Panther Metals Reports Annual Results, Progress at Winston Tailings Project and Exploration Success

Panther Metals’ 2025: tighter finances, stronger projects, and a clear path at Winston

Panther Metals PLC has published its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2025. The headline is simple: losses narrowed, the balance sheet was tidied up, and the Canadian portfolio moved up a gear. The big focus is the Winston Tailings Project in Ontario, where consistent grades, thicker-than-expected tailings and active permitting point to genuine near‑term cashflow potential if studies stack up.

Headline takeaways from the annual results

• Group loss after tax reduced to £1,343,063 (2024: restated loss £1,954,885).
• Net assets up 6% to £2,234,684.
• Year-end cash of £71,085, followed by a significantly oversubscribed £1,190,000 placing in February 2026.
• Market capitalisation at year end £4.71m with a 67.5p share price.
• Sold remaining Fulcrum Metals PLC holding for £266,879, simplifying the balance sheet.
• Canadian Securities Exchange listing process underway with the preliminary prospectus through first review.

Winston Tailings Project: moving from sampling to resource and metallurgy

Winston is the near-term opportunity. Panther’s option with First Quantum covers the historic Winston Lake Mine area, including the tailings storage facility. Tailings reprocessing, if proven economic, could deliver early cashflow while longer-term underground potential is assessed.

Why Winston stands out

• Consistent grades across the pond: 2026 vibracore results to date show good grade consistency vertically and laterally. Intervals include, for example, 0.889 g/t Au with 1.185% Zn, and multiple 1.2–3.3% Zn intervals, alongside copper, cobalt and gallium. Grade averages are not disclosed.
• Thickness exceeded expectations: maximum tailings thickness of 16.8m, average 8.7m, sampled on a tight grid of 109 locations.
• Metals of interest: earlier 2025 assays of tailings returned up to 0.814 g/t Au, 21.9 g/t Ag, 2.20% Zn, 0.20% Cu, 496 ppm Co and 122 ppm Ga.
• Independent resource work: SRK Exploration engaged to deliver a CIM-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in 2026. MRE is a key step before declaring Ore Reserves.
• Permitting advantage: Recovery of Minerals Permit application started in September 2025, allowing commercial recovery of minerals from tailings without first holding a mining lease.
• Metallurgy in motion: Extrakt Process Solutions and TDI conducting phased, cyanide‑free hydrometallurgical testwork on composite tailings samples.
• Commercial interest: non‑binding letter of interest signed with Traxys Europe SA in February 2026.

Put plainly, Winston has the ingredients retail investors want to see in a tailings play: scale, grade consistency, established infrastructure on site, and a clear workstream from MRE to permitting and metallurgy. The economics are not disclosed yet, so the MRE and testwork will be pivotal in 2026.

Obonga: building the case for a new VMS camp

Obonga covers 291 km² of the Obonga Greenstone Belt and already hosts multiple discoveries. VMS stands for volcanogenic massive sulphide, a style of base metal deposit that often occurs in clusters.

• Wishbone target refined: a high‑resolution drone magnetic survey and 3D inversion modelling now back a significant diamond drilling programme. The existing Exploration Permit is valid through 20 June 2027 and authorises up to 39 holes and down‑hole EM.
• Discovery track record: earlier drilling returned 27.3m of massive sulphide and 51m of sulphide‑dominated mineralisation at Wishbone, plus a 29m wide VMS‑style intercept at Survey Lake, and graphite at Awkward.
• Awkward nickel‑PGE upside: re‑assaying of 2013 core delivered up to 1.07% Ni with associated platinum and palladium. The intrusion shows features comparable to Impala’s Lac des Iles system to the south. Several conductive plates remain untested.
• Tenure security improved: Obonga agreement amended in April 2025 to spread the 8,000m drill commitment over five years and switch to a 1.5% gross revenue royalty.

The Obonga story is about scale potential. The data room keeps improving and permits are in place to drill. The key de‑risking step now is hitting thicker, higher‑grade zones at depth in 2026 drilling.

