Mr. Dean Hanisch reports

FOCUS GRAPHITE ACHIEVES UP TO 98.7% CARBON CONCENTRATE THROUGH MECHANICAL PROCESSING AND ACTIVATES DOWNSTREAM QUALIFICATION PLATFORM

Focus Graphite Inc. has completed its eight-tonne pilot processing program using ore from its 100-per-cent-owned Lac Knife graphite project, located near Fermont, Que. The program was completed by SGS Canada Inc. and was previously announced by the company (see March 3, 2026, press release). To further support downstream product development and customer evaluation demand, the company expanded the program from the originally planned six tonnes to approximately eight tonnes of Lac Knife ore.

Highlights:

• Premium mechanical concentrate: Eight tonnes of Lac Knife ore were processed into approximately 850 kilograms of concentrate grading up to 98.7 per cent carbon using conventional mechanical concentration methods alone, without chemical or thermal purification.
• High-grade pilot feed: The pilot feed had an average head grade of 18.9 per cent total carbon, demonstrating the naturally high-grade character Lac Knife material.
• Flow sheet confirmed: The pilot program confirmed the previously developed Lac Knife process flow sheet, with optimization focused on increasing concentrate grade within the finer fractions while preserving the integrity and value of the larger flake fractions.
• Qualification platform activated: Qualification-scale material has been produced and is now being allocated to purification, battery material and specialty graphite programs intended to support customer evaluation, product validation and potential partnership and offtake pathways across unmanned systems, defence, energy storage and industrial markets.

The pilot feed had an average head grade of 18.9 per cent total carbon (C), as determined by LECO analysis. Preliminary results from the program produced approximately 850 kilograms of premium graphite concentrate grading between 95.0 per cent and 98.7 per cent C by loss on ignition (LOI) across the concentrate size fractions. These results were achieved using mechanical concentration methods alone, without chemical or thermal purification.

The preliminary results are consistent with and further validate the conventional process flow sheet developed through the company's earlier SGS pilot program, which formed the basis of the 2023 feasibility study update. That work demonstrated an average graphite concentrate grade of 97.8 per cent carbon at 90.7-per-cent total graphite recovery, providing the technical foundation for the Lac Knife project's planned commercial operation.

The program also produced a qualification-scale inventory of representative graphite concentrate for downstream product development and customer evaluation while confirming the previously developed Lac Knife process flow sheet. Mechanical optimization is continuing to further improve concentrate grades within the finer fractions while preserving the integrity and value of the larger flake fractions.

High grade changes the processing equation

Producing concentrate grading up to 98.7 per cent C through mechanical concentration alone provides Focus with a premium starting material before purification. The company believes these results reflect the inherent grade, mineralogy and quality of Lac Knife ore.

A higher-grade starting material has the potential to reduce downstream processing requirements while expanding the range of high-value graphite products that can be economically pursued.

The results reinforce Lac Knife as the upstream foundation of Focus's broader mine-to-market graphite platform.

Material in hand unlocks qualification

The approximately 850 kilograms of concentrate produced through the program are now being prepared and shipped for value-added testing, product development and customer evaluation.

Representative material is the foundation of commercialization. Customers cannot qualify products, optimize processes or evaluate performance without sufficient material for testing. Completion of the program removes that constraint by providing representative, qualification-scale material for customer evaluation across multiple downstream workstreams.

Lac Knife concentrate is now being allocated to:

• High-purity graphite: thermal purification targeting 99.99 per cent C by LOI and chemical purification targeting greater than 99.95 per cent C by LOI;
• Battery anode materials: purified micronized graphite powders, spheroidized purified graphite (SPG) and coated spheroidized purified graphite (cSPG), targeting greater than 99.95 per cent C by LOI;
• Industrial and specialty graphite: expandable and expanded graphite targeting greater than 97 per cent C by LOI.

These programs are intended to generate specification-driven graphite materials for customer evaluation, product validation and commercial development.

A systematic battery materials qualification program is also under way to evaluate Lac Knife-derived materials for conventional battery systems and higher-value lithium-ion applications, including unmanned systems across air, land and maritime domains, electric vehicles and stationary energy storage. The qualification-scale material produced through the program will support continuing development initiatives with U.S.-based technology partners, including Charge CCCV LLC (C4V) and Forge Nano Inc., as Focus advances battery anode materials and other high-value graphite products.

Successful downstream testing may support future strategic partnerships, product sales and potential offtake opportunities. There can be no assurance that current testing or evaluation programs will result in commercial agreements.

"The exceptional result is not simply that we achieved a concentrate grading up to 98.7 per cent carbon -- it is that we achieved it through a conventional mechanical flow sheet, before chemical or thermal purification even begins," said Dean Hanisch, chief executive officer of Focus Graphite. "Producing a concentrate of this quality through normal processing is unusual and demonstrates the inherent grade, liberation characteristics and mineral quality of Lac Knife. It gives us a premium starting material that may materially improve the downstream processing equation."

"Commercially, our biggest barrier has never been demand -- it was material," said Jason Latkowcer, vice-president of corporate development. "Customers can't qualify products they can't test. This program changes that. We now have approximately 850 kilograms of representative Lac Knife concentrate moving through purification, battery material development and customer evaluation programs. That's how resources become products, products become qualified, and qualification creates the opportunity for strategic partnerships and potential offtake. Over the coming months, representative Lac Knife material will be shipped to customers, laboratories and technology partners across multiple international markets, marking an important step in our commercialization strategy."

As previously announced on Dec. 8, 2025, the company formalized a funding agreement for up to $14.1-million in non-repayable contributions under Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI). The funding supports Focus's electrothermal purification demonstration system, which is intended to produce ultrahigh-purity graphite and advanced graphite materials in Canada. Representative Lac Knife concentrate produced through the program will provide feedstock for this government-supported initiative while also supporting the company's broader downstream product development and customer evaluation programs.

It should be noted that, while results are consistent with expectations, they may not fully represent the variability of the entire deposit. Focus intends to conduct larger-scale testing in the future.

The company will provide further updates as sample shipments, downstream testing and product development activities progress.

Qualified person

The technical content disclosed in this news release was reviewed and approved by Richard Pearce, PE, president of Brasil Insight Capital LLC, a consultant to the company and a qualified person as defined under National Instrument NI 43-101.

About Focus Graphite Inc.

Focus Graphite is redefining the future of critical minerals with two 100-per-cent-owned, world-class graphite projects and cutting-edge battery technology. The company's flagship Lac Knife project stands as one of the most advanced high-purity graphite deposits in North America, with a fully completed feasibility study. Lac Knife is set to become a key supplier for the battery, defence and advanced materials industries.

Focus Graphite's Lac Tetepisca project further strengthens the company's portfolio, with the potential to be one of the largest, highest-purity and highest-grade graphite deposits in North America. At Focus, the company goes beyond mining -- it is pioneering environmentally sustainable processing solutions and innovative battery technologies, including its patent-pending silicon-enhanced spheroidized graphite, designed to enhance battery performance and efficiency.

Focus Graphite's commitment to innovation ensures an eco-friendly supply chain from mine to market. Collaboration is at the core of Focus Graphite's vision. The company actively partners with industry leaders, research institutions and government agencies to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation graphite materials. As a North American company, Focus Graphite is dedicated to securing a resilient, locally sourced supply of critical minerals -- reducing dependence on foreign-controlled markets and driving the transition to a sustainable future.

We seek Safe Harbor.