First Nickel Completes US$5 Million Bridge Loan Facility

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 09/02/10 -- Further to First Nickel Inc.'s ('First Nickel' or the 'Company') (TSX: FNI) news release of August 30, 2010, the Company is pleased to announce that it has completed its financing with Resource Capital Fund IV L.P. ('RCF IV') for a US$5 million bridge loan facility maturing on December 31, 2013 (the 'Facility'). The full amount has been drawn down and will be used to commence capital development activities at the Lockerby Mine, including detailed engineering and commencement of activities to address a number of bottleneck items to ensure a smooth start-up of the main development program once full financing is arranged.

About RCF

RCF IV is one of several successive private equity funds with mandates to make investments in mining companies and projects across a diversified range of commodities and geographic regions. Since inception in 1998, the Resource Capital Funds have invested in 80 companies with projects in 35 countries relating to in excess of 20 different commodities. The Funds are long term investors that invest throughout the commodity cycle and have facilitated the development of a number of junior and mid-tier companies and assets that are recognized in the marketplace.

About First Nickel

First Nickel is a Canadian mining and exploration Company. Its current activities are primarily focused on the Sudbury Basin in northern Ontario, the location of the company's redevelopment stage property (the Lockerby Mine) and two of its exploration properties. First Nickel also has exploration properties in the Timmins region of northern Ontario and the Belmont region of Eastern Ontario. First Nickel's shares are traded on the TSX under the symbol FNI.

Contacts:

First Nickel Inc.

William Anderson

President & CEO

(416) 362-7050

(416) 362-9050 (FAX)
wanderson@firstnickel.com