North Atlantic Titanium Corp. (CSE: NATO) has released further details on its application for drilling permits at the Everett titanium-vanadium-phosphate project near Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec, outlining a 25,000-meter drilling program targeting the northern portion of the Everett oxide body. The company is pursuing a three-year permit to conduct staged drilling, with the first stage comprising 6,000 meters of widely spaced drilling to delineate the oxide body limits and collect samples for assay and metallurgical analysis.
The project, located just three kilometers from Rio Tinto’s Lac Tio mine—the world’s largest hard-rock ilmenite deposit—differs significantly from its neighbor. Recent mineralogical characterization by Corem, a Quebec-based applied research center, found that over 99% of oxide minerals in a composite sample from the Everett oxide body consist of high-quality hemo-ilmenite with very low magnesium, manganese, and aluminum impurities. This contrasts with the higher magnesium content typical of Lac Tio ore. The Everett deposit also contains apatite, offering potential phosphate coproducts, along with vanadium and possible scandium credits.
“Metallurgical results reinforce the Company’s strategy to advance a secure, domestic critical minerals processing supply chain in Canada – supporting defense readiness and the reshoring of Western titanium metal production,” said Dwayne Yaretz, CEO of North Atlantic Titanium. The company holds the 2,406-hectare Everett property under option from Romaine River Titanium Inc. and is awaiting approvals for a Permit for Forestry Activities (PAF) and a Permit for Work with Impact (ATI) for the drilling campaign.
The drilling plan focuses on confirming historical diamond drilling from 1951 and 1968 in the northern area of the exposed Everett oxide body, which represents about 50% of its tested surface strike length. The targeted body dips gently at 20-30° to the east-southeast. The company noted that forest impacts under the PAF application are minimal, as much of the work involves brushing out historical drill trails.
The Corem composite metallurgical sample, prepared from 57 sites across the oxide body, graded 37.0% Fe2O3, 17.4% TiO2, 0.18% V2O5, and 2.27% P2O5, with very low magnetite content. The analysis classified the mineralization as oxide-apatite noritic gabbro, consistent with nearby ilmenite deposits but with distinct chemical characteristics. “Rather than being a direct analogue of the nearby massive hemo-ilmenite orebody at the Lac Tio Mine, the Everett Oxide Body is being drill-tested not only for its TiO(2) content, but also for its low Mg/Mn/Cr hemo-ilmenite, apatite as a potential phosphate coproduct, and vanadium,” the company stated.
The project represents a broader Fe-Ti-V-P critical-minerals opportunity than a conventional titanium orebody, according to the company. Stage 1 drilling will commence upon acceptance of the ATI application, with Stage 2 infill drilling likely beginning in late winter 2026-27 to define a mineral resource estimate. The Everett oxide body remains open along strike to the north and south and down-dip.
The company also highlighted the regional geological setting, noting that the deposit is hosted by the Lac Allard Anorthosite intrusion within the Grenville Province, a region known for major iron, titanium, and phosphorus deposits. The work is supported by the Elements08 Strategic Metals Excellence Centre, funded by the Government of Quebec, with collaboration from Corem, CTRI, and Impact Global Solutions.
