Announcement • 17h
Critical One Energy Extends Lower Antimony Zone and Identifies Gold-Zinc Mineralization At Howells Lake
Critical One Energy Inc. has announced that new assays have extended the lower zone of antimony mineralization in drill hole HWL-2026-006 at its flagship Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project, located approximately 120 kilometers west of the Ring of Fire access corridor in Ontario, Canada. The newly assayed interval returned 15.3 meters grading 1.76% antimony from 114.7 meters to 130 meters down-hole and extends the lower antimony zone previously reported by the Company on May 15, 2026. The new assays also show associated gold and zinc mineralization in Hole 6, adding further support to the Company's interpretation that the East Zone may represent part of a broader, vertically extensive antimony-gold mineralized system. Previously released assays from Hole 6 identified massive stibnite in an interval with a grade of 42.2% antimony over 8 meters, including 70.2% antimony over 4 meters. New assays from Hole 6 identified an interval of 15.3 meters at 1.76% antimony from 114.7 meters to 130 meters, extending the lower interval previously announced on May 15, 2026. New assays have identified polymetallic zones with intervals up to 1.17 g/t gold, 0.54% zinc, and anomalous antimony over 3 meters. Antimony mineralization in Hole 6 now spans from 79 meters to 130 meters down-hole, supporting the Company's interpretation that the East Zone remains open at depth. 18 holes have been completed to date for approximately 4,000 meters of drilling. Critical One is improving field logistics, core handling, and sample submissions to speed up processing and support timely release of verified results. The Company has finalized its budget to support drilling through December 2026, targeting 20,000 meters of drilling. With the balance of Hole 6 assays now received, Critical One has a more complete view of how antimony mineralization is developing below the areas drilled historically. By extending the lower antimony zone, the new assays help refine the Company's interpretation of the East Zone and will be integrated with core observations and the geophysical model announced on December 2, 2025 to prioritize follow-up drilling. The appearance of a polymetallic signature in East Zone assays downhole of massive stibnite will provide additional information to help refine future drill targeting and geological interpretation. Operationally, the Company is focused on shortening the cycle time from drilling to disclosure. Field logistics, core handling, assay batching, and drill sequencing are being refined so results from the 2026 program can move through the system more efficiently. With the exploration budget finalized to support 20,000 meters of drilling through December 2026, Critical One remains focused on maximizing meters drilled per dollar while maintaining technical quality and timely disclosure of verified results. Samples of NQ diamond drill core were sawed at Critical One Energy's operations base in Thunder Bay, Ontario. One-half of the core was retained for reference, and one-half was added to sample bags. Blanks of crushed pure-quartz aggregate, antimony-gold standards, and duplicates were inserted every 20 samples. Laboratory "Barren Wash" was completed during crushing and pulverizing, and additional blanks were inserted after visible high-grade antimony and/or visible gold. Samples, standards, and blanks were bagged, tagged, and delivered to AGAT Laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where samples are crushed and prepared for analysis in Calgary, Alberta. Gold was analyzed by fire assay with ICP-OES finish on 50 g samples (202-552). Antimony and 30 additional elements were analyzed by sodium peroxide fusion and ICP-OES finish (201-079). Overlimit antimony analyses (>5% antimony) were reanalyzed by Wavelength Dispersive XRF (11321), a semi-quantitative method. AGAT Laboratories is an internationally accredited laboratory. The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Matthew Trenkler, P. Geo., Chief Geological Officer of Critical One Energy Inc., a "Qualified Person", as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Verification included a review of laboratory assay certificates, drill logs, chain-of-custody records, blank/standard/duplicate statistics, and review of collar and down-hole survey data. No QA/QC failures were identified.
