Mr. Rob Guzman reports

FIRST ATLANTIC NICKEL ANNOUNCES NAME CHANGE TO FIRST ATLANTIC NICKEL & COBALT AHEAD OF THE WASHINGTON DC SAFE SUMMIT, REINFORCING THE NATURAL COBALT CONTENT OF AWARUITE - A RARE, NATURALLY MAGNETIC (NI-FE-CO) ALLOY THAT IS SULFUR-FREE AND CAN BYPASS MIDSTREAM SMELTING CONSTRAINTS IN NORTH AMERICA

First Atlantic Nickel Corp. will change its name to First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp., effective April 29, 2026, to reinforce the natural cobalt content of awaruite. Awaruite (Ni3Fe) is a rare, naturally magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt (Ni-Fe-Co) alloy mineral with a high grade of nickel content. The company's Pipestone XL project in Newfoundland hosts broad zones of widely disseminated awaruite nickel and cobalt mineralization.

The company is also pleased to announce its participation at SAFE Summit 2026 in Washington, D.C., taking place April 27 to April 28, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. SAFE is an action-oriented, non-partisan organization committed to transportation, energy and supply chain policies that advance the economic and national security of the United States, its partners and allies. For more than 20 years, SAFE has led policy dialogue on energy and national security alongside a coalition of retired four-star admirals and generals, with a focus on reducing reliance on adversarial nations for energy, critical materials and advanced transportation technologies. SAFE convenes policymakers, industry participants and defence leaders at its annual summit.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recognized awaruite's strategic potential, identifying the natural alloy as "much easier to concentrate than pentlandite, the principal sulphide of nickel," and noting that awaruite deposits could help alleviate prolonged nickel concentrate shortages. Because awaruite is naturally magnetic and already occurs in a reduced metallic state, magnetic separation can capture both the nickel and cobalt in a single high-grade concentrate. This concentrate is suitable for direct input into downstream refining for EV (electric vehicle) battery chemicals or stainless-steel production, while avoiding the midstream smelting, roasting and high-pressure acid leach circuits commonly associated with conventional nickel and cobalt processing.

Cobalt is essential to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and to nickel-cobalt superalloys used in jet-engine turbine blades, industrial gas turbines, and a wide range of aerospace and defence applications. The USGS estimates that approximately 51 per cent of United States cobalt consumption in 2024 was used in superalloys, primarily for aircraft gas turbine engines, with additional demand across batteries, chemicals, cemented carbides and medical implants4.

Despite its strategic importance, the global cobalt supply chain remains heavily concentrated in a single foreign jurisdiction. According to the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute, "The DRC produces 80 per cent of the world's cobalt -- Chinese state-owned enterprises and policy banks control 80 per cent of the total output." The USGS similarly noted supply risk in its peer-reviewed article published June 10, 2024, "The development of China's monopoly over cobalt battery materials" (Mineral Economics, v. 37).

"China's monopoly over cobalt battery materials may imply a serious supply risk to non-Chinese battery producing and consuming industries -- especially given rising geopolitical tensions and the reemergence of critical mineral export restrictions including gallium for semiconductors, germanium for solar panels, graphite for lithium-ion batteries and (again) rare-earth elements."

Key highlights

1. Awaruite naturally contains cobalt: Awaruite (Ni3Fe) at Pipestone XL is a naturally ferromagnetic nickel-iron-cobalt mineral (Ni-Fe-Co) containing approximately 77 per cent nickel, 21 per cent iron and 1 to 2 per cent cobalt. Cobalt occurs within the magnetic alloy's crystal lattice structure with nickel and iron, eliminating the need for a separate cobalt recovery circuit.
2. Magnetic separation recovers nickel and cobalt together: Magnetic separation can produce a single high-grade nickel-cobalt concentrate suitable for direct downstream refining. This process avoids smelting, roasting and high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) circuits used in conventional nickel and cobalt processing, helping to bypass mid-stream smelting constraints in North America.
3. Critical mineral designation in the United States and Canada: Nickel and cobalt are listed on the USGS Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (under the Energy Act of 2020), the U.S. Department of Energy's Final 2023 Critical Materials List (as "critical materials for energy"), and the National Defense Stockpile Strategic and Critical Materials List administered by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency. Both metals are also among the six priority critical minerals, under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, alongside lithium, graphite, copper and rare-earth elements.
4. U.S. Army War College highlights China's cobalt supply dominance: The U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute has reported that the Democratic Republic of the Congo produces approximately 80 per cent of the world's cobalt, while Chinese state-owned enterprises and policy banks control approximately 80 per cent of that output. CSIS's December, 2025, report Stabilizing Cobalt Markets: A Price Floor for U.S. Minerals Security similarly found that China now holds ownership in 15 of the DRC's 19 operating cobalt mines.
5. Canada designated as a U.S. domestic source under Defense Production Act (DPA Title III): Canada has been designated as a domestic source for U.S. DPA Title III purposes since 1992, supporting cross-border participation in U.S. industrial base opportunities and investments for eligible Canadian companies and projects.
6. First Atlantic accepted into the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC): On March 31, 2026, First Atlantic announced its acceptance as a member of the DIBC, the consortium-based contracting vehicle that administers DPA Title III investments and the Defense Industrial Base Fund on behalf of the U.S. Department of War. Nickel was the only battery metal among the 13 defence critical minerals named in the DIBC's first critical minerals request for project proposals (RPP-CM-26-01), released Feb. 27, 2026, and the Pipestone XL project addresses three of the RPP's six areas of interest.

