Vancouver, British Columbia, June 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North American Niobium and Critical Minerals Corp. (CSE: NIOB) (FSE: KS82.F) (OTCQB: NIOMF) (“NIOB” or the “Company”) continues to advance multiple targets across its district-scale portfolio in Québec. A mid-June airborne radiometric and magnetic survey is planned over the Bardy SE, Miskam, Sabot, and Blanchette properties to identify radiometric responses potentially associated with rare earth element (REE) and niobium (Nb) mineralization. As well, satellite-derived radon and helium soil-gas estimates, prepared by independent specialist consultants using multi-sensor remote sensing data, are being integrated into the Company's target generation workflow.

Drilling is now underway at the Bardy and Blanchette properties, where approximately 1,500 metres is planned at each property. A second drill rig is scheduled to mobilize in early July 2026 for an additional approximately 2,500 metres of drilling, with the final approximately 2,500 metres of the 2026 program retained as a flexible tranche, to be deployed against targets refined by the airborne and soil-gas work. Approximately 2,000 metres has been drilled at Seigneurie, where the winter program is now complete.

“Our 2026 program is on track and our data pipeline is filling out as we hoped,” said Murray Nye, NIOB’s Chief Executive Officer. “The mid-June airborne radiometric and magnetic survey, combined with the radon and helium soil-gas datasets we are building, will sharpen our target picture across Bardy SE, Miskam, Sabot, and Blanchette before we deploy the next 2,500 metres of drilling in early July. By holding back the last 2,500 metres as a flexible tranche, we keep optionality to put steel into the most prospective ground once the new geophysics and geochemistry are in hand. This is a deliberate, district-scale approach designed to advance multiple targets—from large intrusion-style bodies to pegmatite dyke systems—across the portfolio in a single field season.”

Highlights

• Mid-June airborne geophysics – An airborne radiometric and magnetic survey is planned for mid-June over the Bardy SE, Miskam, Sabot, and Blanchette properties. The survey is designed to identify radiometric responses potentially associated with REE- and Nb-bearing pegmatite, syenite, and alkaline intrusive systems.
• Two complementary target styles – At Bardy and Blanchette, targets comprise structurally controlled pegmatite dyke and vein swarm systems; at Miskam and Bardy SE, targets are interpreted as large alkaline intrusions with nepheline-bearing phases.
  • At Miskam, the target is an interpreted approximately 60 km² intrusion of the Veillette Intrusive Suite, associated with one of the largest Nb-REE bottom-lake-sediment anomalies in the region (Québec government geochemical data).
  • At Bardy SE, drilling will test the Toad Intrusive Suite (dated at 981.6 Ma), closely comparable in age to the Crevier Alkaline Complex (approximately 957 Ma), host to the Crevier niobium-tantalum deposit.
• Radon and helium soil-gas integration – Soil-gas estimates obtained from independent specialist consultants are being integrated into the Company’s target generation workflow to support targeting beneath overburden cover.
• Second rig and additional drilling in early July – A second drill rig is scheduled to mobilize in early July 2026 to commence an additional approximately 2,500 metres of drilling. Target sequencing for this tranche will be informed by the airborne survey and soil-gas results.
• Final tranche retained as flexible capacity – The Company has retained an additional approximately 2,500 metres in its 2026 budget as a flexible final tranche, allowing it to deploy drilling against the highest-priority targets emerging from the integrated dataset.
• Local resources mobilized – The current drilling phase is being carried out with the support of local Atikamekw service providers.
• Bardy and Blanchette drilling underway – Approximately 1,500 metres at each of the Bardy and Blanchette properties is planned, targeting REE- and Nb-bearing pegmatite dyke and vein systems.
• Seigneurie drill program complete – Approximately 2,000 metres drilled, completing the winter drill program at Seigneurie (further to the Company’s news release dated May 12, 2026). Assays are pending.

2026 Drill Program at a Glance
NIOB’s 2026 drill program totals approximately 10,000 metres and is structured in four phases:

• Seigneurie winter drill program – approximately 2,000 metres (complete; assays pending; results to be reported in due course).
• Bardy and Blanchette – approximately 3,000 metres planned (approximately 1,500 metres at each property; drilling underway).
• Second rig, early July – approximately 2,500 metres planned, with target sequencing informed by the mid-June airborne radiometric and magnetic survey and the integrated radon and helium soil-gas datasets.
• Flexible final tranche – approximately 2,500 metres retained, to be allocated to the highest-priority targets identified from the combined dataset.

