Jason Jessup

Magna Mining – Key Takeaways From The Levack Mine PEA and Board Approval To Restart Production

• Top takeaway He argues Levack is so de-risked by sunk capital, existing infrastructure, and the Vale ore-sale agreement that with board approval and cash on hand it can go straight to production without any further economic studies.
• His long-term thesis is to consolidate the Sudbury Basin and work with the majors rather than compete, and he sees a clear pathway to 150 million copper-equivalent pounds within five or six years by reinvesting project cash flow into Podolsky and Shakespeare.
• He treats the R2 zone, excluded from the PEA, as major unmodeled upside, framing it conservatively as perhaps 100,000 tonnes per year at around 10% copper equivalent and saying it could potentially double free cash flow.
• He predicts on the record that Magna will make another notable discovery at Levack within the next year, citing footwall gaps of 500-700 meters between drill holes and a Morrison deposit untested down dip.
• On execution, he says hiring is underway, hoisting plant commissioning is expected in Q1 2027, and he targets commercial production at Levack in 2028 with the Crean Hill PFS due around mid-October 2026.

Magna Mining's Levack restart needs roughly C$70 million of initial capital, with the board already approving a return to production by mid-2028. A PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early-stage economic study) shows quick 0.6-year payback and 92.4% after-tax IRR at base case prices. The guest puts precious metals at 18-20% of revenue, and the high-grade R2 zone sits outside the PEA as unmodeled upside. A C$140 million Alpayana investment funds dual-track development, with the Crean Hill PFS due in October to guide a construction decision. Management sees a path to 150 million copper-equivalent pounds within five to six years across multiple permitted Sudbury projects.

Magna Mining – Q2 Financials, Development Updates at Levack & Crean Hill, and Exploration Strategy

• Top takeaway Jessup argues Magna Mining will be viewed as a significantly different company by end-2028 — three producing mines (McCready West today, Levack in development, Crean Hill under PFS) — and that the rerate comes from moving to a multi-mine model with metal-price flex across copper, nickel and PGMs.
• He credits operational discipline at McCready West for the record Q2 (ore tonnage, contained Cu-eq pounds, the cash-flow-positive milestone) and for hitting one year without recordable injuries, with cost discipline focused on grade control rather than further AISC compression absent higher tonnage.
• He positions Sudbury (population ~190,000, six operating mines) as a structural recruiting advantage — home-every-night shifts and a culture of accountability — versus the fly-in/fly-out camp model, which he sees as a meaningful differentiator in a tight mining labor market.
• On growth optionality he flags the Intermain nickel zone as restartable at nickel prices north of about US$8/lb (roughly US$9/lb makes the decision easy), and points to the Cu/Ni/PGM polymetallic mix at Levack and Crean Hill as giving price flex between zones.
• His exploration thesis is explicit: Magna needs a new discovery every year, so the team is rotating from delineating the R2 discovery to fresh discovery drilling — Levack footwall targets and Crean Hill footwall in the near term, with additional Sudbury properties queued for 2027.

Magna hit record Q2 production at McCreedy West — 4.5M CuEq payable lbs at an AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost) of US$4.54/lb, and turned cash-flow positive. Alpayana's $140M investment funds parallel development at Levack and Crean Hill; both studies (PEA, PFS) are due this quarter, with first ore targeted for 2027. Levack could ship development ore to Vale by Q1 2027 via the R2 drift; Crean Hill targets commercial production about 25 months from construction start. CFO Scott Gilbert retires by year-end; Greg Huffman, current SVP Capital Markets, takes over, supporting a planned internal succession. Exploration is pivoting from delineating the R2 discovery back to greenfield drilling, with new drill programs at both Levack and Crean Hill footwall targets.

Magna Mining – Q2 Operations Review, Key Strategic Investment By Alpayana Brings in C$140Million

• Top takeaway The guest argues the C$140 million Alpayana financing is what unlocks an expedited, dual-track development of Levack and Crean Hill, with both mines working toward commercial production in 2028.
• He contends Magna could reach five mines in production within five years without ever doing another equity financing, pointing to permitted Podolsky and Shakespeare as the fourth and fifth assets in the queue.
• He frames Sudbury's idle mill capacity, grid power, available equipment and mining workforce as the core of Magna's low-capex restart model, an advantage he says he founded the company around in 2016.
• He lays out a near-term timeline: a Levack PEA in Q3 2026 with possible first ore skipped before year-end and revenue in Q1-Q2 2027, and a Crean Hill PFS by end of Q3 2026 with construction to begin after it.
• He is upbeat on the R2 footwall zone at Levack, suggesting exploration mining could begin as early as Q1 2027 with material potentially running 10-15% copper equivalent even after 100-200% dilution.

A C$140 million strategic investment by Alpayana for a 19.9% stake lets Magna fast-track Levack and Crean Hill toward commercial production by 2028. Magna's Sudbury model ships ore to Vale and Glencore mills with spare capacity, so restarts skip building mills, tailings facilities and waiting on permits. McCreedy West set a record under Magna ownership near 92,000 tons in Q2, averaging 3.55% copper equivalent (CuEq — combined metal value expressed as copper). The Levack PEA (early-stage economics) lands this quarter, while high-grade R2 zone drilling stays excluded until a resource exists; a drift will enable underground drilling. First Levack ore could ship before year-end; with Podolsky and Shakespeare permitted, management sees a path to five producing mines without another equity raise.

