirroring First Nations consent rules in Canada. The reform does not move District Metals' near-term plans: drilling, an airborne survey, and an economic impact study all run through year-end. About C$5 million of spending is backed by roughly C$17 million cash, with drilling paced to keep landowner relations comfortable.

District Metals - Viken Deposit PEA: NPV8% of $2.88 billion, IRR of 45.9%

The Viken Deposit's PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early-stage economic study) reports a post-tax NPV of $2.88 billion and a 2.1-year payback, driven by valuable byproduct credits from vanadium and molybdenum. Byproduct credits from the multi-commodity resource create a negative net cash cost for uranium production, meaning the mine effectively pays for uranium extraction through the sale of other metals. This Phase 1 study evaluates only 3% of the total resource base, leaving significant exploration upside for future expansion at the Swedish project.

District Metals - 2026 Uranium Advancement Plans After Sweden’s Moratorium Lift: Drilling, PEA, EIS

• Top takeaway Outlines the 2026 work program: a PEA on Beacon by P&E Mining Consultants, a BDO Canada-led Economic Impact Study, and 5,000–7,000 m of staged drilling across alum-shale and Beacon targets
• Targets a roughly 100M-ton PEA scale and notes that, with 300 m drill spacing, a 100 m-thick alum-shale package could hit 100M tons in as few as 9 grid holes, versus ~16 holes if the package is 50 m thick
• Plans to drill Mobile MT conductive anomalies identified from 2025 airborne surveys, prioritizing the best of ~16–18 alum-shale targets and Beacon areas A and B, with G/H/I as time allows
• Describes Ardensvada as an early-stage, Athabasca-style unconformity target with a boulder train grading up to 28% U3O8 that has never been drilled at the head, and flags Sockjarn and Nyenfors as basement-hosted uranium targets
• Reaffirms a C$9M cash position, a C$5–6M 2026 budget, and self-financing via stock-option and warrant exercises; suggests the uranium portfolio build-out is largely complete

District Metals advances its Viken flagship into a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) targeted for Q2 2026, with Mets Engineering Group handling Alum Shale metallurgy. A 5,000 to 7,000-meter 2026 drill program will test MobileMT conductive anomalies across the company's 150,000-hectare Alum Shale portfolio in Sweden. District retained BDO Canada to quantify tax revenue and job creation, a step to secure the social license for long-term project development. Drilling will start in the less populated northern woodlands and move south toward Viken, refining the drill system before reaching populated farmland areas. District enters 2026 with about C$9 million in cash against a C$5 to 6 million budget, supplemented by potential warrant exercises through early 2027.