Dotted Lake: an ultramafic system with a magnesium twist

The 2024 five‑hole programme at Dotted Lake confirmed extensive ultramafic intrusives and multiple mineralisation styles:

• Big intrusive widths: 214.7m of open‑ended Mg‑rich serpentinite in DL24‑002 graded up to 21.7% Mg with platinum, palladium, nickel, chromium and silver. Additional wide mineralised intervals in DL24‑003 and DL24‑004.
• Zinc and gold confirmed: 5.5m at 1.21% Zn including 1.0m at 3.8% Zn in DL24‑001, plus several gold hits up to 1.63 g/t Au in DL24‑005 and historic 2.57 g/t Au in 2021.
• Soils light up the map: copper up to 1,665 ppm, nickel up to 480 ppm, cobalt up to 62 ppm, and gold up to 377 ppb across 5.5 km of high‑priority targets, supported by the OJEP grant of C$56,930.
• Magnesium recovery studies: 134 kg of serpentinite core has gone to TDI for Extrakt’s alternative extraction testwork to evaluate Mg recovery from serpentine.

For investors, Dotted Lake offers optionality. The ultramafic system provides nickel, chromium and PGEs exposure, while the magnesium angle is a differentiator if the metallurgy proves favourable.

Funding, balance sheet and risks

Panther raised £455,000 in February 2025, £80,000 from warrant exercises in June, and £655,570 in October 2025 through a placing and WRAP offer. Directors also subscribed £132,000 at 69p, which is a useful alignment signal. Post year‑end, the company raised £1,190,000 in February 2026 in an oversubscribed placing.

Cash at 31 December 2025 was £71,085, so that February 2026 raise matters. The auditors highlighted a material uncertainty around going concern given reliance on future fundraising, which is standard for juniors but still worth noting.

Key risks remain the usual trio for an explorer: funding, permitting and drill or process outcomes. The company also flags currency risk as most spend is in Canadian dollars while capital is raised in sterling.

Key numbers at a glance

Metric	2025	Notes
Loss after tax	£1,343,063	Improved vs 2024 restated loss £1,954,885
Net assets	£2,234,684	Up 6%
Year‑end cash	£71,085	£1.19m raised Feb 2026
Market capitalisation	£4.71m	As at 31 Dec 2025
Share price	67.5p	As at 31 Dec 2025
Winston tailings thickness	Avg 8.7m, max 16.8m	109 vibracore locations
Tailings assay highs (2025)	Au 0.814 g/t; Zn 2.20%; Cu 0.20%	Plus Ag 21.9 g/t; Co 496 ppm; Ga 122 ppm

My take: why this matters

Winston gives Panther a credible route to near‑term cashflow through tailings reprocessing, backed by consistent assay data, a systematic sampling grid, and an MRE in progress. Metallurgy and permitting are being tackled in parallel, which is exactly what you want to see. The non‑binding Traxys LOI signals trading interest if the numbers work.

Obonga and Dotted Lake continue to mature. Obonga’s geophysics and permits set up a meaningful drilling campaign on a belt with multiple discoveries. Dotted Lake’s ultramafic system is large, and the magnesium recovery work adds a strategic twist. Neither has a resource yet, so drill results and met testwork are the key value triggers.

The funding base has strengthened post year‑end, but the auditor’s going concern flag is a reminder that this is still a pre‑revenue explorer. Progress at Winston in 2026 will be central to the rerating the board is aiming for.

Catalysts to watch in 2026

• Winston MRE: SRK’s resource estimate based on the 2026 vibracore programme.
• Metallurgy: Phase 1 results from Extrakt and TDI, including gold, zinc and critical metals recoveries.
• Permitting: progress on the Recovery of Minerals Permit.
• Obonga drilling: diamond drilling at Wishbone under the existing permit and follow up at Awkward.
• Dotted Lake testwork: initial magnesium extraction data and next steps.
• CSE listing: completion of the Canadian secondary listing to broaden the shareholder base.

Bottom line

On balance, this is a positive update. Costs are contained, non‑core assets have been exited, and the technical work is lining up where it counts. Winston’s tailings reprocessing case now has scale, grade consistency and active studies behind it. If SRK’s MRE and the metallurgy confirm the potential for economic recovery, Panther could shift gear quickly. As ever in exploration, execution and funding discipline remain crucial, but the 2026 roadmap is clear and full of near‑term news flow.