Name change information

The name change is subject to final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. It is expected that the company's common shares will begin trading under its new name First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp. on or about April 29, 2026. Pursuant to the name change, no action will be required by existing shareholders, nor will any certificates representing common shares of the company be affected or need to be exchanged. A new Cusip, 318640109, and a new ISIN, CA3186401095, have been obtained to replace the company's previous Cusip and ISIN. The name change will not affect the rights of the company's shareholders, nor is there a consolidation of capital or symbol change associated with the name change. The company encourages shareholders with any questions or concerns to discuss any of the foregoing with their broker or agent.

Pipestone XL: 30-kilometre Awaruite nickel-cobalt alloy district overview

The Pipestone XL nickel-cobalt alloy project is a district-scale project in central Newfoundland comprising the entire 30-kilometre Pipestone Ophiolite complex, a continuous belt of serpentinized ultramafic rocks enriched in nickel, cobalt and chromium, and characterized by a strong magnetic anomaly. The complex's harzburgite and dunite (peridotite) composition, combined with extensive faulting and serpentinization, creates the geological conditions required to form awaruite (Ni3Fe), a naturally magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy. First Atlantic consolidated ownership of the entire complex in 2024 and has since made two large-scale awaruite discoveries within the 30-kilometre trend: the RPM zone and the Alloy Max zone.

The RPM zone was discovered in the southern part of the complex, in an area underexplored by previous operators, during the 2024 regional exploration program. Drilling commenced in late 2024 and has continued through 2025 and 2026 with a 100-per-cent success rate. To date, every drill hole at RPM has intersected visible, large-grain disseminated awaruite from near surface to end of hole, and every hole has ended in mineralization. The drill-confirmed footprint at RPM currently measures approximately 1.2 kilometres in strike length by 800 metres in width. Drill core grades have consistently returned higher magnetically recoverable nickel than the weathered surface samples that originally outlined the zone.

In March, 2026, the company announced the Alloy Max zone, approximately seven kilometres north of the RPM discovery. Alloy Max has an initial target area of approximately four kilometres in length by 1.2 kilometres in width. Surface DTR grades at Alloy Max are comparable with those that outlined RPM before drilling, and geophysical processing indicates the potential for a mineralized area larger than RPM. Alloy Max is fully permitted, with ground access in place and the company announced it commenced drilling at Alloy Max on April 8, 2026. Additional target zones have been identified along the 30-kilometre complex, including the Chrome Pond, Super Gulp zone, Big Gulp zone and the historical Atlantic Lake zone. The company's access road, originally built to RPM and recently extended north to Alloy Max for drilling, is planned to be further extended from Alloy Max through Super Gulp toward Atlantic Lake. This extension is expected to open previously inaccessible portions of the trend to systematic exploration.

The mineralization style at the Pipestone XL is awaruite (Ni3Fe) nickel-iron-cobalt alloy, which has been characterized in peer-reviewed research by Dr. Santiago Seiler and colleagues at the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia. Writing in Minerals in 2023, Seiler et al. reported awaruite as an "intermetallic compound of nickel and iron" with "high density (8.6 g/cm) and magnetic susceptibility (chi = 14.4)" and an average composition of approximately 77.3 per cent nickel, 21.0 per cent iron and 1.1 per cent cobalt, forming in serpentinized ultramafic rocks, precisely the geological setting of the Pipestone complex.

Because awaruite is ferromagnetic and already occurs in a reduced metallic state, the nickel-iron-cobalt alloy may be recovered using low-intensity magnetic separation and by flotation, without the pyrometallurgical smelting or HPAL circuits required for conventional sulphide or laterite feedstocks. Cobalt within awaruite is not a separate mineral phase requiring its own recovery circuit. Instead, it occurs within the alloy's crystal lattice alongside the nickel and iron, allowing cobalt to be recovered together with nickel in the same magnetic concentrate.

Adrian Smith, PGeo, a director and the chief executive officer of the company is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The qualified person is a member in good standing of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) and is a registered professional geoscientist (PGeo). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed herein.

About First Atlantic Nickel Corp.

First Atlantic Nickel is a critical mineral exploration company in Newfoundland and Labrador developing the Pipestone XL nickel-cobalt alloy project. The project spans the entire 30-kilometre Pipestone Ophiolite complex, where multiple zones, including RPM, Alloy Max, Super Gulp, Atlantic Lake and Chrome Pond, contain awaruite (Ni3Fe), a naturally occurring magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy of approximately 77 per cent nickel with no sulphur and no sulphides, along with secondary chromium mineralization. Awaruite's sulphur-free composition removes acid mine drainage (AMD) risks, while its unique magnetic properties enable processing through magnetic separation, eliminating the electricity requirements, emissions, and environmental impacts of conventional smelting, roasting or high-pressure acid leaching while reducing dependence on overseas nickel processing infrastructure.

The U.S. Geological Survey recognized awaruite's strategic importance in its 2012 annual report on nickel, noting that these deposits may help alleviate prolonged nickel concentrate shortages since the natural alloy is much easier to concentrate than typical nickel sulphides. The Pipestone XL nickel-cobalt alloy project is located near existing infrastructure with year-round road access and proximity to hydroelectric power. These features provide favourable logistics for exploration and future development, strengthening First Atlantic's role to establish a secure and reliable source of North American nickel production for the stainless steel, electric vehicle, aerospace and defence industries. This mission gained importance when the United States added nickel to its critical minerals list in 2022, recognizing it as a non-fuel mineral essential to economic and national security with a supply chain vulnerable to disruption.

We seek Safe Harbor.