In a recent long form interview with AGORACOM, Terry Lynch, CEO of Power Metallic Mines Inc. (TSXV: PNPN, OTCBB: PNPNF, FRA: IVV1), discussed why he believes copper is entering a structural supply driven cycle, how Artificial Intelligence infrastructure is contributing to growing electricity demand, and where the company’s NISK Project in Québec fits into that broader picture.
The discussion comes at an important time for Power Metallic. The company recently delivered its maiden mineral resource estimate for the high grade Lion deposit, reported new drilling that extended Lion materially below the current resource, and has now commenced a Preliminary Economic Assessment designed to put initial engineering and economic parameters around the project.
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The Copper Thesis: Supply Constraints Meet AI Demand
Lynch believes copper is moving into a structural supercycle driven by forces that extend well beyond a normal commodity cycle, with electrification sitting at the centre of that thesis.
While much of the investment attention surrounding Artificial Intelligence has focused on companies such as Nvidia, Google and other technology leaders, Lynch argues that the infrastructure required to power AI data centres creates another investment consideration: the raw materials needed to build and deliver electricity at scale.
“Copper is how the energy is delivered,” Lynch said during the interview. “The whole energy infrastructure, AI is sort of like the head of the missile, but the missile underneath it is electrification. Everything needs power, and copper is the bottleneck.”
His view comes as major financial institutions are publishing increasingly bullish copper forecasts. Deutsche Bank recently said copper could reach US$10 per pound by the second quarter of 2027, reflecting concerns around global inventories and future supply. For Lynch, however, the issue is not simply demand. It is also the length of time required to bring meaningful new supply into the market.
“The math is super compelling,” he said. “Supply is not growing nearly as rapidly as it should. Even if you know where the copper is tomorrow, you can’t get it out tomorrow.”
That lengthy development cycle is central to his argument because new discoveries require years of drilling, engineering, permitting, financing and construction before metal can reach the market.
Why Lynch Believes Mainstream Capital Is Still Early
Despite copper’s growing role in electrification and infrastructure, Lynch believes generalist investors are only beginning to pay serious attention to the sector.
“When’s the last time your cab driver talked to you about copper?” he asked during the interview. “It hasn’t crossed over to the mainstream.”
Lynch described what he sees as two stages of investor participation. Resource focused investors have already recognized the opportunity, while broader institutional and generalist capital is only beginning to evaluate the sector.
Whether that capital ultimately arrives in the scale Lynch expects remains to be seen, but his central argument is straightforward: a prolonged copper supply response combined with rising electricity and infrastructure requirements could create a favourable backdrop for companies capable of defining economically viable deposits.
NISK: A Defined Resource Becomes an Engineering Story
That brings the discussion back to Power Metallic.
On September 8, the company announced its inaugural mineral resource estimate for the Lion Zone at the NISK Project in Québec. Lion contains 4.145 million tonnes Indicated at 3.86% copper equivalent and 601,000 tonnes Inferred at 4.01% copper equivalent, representing approximately 406 million pounds of contained copper equivalent. More than 85% of the resource tonnage is classified as Indicated.
The mineralization begins at surface and has been defined to more than 600 metres depth while remaining open for expansion. Lion is also not simply a copper deposit. It is a copper dominant polymetallic system containing copper alongside palladium, platinum, gold, silver and nickel.
Metallurgical testing by SGS Canada has returned copper recoveries above 98% in locked cycle testing, producing copper concentrates grading above 25%. These are preliminary laboratory results and should not be interpreted as commercial plant performance, but they provide important information for the engineering work now underway.
Importantly, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. That is one of the reasons the company’s next milestone matters.
The PEA Is Now Underway
On October 5, Power Metallic appointed BBA Inc. to lead a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Lion and Nisk Main deposits.
The study is expected to evaluate mining and processing options, infrastructure requirements, capital and operating costs and preliminary project economics, with completion targeted for the first half of 2027.
The PEA will be based on the September 8 resource estimate and will focus primarily on Lion while also evaluating the appropriate role of Nisk Main as additional metallurgical work is completed. Power Metallic says the study will assess an initial open pit followed by underground mining at Lion, with potential incorporation of Nisk Main feed.
No production rate, mine life, capital requirement or final mining sequence has yet been established, and those are exactly the types of questions the PEA is intended to begin answering.
Power Metallic has therefore moved beyond the stage of simply defining a discovery, but it has not yet demonstrated the economics of a mine. The PEA represents the first formal economic study designed to evaluate what a potential development scenario could look like.
Recent Drilling Extends Lion Deeper
Exploration is continuing at the same time.
