Report

GIGA: A Strategic Nickel Play Backed by Scale and Upside

What you need to know:
• The Turnagain Project is one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt sulphide deposits, boasting a robust PFS with an NPV7% of $574M and significant leverage to rising nickel prices.
• Exploration planned for 2025 aims to identify new high-grade zones, further enhancing project economics and scalability.
• The project has a low C1 cash cost of $4.70/lb Ni (after by-product credits) and produces a high-purity concentrate.
• The asset is backed by a strategic partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation.

Giga Metals (GIGA:TSXV, GIGGF:OTC) is focused on the exploration and development of its Turnagain Nickel-Cobalt Project in BC. Being one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt sulphide deposits, Giga is well-positioned to take advantage of the ever-growing demand for battery metals. The project is at the Pre-Feasibility stage having reported a project NPV7% of $574M and yet, poses substantial exploration potential which could only improve these economics. Giga is led by an experienced management team and board who are motivated to advance the project to production. We are initiating coverage on Giga Metals Corporation with a BUY rating and target price of C$0.30/share.

Investment Thesis Summary
PFS-Stage Project Charging Ahead. The Turnagain Project is Giga’s flagship PFS-stage project which is progressing towards full feasibility. With a number of environmental studies already in progress and the Project’s high environmental standards, there is promising potential for permits to be received quickly.

Large-Scale Asset with More Upside. Despite Turnagain’s already extensive resource base and long projected mine life, Giga is prioritizing exploration in 2025 to improve project economics as it advances toward full feasibility, with renowned geo Dr. Stephen Beresford leading efforts to identify high-grade zones for a potential starter pit or high-grade underground mine.

Powerful Partner. Giga has established a strategic partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation (JPY$9.9T, TYO:8058) a globally recognized leader in industrial and resource sectors. Mitsubishi acquired a 15% stake in the Turnagain Project, by investing C$8M, with Giga retaining the remaining 85%.

Leverage to the Nickel Price. The Turnagain Project economics are highly leveraged to rising nickel prices and given the soaring demand for the metal from the EV sector compounded by constrained long-term global supply, Giga is poised to benefit from this leverage. A 15% increase in the nickel price from the base case $21,500/t nearly doubles the after-tax NPV7% to $1.1B and raises the IRR ~31%.

Strong Cap Table & Management. Giga has 105.6M shares outstanding with 9.3M options and 20.7M warrants (none of which are ITM), a mostly clean capital structure when compared to its peers. Additionally, GIGA is led by CEO Mark Jarvis, who brings over 30 years of mining experience and owns 5% of the Company.

Cheap on P/NPV and EV/Lb. Giga currently trades at 0.02x NPV and $0.004/lb of payable nickel compared to its peers at 0.10x NPV and $0.02/lb. We expect this discount to improve as Giga completes future exploration and continues to advance the project.
Underlying
Giga Metals

GIGA Metals is an exploration stage mineral resources company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties, primarily in northern British Columbia. Co. has not yet identified any mineral resource on any of its properties that is of a commercially exploitable quantity.

Provider
Atrium Research Corporation
Atrium Research Corporation

Atrium Research provides institutional quality issuer paid research on North American public equities using deep fundamental analysis. Our research reports are disseminated through Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ, Reuters and many more, as well as through our social media and email distribution lists. 

Analysts
Ben Pirie

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