Magna Mining – Q1 Operations/ Financials, More High-Grade Results Returned From R2 Zone At Levack

• Top takeaway The guest argues the plan behind the February 2025 acquisition was to get McCreedy West generating cash that funds the Levack restart, Crean Hill construction, and exploration from 2026 onward.
• He sees the R2 zone as structurally controlled with more veins than expected, plans to keep three or four drills on it into 2027, and expects a resource estimate and drifting into the zone in early 2027.
• He calls the Levack restart a low-cost, straightforward transition using existing equipment and crews, with the first ore hoisted and shipped to Clarabelle Mill by the end of 2026.
• On costs, he argues Magna is tracking the lower end of its US$4.20-$4.70 per CuEq lb full-year guidance, with purchased equipment pointing to slightly lower sustaining capital in the second half of 2026.
• He keeps copper, around US$6 per lb at the time of the interview, as the focus, while developing a nickel plan for the intermain zone that could enter the mine plan in 2027 or sooner.

McCreedy West delivered a $6.0 million Q1 cash margin at a US$4.21 AISC (all-in sustaining cost — the full cost to produce a pound). New Levack drilling went 14-for-14 at the R2 Zone, headlined by 29.7% copper equivalent (CuEq — all metals converted to a copper grade) over 3.4 metres. The Q3 PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early economic study) excludes the lightly drilled R2, so its high-grade upside is not yet valued. Levack's restart is progressing organically — shaft work and development muck could see ore hoisted to surface and shipped by year-end. Crean Hill's PFS (Pre-Feasibility Study — the detailed pre-construction study) is due by end of Q3, with construction possible as early as 2027.

Jason Jessup, CEO of Magna Mining | Rule Symposium 2026: Rick Rule interviews

• Top takeaway His thesis is to repeat the FNX playbook: use McCready West cashflow to restart four fully permitted past-producing Sudbury mines at low cost, shipping ore to Vale's and Glencore's existing mills under fixed-price ore-selling agreements instead of building his own.
• He describes a self-funded base case — $55 million cash plus about $21 million of receivables at the April Q4 filing, 2026 cashflow from McCready West, then the Levack restart, then Crean Hill, possibly in parallel if the PFS and markets allow.
• His qualification claim: nearly 30 years in mining, 26 in Sudbury, six at FNX and earlier at Inco — 'I know Sudbury' — with FNX's ~4,200% best-on-the-TSX run from 2002 to 2010 the template behind founding Magna in 2016.
• He points to Q3 2026 as the catalyst window: the Levack PEA and the Crean Hill PFS both land then, restart decisions follow, and Magna already broke into Levack's first mineralized zone in April with crews underground around the clock.
• He argues Sudbury's polymetallic ore — seven payable metals including copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium, gold and silver at good recoveries — plus existing shafts, water treatment and mill access make these small permitted mines cheap to revive.

Brownfield restarts in Sudbury avoid mill construction: Magna sells ore to Vale and Glencore mills at a fixed price per ton. The company already produces: the MacCready West mine generated cash flow in Q4, leaving $55 million cash plus $21 million in receivables. Four past-producing mines are fully permitted, which the CEO argues removes the multi-year permitting wait that burdens most new projects. A Levac PEA (early-stage mine study) and a Creen Hill PFS (bankable feasibility study) are due in Q3, setting up restart decisions. The guest credits his prior company FNX with a 4,200% return from 2000 to 2010 restarting Sudbury mines, his template for Magna.

Magna Mining – Q4 Operations Update at McCreedy West, Exploration and Development Pathway At Levack

• Top takeaway Argues Q4 2025 validated Magna's investment in development and diamond drilling at McCreedy West following the March 2025 KGHM International acquisition
• Highlights polymetallic optionality as nickel moved from below $7/lb to consistently over $8/lb in January 2026, potentially accelerating the decision to turn on the Intermain nickel zone
• Frames the shift to a fully in-house underground workforce by end of Q4 as a cornerstone of a sustainable operation that no longer relies on contractor premiums
• Bullish on western-side exploration toward Glencore's Hardy mine boundary, where Inco's nickel-focused historic work left copper-rich footwall targets largely untested, with more drilling planned in 2026
• Targets a Levack restart decision in H2 2026 alongside a Q3 2026 PEA, arguing restart is incremental because the mine has been kept in good shape and key zones need less than 100 meters of development

McCreedy West produced 84,953 tons at 1.31% copper in Q4 — PGM and gold grades more than doubled versus Q3, with silver up 40%+. Underground diamond drilling at McCreedy West jumped 91% quarter-over-quarter to 29,334 feet with three rigs now turning. Magna swapped contractors for in-house crews at McCreedy West, locking in sustainable operations and avoiding contractor premiums. Levack mine PEA is underway with a Q3 target — a restart decision is possible in H2. Seven payable metals (Cu, Ni, Co, Pt, Pd, Au, Ag) give Magna pricing flexibility as nickel and precious metals push higher.