Mr. Rob Buchanan reports

RNC MINERALS ANNOUNCES DISCOVERY OF EXTENSIVE CHARGEABILITY ANOMALIES ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH GRADE GOLD AT SURFACE ON ITS DISTRICT SCALE QIQAVIK PROPERTY

Royal Nickel Corp.'s 68-per-cent-owned subsidiary, True North Nickel (TNN), has released further exploration results that include the recently completed interpretation of the first induced polarization (IP) survey on its district-scale 224-square-kilometre Qiqavik high-grade gold-copper property in Nunavik, Que., and new till sampling.

"These most recent results further highlight the massive potential at Qiqavik where RNC is conducting the first-ever exploration work on most of the property. In just five weeks of groundwork last summer, our teams made two major discoveries -- Esperance, where we now have multiple large targets, including a one-kilometre-plus geophysical target (which remains open) coincident with high-grade gold and copper surface samples; and Aurora, where a 400-metre target (open in both directions) is coincident with high-grade gold samples between 26 and 189 grams per tonne (this target is part of a larger two-kilometre-plus till anomaly)," said Mark Selby, president and chief executive officer of Royal Nickel, doing business as RNC Minerals.

Mr. Selby continued: "While it is still early days, we believe that, given the 40-kilometre scale of the Qiqavik trend and the variety of styles of mineralization we are seeing, we may be uncovering a district similar to the Abitibi in the Val d'Or area at the turn of the last century, which ultimately yielded a large number of deposits. We continue to advance our goal of spinning out of the Qiqavik property in order to allow us to fund future exploration programs through our TNN subsidiary with no dilution at the RNC level."

The IP survey has defined multiple, extensive anomalies directly associated with high-grade gold at surface, resulting in 10 high-priority targets that warrant drill testing, including:

• A chargeability anomaly at least 1.2 kilometres in strike at the Esperance discovery co-incident with multiple high-grade, sulphide-associated gold and copper reported in grab samples at surface which extends to over 1.6 kilometres (up to 31.9 grams per tonne gold and 10.2 per cent copper; see RNC news release dated Sept. 19, 2016);
• Multiple large chargeable zones at Esperance (100 metres to 500 metres) that are within a two-kilometre till and are parallel to the main shear zone above (these zones were not previously identified at surface due to overburden cover);
• A 400-metre highly resistive felsic intrusive which hosts high-grade gold in quartz veins (up to 189 grams per tonne gold) at the 2016 Aurora visible gold discovery (see RNC's news release dated Sept. 19, 2016); this 400-metre area (spanning entire area over which IP survey was conducted this season) lies within a larger two-kilometre till anomaly that extends to the west of known mineralization at Aurora; geophysics in respect of the remaining 1.6 kilometres of the till anomaly will be completed during the next exploration campaign.

Analysis of property-wide till sampling results has also yielded several multielement anomalies in addition to those associated with the Aurora and Esperance discoveries. Notably, the ABG zone, a 1.8-kilometre-long till anomaly associated with a zone of outcropping copper mineralization in hydrothermally altered quartz veins with values up to 1.2 per cent copper on a subparallel structure three kilometres to the southwest of the Aurora discovery.

These results represent a small part of the 40-kilometre-long Qiqavik mineralized trend and highlight the exploration potential of the remainder of the trend.

Esperance targets

RNC's news release dated Sept. 19, 2016, reported a 1.6-kilometre high-grade gold and copper trend at surface at Esperance, coincident with a sulphide-bearing shear zone. The IP survey has confirmed the chargeability and continuity of this zone over the full extent of the survey for over 1.2 kilometres and that this zone remains open to the west. The results of the 2016 IP survey at Esperance resulted in the definition of eight high-priority targets for the anticipated 2017 drilling at 400-metre-spaced sections, including targets that may represent additional parallel mineralized and chargeable zones to the north of the main trend (these targets were not previously observed during 2016 surface prospecting due to overburden cover).

Aurora

RNC's news release dated Sept. 19, 2016, reported high-grade gold in quartz veins (including visible gold) hosted in a felsic intrusive body at the Aurora discovery, which graded up to 189 grams per tonne gold in grab samples and 0.45 metre at 5.46 grams per tonne in a channel sample. The IP survey has confirmed the continuity of a resistive body over all five lines of the survey area totalling a 400-metre strike length that is coincident with the felsic intrusive observed at surface that hosts gold-bearing quartz veins. This has resulted in the definition of two high-priority targets with moderate chargeability to test the gold veins observed at surface hosted by the resistive body outlined in the IP survey. The till anomaly associated with the Aurora showing over the felsic intrusive continues westward for approximately two kilometres, indicating a significant possible extension to the Aurora system.

In summary, the 2016 IP survey at Esperance and Aurora was successful at identifying at least 10 high-priority drill targets for the anticipated 2017 exploration season, including a kilometre-scale chargeability anomaly at Esperance which is known to be coincident with high-grade gold and copper mineralization at surface. IP sections at Aurora and Esperance will support the definition of additional drill targets. The Esperance kilometre-scale chargeability anomaly associated with the mineralized main trend is open to the west; it is recommended that the IP survey be continued westward to further expand the 1.2-kilometre chargeability anomaly. Targeting is continuing on the remaining blocks of the IP survey.

Till sampling results

Till sampling was successful in identifying anomalies in arsenic, antimony, cobalt, beryllium, bismuth and tellurium that are associated with, and resulted in, the Esperance and Aurora high-grade gold discoveries at Qiqavik. In addition to these zones, till sampling has identified at least three additional new target zones, including the 1.8-kilometre northwest-southeast-trending ABG zone. After identification by an arsenic till anomaly, the ABG zone was found to host hydrothermally altered quartz veins with chalcopyrite and malachite grading up to 1.23 per cent copper and 0.45 gram per tonne. This poorly exposed zone is a priority target for further prospecting and geophysics.

IP survey specifications

RNC Minerals contracted Abitibi Geophysics of Val d'or, Que., to carry out 58 line kilometres of induced polarization surveying on the Qiqavik property in July and August, 2016. The survey was a time-domain, dipole-dipole resistivity IP survey with 100-metre line spacing, an "a" spacing of 25 metres and readings from Nos. 1 to 6. Note that IP chargeability effect can be caused by metallic sulphides, as well as other minerals such as graphite, clays and magnetite. Targeting was completed by Les Ressources Tectonic Inc.

Till survey specifications

Tills samples were collected from frost boils using a plastic shovel. Any large stones or cobbles were removed during sampling. If the frost boil was deemed to contain an abundant amount of coarse material, the sample was aborted. Approximately one kilogram to three kilograms of frost boil material was collected and shipped moist, in plastic bags to ALS Chemex in Val d' Or, Que., for analysis by method MEMS-61 (four-acid ICP-MS) for 48 elements and method Au-ICP21 (fire assay ICP-AES) for gold. Upon receipt by ALS, samples were dried and screened to minus 180 micrometres. Preparation and assaying are done in ALS facilities in Val d'Or, Sudbury or Vancouver. ALS Chemex's quality assurance system complies with the requirements for the international standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 71025:1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of blanks, standard reference materials and replicate samples.

About RNC Minerals

RNC's principal assets are the producing Beta Hunt gold and nickel mine in Western Australia, the Dumont nickel project located in the established Abitibi mining camp in Quebec, and a 30-per-cent stake in the producing Reed copper-gold mine in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake region of Manitoba, Canada. RNC also owns a majority interest in the West Raglan nickel project and Qiqavik gold project in Northern Quebec.

The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Alger St-Jean, PGeo, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

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