Pivotal Metals Delivers 42% Resource Growth at Horden Lake Quebec

Pivotal Metals Delivers 42% Resource Growth at Horden Lake, Strengthening Its Open Pit Copper Development Case

Pivotal Metals Limited (ASX: PVT) has reported a major increase in the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its Horden Lake Cu-Ni-Au-PGM-Co Project in Quebec, lifting total resources by 42% to 52.4 Mt at 1.05% CuEq for 549 kt contained CuEq. According to the ASX announcement dated 7 July 2026, the open pit portion rose by 46% to 45.5 Mt at 1.07% CuEq for 485 kt contained CuEq, with 87% of total MRE tonnage now sitting inside a single pit shell.

For investors, the update matters because it increases scale while largely maintaining copper equivalent grade, and because most of the inventory is now defined within a potential surface mining scenario. The company is also targeting a Scoping Study in Q3 2026, which is expected to be the first formal economic assessment of Horden Lake.

The Updated Horden Lake Resource in Focus

The updated MRE was prepared by independent consultants Caracle Creek International Consulting Inc. and Atticus Geoscience Consulting S.A.C. in accordance with the JORC 2012 Code. Horden Lake is described as an advanced-stage, copper-dominant polymetallic project located 131 km north-northwest of Matagami in Quebec, with highway access to within 10 km of the project.

The updated resource is summarised below.

By confidence category, the resource comprises 24.3 Mt at 1.17% CuEq in Measured and Indicated and 28.1 Mt at 0.95% CuEq in Inferred.

The deposit now extends for more than 2,800 metres along strike and has been intersected to around 540 metres vertical depth, or 660 metres down dip. Furthermore, the company has stated that mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth.

What Does the Managing Director Say?

"When we drill Horden Lake, it gets bigger. With over 500kt CuEq at >1% CuEq this update increases our deposit by over 40% and underwrites a project of scale, grade, location and upside," said Ivan Fairhall, Managing Director.

Resource Growth Has Come From Targeted Drilling

The announcement outlines that the 2026 MRE growth was driven by step-out drilling into electromagnetic (EM) conductors identified through recent geophysical surveys. EM surveying looks for conductive rock units below surface, which in this case may correspond to sulphide-rich mineralisation.

That approach appears to have been effective at Horden Lake. According to the company:

• Every hole intersecting the Contact Zone has encountered mineralisation
• Only 8 holes have tested deeper than 300 metres vertical
• Only 7 out of more than 200 holes drilled into the Contact Zone do not directly contribute to the MRE

This is relevant because the current resource appears to be constrained more by the amount of drilling completed than by geological closure. In addition, management highlighted that a large-scale conductive horizon remains undrilled.

A comparison with the previous estimate shows the scale of the uplift.

The main driver was the southern extension of mineralisation, where extra tonnage was added at slightly lower grade than the core central area. Even so, the overall contained metal increased materially.

Why the Open Pit Component Matters

One of the most important aspects of the update is not just the larger resource, but the fact that most of it is constrained within a pit shell. A pit-constrained resource is material that falls within the boundaries of a conceptual open pit generated using economic assumptions such as metal prices, recoveries, costs, pit slopes and processing rates.

In practical terms, this means the resource has been tested against a basic mining scenario rather than simply being reported as a broad geological inventory.

At Horden Lake, the open pit resource was reported at an NSR cut-off of US$25/t, above the calculated break-even cut-off of US$15.38/t NSR used in the optimisation work. NSR, or Net Smelter Return, is the estimated value per tonne of ore after allowing for recoveries and selling costs.

Why Do Open Pit Resources Matter to Investors?

For investors less familiar with mining studies, open pit resources are often viewed differently from deeper underground resources for three main reasons:

1. Lower mining cost potential — Open pit mining generally uses large surface equipment and bulk extraction methods. That can mean a lower cost per tonne than underground mining.
2. Simpler development pathway — Surface mines usually avoid the need for shafts, portals and extensive underground development early in the project life.
3. Greater scale potential — Open pit operations can often process large tonnages each day, which may support stronger production profiles if economics are confirmed.

The report notes that the single open pit shell at Horden Lake has a maximum depth of around 320 metres. That is important because it captures a large portion of the deposit within a relatively shallow development concept.