Two Mineralisation Styles Across the Portfolio
The Company’s Québec portfolio hosts at least two structurally distinct styles of niobium- and rare-earth-prospective mineralization, each requiring a tailored exploration approach.

Intrusion-style targets
At Seigneurie, the target is interpreted as a large pegmatite-syenite intrusive body, with the Company’s geological reinterpretation—supported by historical and 2026 drilling—suggesting widths potentially exceeding 200 metres in places.

At Miskam and Bardy SE, the targets are interpreted as large alkaline intrusions with nepheline-bearing phases. The Miskam property covers an approximately 60 km² interpreted intrusion of the Veillette Intrusive Suite that is spatially associated with one of the largest Nb-REE bottom-lake-sediment geochemical anomalies in the region, based on Québec government survey data.

At Bardy SE, drilling will test the Toad Intrusive Suite—dated at 981.6 million years ago, comparable in age to the 957 million years ago Crevier Alkaline Complex—located in the Lac-Saint-Jean region, which hosts the multi-million tonne niobium-tantalum Crevier deposit of NioBay Metals Inc.

The age equivalence between the Toad Intrusive Suite and the Crevier Alkaline Complex suggests that the alkaline magmatic event associated with Nb-Ta mineralization at Crevier may also be represented within the Company’s land position. Intrusion-style targets of this scale are well suited to airborne radiometric and magnetic surveying, which can map intrusive geometry, internal phase variations and radiometric zonation ahead of drill targeting.

Dyke- and vein-style targets
At Bardy and Blanchette, the targets are interpreted as structurally controlled pegmatite dyke and vein swarm systems that propagate along regional trends rather than forming a single rounded intrusion.

At Bardy, historical work indicates granitic pegmatite dykes ranging from approximately 40 centimetres to 4 metres in width distributed along an approximately 7-kilometre prospective trend.

The mid-June airborne radiometric and magnetic survey is therefore designed to advance both target styles: mapping the geometry and radiometric response of the interpreted alkaline intrusions at Miskam and Bardy SE, and refining the orientation and extent of the pegmatite dyke systems at Blanchette and Sabot, with the early-July drill tranche to be sequenced against the highest-priority responses.

IAN MALLORY AS STRATEGIC ADVISOR

The Company also announces the engagement of Mr. Ian Mallory as a strategic advisor to the Company pursuant to a two-year consulting agreement.

Mr. Mallory will provide senior strategic and commercial advisory services to the Company, including strategic counsel, relationship facilitation, negotiation support, commercial structuring advice, and ongoing counsel to the Company’s executive team and Board. The engagement is a non-executive, non-operational role, with no day-to-day operational authority or management responsibilities.

Mr. Mallory is a Canadian corporate director and advisor with significant experience in international finance, natural resource project development, and joint venture structuring. A financial lawyer by training, he has held senior executive roles with TransAlta, Westcoast Energy, ENMAX and Sea NG Corporation, and previously served as Counsel to the Treasury of the World Bank. He holds degrees from Harvard University, the University of Toronto and the University of Cambridge, and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada.

“Ian brings a rare combination of international finance, natural resources, infrastructure development and cross-border transaction experience,” said Murray Nye, CEO of North American Niobium. “His deep understanding of project finance, strategic partnerships and the global critical minerals sector will be highly valuable as we advance our corporate strategy and evaluate opportunities to build relationships with leading international industry participants. We are very pleased to welcome Ian as a strategic advisor to the Company.”

Pursuant to the consulting agreement, the Company has agreed to grant Mr. Mallory 150,000 stock options under the Company’s stock option plan, subject to applicable regulatory approvals. Each option will be exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $1.06 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Murray Nye, CEO
info@northamericanniobium.com
+1 (647) 984-4204

ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN NIOBIUM AND CRITICAL MINERALS CORP.
North American Niobium and Critical Minerals Corp. is a North American mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of precious, base, and critical mineral assets. Its portfolio includes the Silver Lake property in British Columbia’s Omineca Mining Division and a district-scale land package in Québec’s Grenville Province. The Québec properties host rare earth element, niobium, and nickel-copper occurrences, expanding the Company’s footprint into critical minerals that are strategically important for energy and defense applications.

Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). Clyde McMillan, P.Geo., a consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained herein. Mr. McMillan is non-independent of the Company as an Officer and Shareholder. Laboratory assays for the Seigneurie program are pending as of the date of this release. Sample preparation, security and analytical procedures follow industry-standard QA/QC practice including the insertion of certified reference materials, blanks and field duplicates; results will be reported once received and QA/QC review is complete.

Cautionary Note re Historical Information
Historical information referenced for the Bardy, Blanchette, Sabot, and Miskam properties is derived from publicly available Québec government records and prior operator reports filed with Québec’s Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (MRNF) and accessible via Québec’s SIGÉOM system, including grab-sample results, bottom-lake-sediment geochemical data collected by Québec government geologists, and prior prospecting reports. Historical samples are selective by nature and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization on the properties. Geological interpretations regarding the geometry and scale of interpreted intrusive bodies, including the approximately 60 km² interpreted intrusion of the Veillette Intrusive Suite at Miskam, are based on government mapping, geophysical and geochemical compilations and the Company’s reinterpretation of these datasets; they have not been confirmed by drilling. The Qualified Person has reviewed the public-domain references cited herein but has not independently verified the historical results and is not treating those historical results as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

Soil-gas radon and helium responses referenced herein are qualitative geochemical targeting tools and do not, in themselves, confirm the presence, grade or continuity of mineralization. Airborne radiometric and magnetic responses are likewise geophysical targeting tools whose interpretation is subject to ground follow-up and validation. Helium soil-gas estimates from satellite data referenced herein were obtained from an independent specialist consultant. The Qualified Person has reviewed the protocols, parameters and reporting methodologies used by these contractors.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects, anticipates or intends to occur in the future, or that otherwise reflect management’s expectations or beliefs about future events, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “strategy,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “would,” “may,” “could,” or “should” occur or be achieved.

Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to: (i) the Company’s expectation that approximately 3,000 metres of drilling will be completed at Bardy and Blanchette in the current phase, with approximately 1,500 metres at each property; (ii) the Company’s plan to complete an airborne radiometric and magnetic survey in mid-June 2026 over the Bardy SE, Miskam, Sabot and Blanchette properties, and the expected utility of that survey in identifying radiometric responses potentially associated with REE and Nb mineralization; (iii) the Company’s interpretations regarding the geometry, scale and prospectivity of intrusion-style and dyke- and vein-style targets, including the interpreted approximately 60 km² intrusion of the Veillette Intrusive Suite at Miskam and the interpreted age equivalence between the Toad Intrusive Suite and the Crevier Alkaline Complex; (iv) the Company’s intention to integrate radon and helium soil-gas estimates from independent specialist contractors into its target generation workflow; (v) the Company’s plan to mobilize a second drill rig in early July 2026 to drill an additional approximately 2,500 metres; (vi) the Company’s plan to retain a flexible final approximately 2,500 metres of drilling for allocation to the highest-priority targets identified from the integrated dataset; (vii) the timing and receipt of laboratory assay and related analytical results from the Seigneurie program; and (viii) the potential for the Grenville Province to host significant niobium, rare earth element or other critical mineral deposits. Such forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current plans, intentions, expectations and beliefs and are subject to certain assumptions, including, without limitation, assumptions that exploration results will continue to support the prospectivity of the properties, that drilling contractors, airborne survey operators, soil-gas service providers and other consultants will remain available on commercially reasonable terms, and that required regulatory and landowner access will be maintained.

Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to: the timing and receipt of assay, geophysical and geochemical results; the timing and receipt of required regulatory approvals; weather and seasonal conditions affecting airborne surveys and ground operations; changes in commodity prices and market conditions; the availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms; the availability of drill rigs, qualified personnel, airborne survey operators, soil-gas service providers and other service providers; the continued cooperation of landowners and local stakeholders; general economic, business and political conditions; risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, including operational risks, geological uncertainties, environmental risks and accidents; changes in government regulation or policy; and the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development. Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by the Company is available in the Company’s public disclosure record on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and undue reliance should not be placed on them. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date hereof and are based on information currently available and management’s beliefs, estimates, expectations and opinions at that time. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.