Mr. Quinn Field-Dyte reports

VAULT JOINS NEVADA MINING ASSOCIATION IN SUPPORT OF ITS U.S. TUNGSTEN HISTORICAL MINE PORTFOLIO AND ENGAGES HARDLINE EXPLORATION FOR LETAIN NICKEL PROJECT

Vault Strategic Mining Corp. has joined the Nevada Mining Association (NVMA), widely recognized as one of the top 10 mining organizations around the world. This membership reflects the company's continuing commitment to responsible mineral development in Nevada and supports its efforts to advance domestic tungsten exploration and advancement at its historical tungsten assets across the United States.

The company believes that membership in the Nevada Mining Association provides valuable access to industry insights, legislative developments and strategic networking opportunities -- tools that reinforce Vault Strategic's commitment to operational excellence and environmental stewardship. This affiliation further underscores the company's dedication to responsible mining practices, sustainable growth, and meaningful contributions to Nevada's mining communities and the broader resource sector.

Quinn Field-Dyte, chief executive officer and director, stated: "Joining the Nevada Mining Association is an important step for Vault as we continue building a North America-focused critical minerals platform. The association provides a respected forum for engagement with industry leaders, regulators and stakeholders in one of the most important mining jurisdictions in the United States. As we advance our U.S. tungsten portfolio and continue active exploration at the Letain nickel project in British Columbia, this membership reflects our commitment to responsible exploration, technical discipline and staying connected to evolving industry standards. At Letain, our objective remains focused on putting an experienced technical team on the ground to evaluate priority areas, collect rock and geochemical samples, and refine targets for potential future drilling. With exploration initiatives now active across nickel and tungsten, Vault is continuing to build technical momentum across commodities that remain important to North American industrial, defence and energy-related supply chains."

Furthermore, the company is pleased to announce that it has engaged Hardline Exploration Corp. to conduct a planned surface exploration program at the company's Letain nickel project, located 70 kilometres east-southeast of Dease Lake in Northern British Columbia, Canada.

The planned program is designed to advance Vault's understanding of the project's nickel potential through systematic surface exploration, including prospecting, geological mapping, rock sampling and geochemical analysis. Access to the project area for the planned field program is expected to be conducted by helicopter, allowing the technical team to access priority areas for surface evaluation and sample collection.

Results from the program are expected to assist the company in identifying and refining priority areas for potential future drill targeting.

Planned exploration program

The planned surface exploration program is expected to include:

• Prospecting across selected target areas;
• Rock sampling of prospective outcrops and mineralized material;
• Surface geochemical sampling and multielement analysis;
• Geological mapping to better understand lithology, alteration and structural controls;
• Compilation of new field data with existing project information;
• Helicopter-supported access to priority exploration areas;
• Identification and ranking of prospective areas for potential future drilling.

Samples collected during the program are expected to be submitted to an accredited laboratory for analysis. Vault intends to use the results to support future exploration planning and to develop a more detailed understanding of the Letain nickel project.

The company will provide further updates as exploration activities progress and as results are received, reviewed and interpreted.

About the Letain nickel project (British Columbia, Canada)

As announced on Feb. 12, 2025: The Letain project mineral claims feature disseminated awaruite, a naturally occurring nickel-iron (Ni-Fe) alloy that is hosted in peridotite and minor dunite. Several peridotite-hosted zones contain fine and coarse Ni-Fe alloy grains. Surface rock-chip sampling along a ridge at 1,700 to 2,050 metres elevation averaged about 0.25 per cent nickel. The Letain property covers part of the Cache Creek terrain, separated from the volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Quesnellia terrain by the Thibert fault to the north and the Kutcho fault to the west. The King Salmon fault displaces the transition between the Cache Creek terrain and the sediments and volcanics of Stikinia terrain. Geochemical analysis of rock chips returned values ranging from 1,700 to 3,800 parts per million nickel (source: historic rock sampling of 144 rock samples collected in 2011, assay method 1E/8FPX four-acid digestion method, analysis by ICP-ES). SGS ran 10 samples for concentrate (that is, heavy mineral separation) and arrived at the percentage of magnetic fraction.

Awaruite mineralization occurs in two different habits: fine Ni-Fe alloys or larger composite grains. Fine awaruite grains (10 to 100 micrometres) are disseminated in the serpentine matrix. Ni-Fe alloys have a highly reflective white/silver colour. Larger composite grains (100 to 300 micrometres) are a mixture of Ni-Fe alloys and lesser Ni-Fe sulphides. The area is underlain by a highly differentiated peridotite with numerous porphyritic, sheared and vein-veinlet-breccia textures. In the southern portion of the property, the peridotite is characterized by disseminated magnetite and chromite abundant disseminated and vein-fracture filling apple-green-/dark-green-coloured minerals such as picrolite and lizardite.

In the north portion of the property, the peridotite is massive, black in colour with fewer vein-fracture textures; however, the change in texture of the peridotite appears to have little or no effect on the nickel-chromium-cobalt content, which ranges from 1,700 to 3,800 ppm Ni, 1,000 to 3,000 ppm Cr and 100 to 150 ppm Co. Several peridotite-hosted zones contain fine and coarse Ni-Fe alloy grains (awaruite) that are exposed as bedrock ridges in the east-central portion of the claim group at 1,700 to 2,050 metres elevation. Disseminated fine- to coarser-grained awaruite was found in serpentinized ultramafic rocks. In the northern portion of the property, the peridotite is massive, black in colour with fewer vein-fracture textures. Samples from the central ridge of the property delineated a 1,100-metre-long discontinuous zone of coarse-grained (greater than 100 micrometres) awaruite.

The Letain mineral property has geological similarities to the Decar nickel deposit (located 70 kilometres northwest of Fort St. James, B.C.), which contains awaruite mineralization that is characterized as magnetically recoverable nickel and pyro-metallurgical smelting is not required to produce nickel.

Quality assurance/quality control and data verification

All samples from the Letain nickel project will be collected, handled and processed under industry-standard protocols. Samples will be maintained under secure chain of custody from collection through transport and laboratory submission. Analytical work is expected to be carried out by an independent accredited laboratory that meets applicable industry standards, including ISO/IEC 17025:2017, where applicable. Coarse rejects and pulps are expected to be retained by the laboratory for future verification and reanalysis, as required.

Vault Strategic Mining implements a comprehensive internal quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. The program is expected to include the routine insertion of blanks, certified reference materials, also known as standards, and duplicate samples into the sample stream at regular intervals to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. Laboratory internal QA/QC procedures will also be reviewed to ensure continued compliance with industry best practices.

The qualified person will review the results of the QA/QC program once analytical results are received. All data will be verified to a level appropriate for an early-stage surface exploration program.

Historical information referenced in this release has been reviewed against available public records and assessment reports, where available; however, such historical data cannot be independently verified to current National Instrument 43-101 standards and should be considered supportive for exploration guidance only.

Vault Strategic's management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Vault Strategic may not necessarily be indicative of the presence of mineralization on the company's properties.

About Vault Strategic Mining Corp.

Vault Strategic Mining is a North American resource company focused on the acquisition and advancement of strategic and critical mineral projects located in top-tier mining jurisdictions. The company emphasizes historical and underexplored assets with potential for value creation through modern exploration and disciplined development.

Vault Strategic Mining trades on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol: KNOX), the OTCID exchange (symbol: KNXFF) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbol: M850).

Qualified person

Jeremy Hanson, PGeo, an independent consulting geologist and a qualified person as defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the disclosure in this news release for consistency with NI 43-101 reporting requirements.

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