First Nordic and Mawson Announce Merger to Create a Leading Nordic-Focused Gold Development and Exploration Company
Summary
The Rajapalot Project has an inferred resource of 9.8 Mt at 2.8 g/t Au and 441 ppm Co (cobalt), for a contained resource of 867 koz Au and 4,311 t Co (1,034 koz AuEq[1])[3].The Transaction offers several positive direct benefits to the shareholders of First Nordic and Mawson, including: Creating a leading Nordic gold developer and explorer, with 2.1 Moz AuEq[1] in inferred and 0.3 Moz AuEq[1] in M&I attributable resources Multiple high-quality assets positioned well to achieve near-term development and exploration milestones Combined land position of over 123,000 hectares with existing mineral resources and strong exploration potential Extensive exploration upside to be realized through further drilling and exploration Maintains 100% exposure to tier-1 jurisdictions, focused on Sweden and Finland, with potential for multiple low-cost operations Combined & enhanced management & board includes established mine builders with permitting & capital markets expertise, and is backed by a proven & renowned special advisor Significant leverage with combined experience across various stages of projects, from early-stage grassroots exploration through to development and production Accelerated project development to be led by proven mine builders Peter Breese (Incoming Chairman) and Russell Bradford (new CEO of First Nordic) Darren Morcombe joining as special advisor, bringing recent experience from Southern Cross Gold and Foran Mining Greater capital markets profile and scale generated from merging two leading Nordic companies Well capitalized to achieve near-term exploration catalysts & other corporate initiatives Potential G&A and operational synergies and expanded investor universe allow company to finance from a position of strength Cash balance of approximately C$50 million, upon completion of a concurrent financing of C$30 million introducing strategic investors focused on long term value enhancement Creates diversified gold asset portfolio and enables NordCo Gold to prioritize and stage the advancement of its assets Strategically positions the NordCo Gold portfolio for potential further acquisition and consolidation opportunities across the region Substantial re-rate potential to the NordCo Gold peer group with the advancement of the combined Nordic portfolioNoora Ahola, President and CEO of Mawson, comments: This transaction strategically positions Mawson shareholders to benefit from an improved Nordic gold development company with the necessary capital markets support and technical expertise to advance both projects. I believe there are multiple meaningful deposits to be discovered and delineated here over the coming years.The addition of Mawsons development-stage Rajapalot Project and its prospective exploration package provides our shareholders with scale and balance, adding resource growth and development visibility across our expanded portfolio. After recently bringing on long-time colleague and world-class geologist Gernot Wober as VP Exploration of First Nordic, I am honoured to pass the reins to proven developers and mine builders Russell Bradford and Peter Breese to lead the next phase. Prior to this, Mr. Breese was CEO of Mantra Resources Limited, which was acquired by Russias state-owned nuclear energy corporation, JSC Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ) for approximately A$1.2 billion. Most recently, Mr. Bradford served as Managing Director of Aston Minerals Ltd., where he led the advancement of the Edleston Nickel Sulphide Project and played a pivotal role in the merger with Torque Metals Ltd. in 2025.