Drill Bits & Dollars: SAGA Metals De-Risks a Labrador Mineral Giant

VANCOUVER, BC – December 12, 2025 – In the world of junior mining, the gap between geological potential and proven value is a chasm that consumes capital and confounds investors. SAGA Metals Corp. (TSXV: SAGA) just took a significant leap across that divide. The company’s latest announcement from its Radar Project in Labrador is more than just a routine drilling update; it’s a story of systematic de-risking, strategic financing, and the potential awakening of a new critical minerals district vital to North American industrial security.

SAGA confirmed the successful completion of its initial 2,050-meter drill program, reporting extensive oxide mineralization in all eight drill holes across the Trapper North and South zones. This news, coupled with the closing of an oversubscribed C$6 million financing, provides a potent one-two punch of geological validation and financial fortification. For a market hungry for secure domestic sources of titanium, vanadium, and iron, SAGA’s progress is a powerful signal that the theoretical promise of Labrador’s geology is translating into tangible results.

From Anomaly to Asset

For years, geophysical surveys have hinted at the immense scale of the Dykes River intrusive complex, which SAGA’s Radar Project fully encompasses. The company’s recent work has been a masterclass in converting magnetic squiggles on a map into hard, physical evidence. The fall drill program was designed to test a massive, 3-kilometer-long magnetic anomaly within the Trapper zone. The results were definitive: every hole hit extensive, visually confirmed oxide mineralization.

This is a crucial step in de-risking the project. The drilling not only confirmed the presence of mineralization but also validated the geophysical model, demonstrating a strong correlation between the magnetic highs and the presence of vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM). In the Trapper North zone, drilling revealed structurally repeated layers of semi-massive to massive oxides, explaining the intense magnetic response. In the south, holes intercepted what the company describes as “continuous rhythmic oxide layering,” with one hole, R-0013, intersecting a cumulative 174.87 meters of oxides. This suggests not just presence, but potential for significant thickness and continuity—key ingredients for an economically viable deposit.

“We are thrilled with the momentum building at Saga Metals as we mark the successful completion of Phases 1 and 2 of our mineral resource estimate drill program,” stated Michael Garagan, CGO & Director of Saga Metals. He highlighted that encountering extensive oxide mineralization at all eight drill locations validates their strategic vision and fuels enthusiasm for unlocking the asset’s full potential.

The implications are significant. The company has now ground-truthed a mineralized trend extending approximately 16 kilometers, from the Hawkeye zone to Trapper North. A 3-kilometer strike length is now open for follow-up drilling, with widths up to 400 meters. With initial assay results from the first two holes expected in weeks, the market is waiting to see if these visually impressive intercepts carry the high grades of titanium, vanadium, and iron seen in earlier surface sampling, which returned values up to 11.1% TiO2 and 0.63% V2O5.

The Strategic Imperative

SAGA’s work isn't happening in a vacuum. It aligns perfectly with a powerful macroeconomic and geopolitical tailwind: the West’s urgent quest for supply chain resilience. Titanium, vanadium, and high-purity iron are not just commodities; they are foundational materials for strategic industries. Titanium is indispensable for aerospace and defense, while high-strength steel alloyed with vanadium is critical for resilient infrastructure and heavy machinery.

North America currently has no primary vanadium mines, leaving it dependent on foreign sources. This vulnerability is particularly acute as demand surges, driven not only by steel but by the burgeoning energy storage sector. Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFBs) are a leading contender for grid-scale energy storage, a market essential for stabilizing power grids as they incorporate more intermittent renewable sources. Global vanadium demand is projected to more than double by 2025, making a large, domestic VTM deposit like Radar a strategic prize.

Similarly, the North American titanium market, projected to exceed US$2.7 billion by 2026, is heavily reliant on feedstock imports. A domestic source of VTM, from which all three metals can potentially be extracted, would be a landmark development for North American industrial self-sufficiency. SAGA is positioning the Radar project to be just that, comparing its geology to world-class VTM systems like the Bushveld in South Africa and Panzhihua in China.

Capital Backs Conviction

Geological promise is meaningless without the capital to prove it. Here, SAGA has also delivered. The company recently closed an oversubscribed C$6 million LIFE Offering, a strong sign of investor confidence. This financing fully funds the company’s most ambitious endeavor yet: a 15,000-meter drill program slated for 2026, designed to move the project from an exploration concept to its maiden mineral resource estimate.

This transition from discovery to resource definition is where shareholder value is often created in the mining cycle. A defined resource, compliant with NI 43-101 standards, would quantify the asset, providing the concrete data needed to attract further institutional investment or a potential partner for development. The market has already responded to the company's progress, with its share price gaining over 100% in the past year, significantly outperforming the broader market.

However, the path for a junior explorer is never without risk. The company’s recent filings note shareholder dilution over the past year—a common feature of capital-intensive exploration—and an auditor’s “Going Concern” note, a standard flag for early-stage companies without revenue. Yet, the successful financing directly addresses these funding concerns, providing a clear runway to execute its pivotal resource definition program. SAGA is also actively managing its market presence, having recently increased its budget for investor awareness services, signaling a clear intent to communicate its value proposition as it advances.

With a fully funded and technically validated plan, SAGA Metals is no longer just chasing an anomaly. It is methodically building the case for a large-scale critical minerals deposit in a politically stable jurisdiction. The upcoming assay results will provide the first quantitative glimpse into the prize, but the combination of geological success and secured capital has already fundamentally changed the risk profile of the Radar Project. The drill bits have done their initial work; now, the market will watch to see just how much value they have truly unlocked.