Mr. Paul Huet reports

RNC MINERALS ANNOUNCES NEW 5KM STRUCTURE IDENTIFIED AT HIGGINSVILLE AND APPROVAL RECEIVED FOR BALOO STAGE 2 MINING

Royal Nickel Corp. (RNC Metals) has provided the results of a recently completed high-density gravity survey program at Higginsville. The program has identified a newly interpreted structure extending over five kilometres north of the previously mined high-grade 1.0-million-ounce Trident gold deposit. The new structure is considered to have high potential for mineralization at depth and will be the focus of a new round of drilling by RNC as part of its 2020 exploration program.

High-density gravity survey program

A recent high-density gravity survey has delineated a new geological structure at the company's Higginsville operations (HGO).

The new structure extends for approximately five km, and runs subparallel to the major regional Zuleika, Speedway and Boulder Lefroy shears which controls the bulk of the gold mineralization between the Golden Mile (60 million ounces) and Norseman (six million oz) mining centres.

The new structure is located five km north of the previously mined 1.0 million oz Trident underground mine and the HGO mill.

The company will look to fast-track exploration in this area as part of its expanded exploration focus at HGO.

Approval for Baloo stage 2

Approval for Baloo stage 2 has been received from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, with mining expected to commence mid-2020 and extend to January, 2021.

RNC is also pleased to announce that stage 2 of the Baloo open pit has been approved by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Baloo stage 1 was originally forecast to be completed at the end of January, however recent grade control and extensional drilling have extended Baloo stage 1 until June, 2020. Baloo stage 2 will begin upon completion of stage 1, notwithstanding the potential for further additions to the stage 1 mine plan.

Paul Andre Huet, chairman and chief executive officer, commented: "Although early stage, our interpretation of the potential size of this new structure is an exciting development for our HGO-focused exploration activities. With the Morgan Stanley royalty recently renegotiated in December, 2019, it now makes sense to explore these and many other areas across the Higginsville tenement package which holds strong potential for new discoveries.

"While exploration begins in earnest at HGO, production remains on target at both our operations. Considering that both Baloo stage 1 and 2 pits were initially expected to be completed by mid-2020, the extension of Baloo out to early 2021 is a testament to the quality of the open-pit opportunities at Higginsville. We expect the extended Baloo life to provide the additional production and mining flexibility that comes from operating two open pits over the course of this year."

High-density gravity survey

As part of the renewed focus on exploration at Higginsville, a high-density gravity survey was conducted over a 60 square km area covering a five km strike distance north of the previously mined 1.0 million oz Trident gold deposit and HGO mill. The survey area had previously been the focus of reconnaissance aircore drilling and limited bedrock drilling as part of a regional approach by previous owners. However, following the renegotiation of the Morgan Stanley royalty, exploration recommenced in this area and the survey was conducted. The aim of the survey was to define both shear-hosted and paleochannel structures on 200 m by 100 m line spacings. The survey was conducted in December, 2019.

Results from the gravity survey highlight a new five km long north-south structure interpreted to be a splay off the main Burke-Barcelona mineralized shear which lies parallel and west of the regionally significant Zuleika shear. The new gravity defined structure, combined with historical shallow aircore drilling (including a best intersection of four m of 1.7 g/t in HIGA157, from 16 m), highlights the prospectivity of the full five km length of the structure and enhances the potential for mineralization at depth.

Follow-up RC bedrock drilling is planned to test the newly interpreted structure at depth for primary mineralization as part of HGO's 2020 exploration plans.

Baloo stage 2 approval

On Jan. 24, 2020, RNC received notice from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety that mining of Baloo stage 2 has been approved.

Mining of the second stage will follow completion of stage 1 which is currently scheduled for late June, 2020, notwithstanding the potential for further mineralization discoveries within the stage 1 mining area. To date, grade control and resource definition drilling has continued to add additional expected production to the stage 1 mine schedule.

As part of the HGO open-pit production pipeline, it is expected that Baloo stage 1 and 2 will be mined in conjunction with a series of additional open pits commencing with Fairplay North and Pioneer (mining at the former has already begun). Additional resource definition and grade control drilling is under way in a number of other areas to continue to define the pipeline of open pits.

Compliance statement (JORC 2012 and National Instrument 43-101)

The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Stephen Devlin, FAusIMM, vice-president, vice-president of exploration and growth, Salt Lake Mining Pty. Ltd., a 100-per-cent-owned subsidiary of RNC, a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

About the gravity survey

The gravity survey was designed to cover the Burke-Barcelona mineralized corridor north of the Higginsville mill. Data collection was undertaken by Atlas Geophysics Pty. Ltd. on a 200 m by 100 m grid using a Scintrex CG-5 gravity meter. The gravity data were reduced to the sea-level datum by standard reductions (tide, drift, height, temperature, pressure, tilt, free air and bouguer corrections) using a bouguer density of 2.67 grams per cubic centimetre to reflect the underlying geology. The collected data were processed by Resource Potentials Pty. Ltd.

About Royal Nickel Corp. (RNC Metals)

RNC is focused on growing gold production and reducing costs at its integrated Beta Hunt gold mine and Higginsville gold operations (HGO) in Western Australia. The Higginsville treatment facility is a low-cost 1.4-million-tonne-per-annum processing plant which is fed at capacity from RNC's underground Beta Hunt mine and open pit Higginsville mine. At Beta Hunt, a robust gold mineral resource and reserve is hosted in multiple gold shears, with gold intersections along a four km strike length remaining open in multiple directions.

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