What Is CuEq?

Copper equivalent (CuEq) converts the value of several metals into a single copper-based grade using assumed metal prices, metallurgical recoveries and selling costs. At Horden Lake, the formula includes copper, nickel, gold, palladium, platinum, silver and cobalt. This helps investors compare a polymetallic deposit using one headline grade, however the calculation depends on assumptions that are detailed in the company's report.

By-Products Materially Increase the Metal Inventory

Horden Lake is not solely a copper asset. The updated total resource also includes the following by-products.

These by-products are important because they may reduce effective production costs if they can be recovered and sold through conventional processing. In the announcement, the company referred to metallurgical testwork reported in March 2025 that produced clean, high-grade concentrate products using a conventional flotation flowsheet.

According to that earlier testwork, copper recoveries were in the range of 86% to 94% at concentrate grades of 22% to 28% Cu. The company also reported payable potential for nickel and precious metals, with cobalt and palladium contributing in nickel concentrate.

That matters because by-product credits are only meaningful if recovery is realistic. In this case, Pivotal has stated that the CuEq formula uses assumptions informed by testwork rather than purely theoretical values.

The company also highlighted potential financing optionality through metal streaming, particularly given the 549 koz of 3E metals and 17 Moz of silver. That is a possible future funding pathway, not a committed arrangement, but it is a relevant point as projects move toward study stage.

"This update demonstrates the power of geophysics to target deposit extensions, and underscores the scale of the exploration upside at Horden Lake that remains undrilled," said Paul Nagerl, VP Exploration.

How Horden Lake Compares With ASX Copper Peers

In the announcement, Pivotal compared Horden Lake with a range of ASX-listed copper projects that are pit-constrained or predominantly shallow. On the figures presented, Horden Lake stands out for combining moderate scale with a relatively high in-pit copper equivalent grade.

These peer comparisons should be read carefully because projects use different assumptions, cut-offs and metal equivalent formulas. Even so, the figures presented by Pivotal suggest Horden Lake compares favourably on grade while still offering a sizeable pit-constrained inventory.

The location also contributes to the project's profile. Horden Lake is described as benefiting from nearby infrastructure, access to hydroelectric power and an established permitting framework in Quebec.

What Investors Should Watch Next

The updated MRE gives Pivotal a larger technical base as it advances toward study work. The next major catalyst flagged in the report is the Scoping Study targeted for Q3 2026.

That study is expected to outline early-stage development parameters such as:

• Potential mining and processing scenarios
• Indicative capital costs
• Operating cost assumptions
• Production profiles
• High-level project economics

Alongside the study, the company intends to continue both growth and de-risking work.

Further drilling will focus on untested EM conductors and infill areas that may support confidence upgrades from Inferred to Indicated or Measured categories. The company also referred to future geotechnical drilling and environmental baseline work as part of the broader development pathway.

The Investor Takeaway From the Horden Lake Update

According to the ASX announcement, Horden Lake now contains 549 kt CuEq in total, including 485 kt CuEq in a single open pit shell at 1.07% CuEq. That is a substantial step up from the 2025 estimate and gives Pivotal a larger, more development-oriented resource base.

From an investor perspective, the key elements are clear:

• Scale has increased to a level that may support standalone development studies
• Most of the resource is in-pit, which may improve development options compared with a largely underground project
• Grade remains competitive against many ASX copper development peers
• By-products are material, with silver, nickel, cobalt and 3E metals contributing to potential value
• Exploration upside remains, with the company stating that major conductive targets are still undrilled
• A Scoping Study is approaching, which should provide a clearer picture of the project's economic potential if assumptions hold

The next phase will matter most. However, resource growth has strengthened the geological case, and the market is likely to focus increasingly on whether upcoming study work confirms an economically realistic pathway for a long-life open pit mining operation at Horden Lake.

Want to Catch the Next Major ASX Copper Discovery Before the Market Does?

Discovery Alert's proprietary Discovery IQ model scans ASX announcements in real time, instantly identifying significant mineral discoveries across copper and more than 30 other commodities — the kind of resource growth milestones that have historically driven exceptional returns, as showcased on Discovery Alert's dedicated discoveries page. Start your 14-day free trial at Discovery Alert today and position yourself ahead of the broader market.