On September 22, Power Metallic reported 5.70 metres grading 14.00% CuEqRec in hole 26 125, including 11.42% copper across the interval. The intercept occurred approximately 800 metres below surface, extending known Lion mineralization roughly 25% deeper than the approximately 600 metre depth reflected in the maiden resource model.
That drilling matters because the September resource estimate incorporates drilling only to an April 19, 2026 cutoff, meaning the deeper summer drilling is not included in the current Lion resource.
Power Metallic continues to drill Lion Deeps in parallel with the PEA. The company has said potential future resource growth from ongoing drilling and its muon program could be considered in subsequent resource updates and, where practicable, incorporated into later stages of project evaluation.
Looking Below the Current Resource With Muon Tomography
Power Metallic is also using muon tomography to help investigate the geology below and around Lion.
In May, the company engaged Ideon Technologies to deploy borehole muon tomography at the project. The technology measures naturally occurring cosmic ray particles called muons to create a three dimensional density model of the subsurface.
Power Metallic’s program is designed first to calibrate the technology against the more than 100 drill holes already completed at Lion and then use that model to help rank deeper exploration targets.
For investors, the significance is straightforward. Instead of relying exclusively on drilling to understand what may exist deeper underground, Power Metallic is adding another dataset designed to help focus future exploration. It does not guarantee additional discoveries, but it could help the company prioritize where to drill next.
Metallurgy Could Shape How Lion and Nisk Work Together
Another area under evaluation is the relationship between Lion and the neighbouring Nisk Main deposit.
The updated 2026 resource estimate includes 2.703 million tonnes Indicated and 2.016 million tonnes Inferred at Nisk Main. SGS is conducting additional metallurgical work to determine how Nisk Main could potentially fit into a development scenario centred on Lion.
That work is important because the two deposits have different metallurgical characteristics and different recovery assumptions. The October PEA announcement specifically states that the study will evaluate the appropriate role for Nisk Main after the new SGS metallurgical work is received.
Rather than assuming the deposits will ultimately be processed together, the company is now doing the technical work required to determine whether and how that approach could make sense.
A Useful Comparison With Foran
During the interview, Lynch also referenced Foran Mining as an example of the value the market can place on an advanced Canadian polymetallic project.
In April 2026, Eldorado Gold completed its acquisition of Foran in a transaction carrying an implied equity value of approximately C$3.8 billion.
The comparison is useful as industry context, but the projects are at very different stages. Foran’s McIlvenna Bay project had advanced substantially further through engineering, financing and construction before the acquisition, while Power Metallic is only now beginning its first economic assessment of NISK.
For Power Metallic, the relevance is therefore not that NISK should carry the same valuation today, but that successful advancement of a Canadian polymetallic project through increasingly detailed technical studies can materially change how the market values it.
Nasdaq Application Remains In Progress
Power Metallic is also working to broaden its access to U.S. capital markets.
The company says its Nasdaq application remains in progress following shareholder approval of certain corporate charter updates earlier this year. A Nasdaq application is not a listing, and there is no assurance that the application will ultimately be approved or completed within a particular timeframe.
The strategy, however, is clear. Power Metallic wants to increase its accessibility to U.S. investors as NISK moves further into the engineering and development evaluation stage.
From Discovery to Economic Evaluation
That is ultimately where the Power Metallic story stands today.
Lion now has an NI 43 101 compliant mineral resource containing 4.145 million Indicated tonnes at 3.86% CuEq and 601,000 Inferred tonnes at 4.01% CuEq, with more than 85% of the resource tonnage classified as Indicated. Metallurgical testing has produced copper recoveries above 98% in representative locked cycle test work, drilling has extended high grade mineralization materially below the current resource boundary, and BBA has now been appointed to lead the project’s first Preliminary Economic Assessment.
At the same time, important questions remain. The PEA still has to determine the potential mining configuration, processing approach, capital requirements, operating costs and preliminary economics, while additional drilling will determine whether Lion continues to grow and metallurgical work will help establish what role Nisk Main could ultimately play.
For Lynch, those project specific developments are occurring against what he believes is an unusually favourable backdrop for copper. Artificial Intelligence infrastructure is adding another layer to global electricity demand, electrification continues across industries and new copper projects remain difficult and time consuming to bring online.
Power Metallic cannot control that macro environment. What it can control is whether NISK continues to deliver technically, and the next major test is now underway.
The PEA is targeted for completion in the first half of 2027 and is expected to provide investors with the first formal economic assessment of what a potential development case for Lion and NISK could look like.
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Last modified: October 15, 2026
