Mr. Stephen Rentschler reports

ILLITE IDENTIFIED AS DOMINANT LITHIUM MINERAL IN HIGH-GRADE LOWER ZONE; POTENTIAL FOR STILL HIGHER-GRADE MINERALIZATION AT BONNIE CLAIRE LITHIUM PROJECT

Nevada Lithium Resources Inc. has released results from the first of a suite of samples being analyzed by the Department of Earth Sciences (DiSTAR) at the University of Naples Federico II of Naples, Italy. These samples are being analyzed as part of a research agreement between the company and DiSTAR to further define the lithium distribution in clay minerals within existing drill core on its 100-per-cent-owned Bonnie Claire lithium project, located in Nye county, Nevada. This work is designed to identify mineralogical controls on lithium grade and is expected to provide valuable guidance for high-impact exploration, targeted drilling and resource grade maximization.

Nevada Lithium's chief executive officer, Stephen Rentschler, commented: "We are pleased to announce that an initial drill core analysis by our research partners at the University of Naples Department of Earth Sciences has returned a lithium grade of 19,815 parts per million for the first clay fraction sample from hole BC 2402C. This sample was chosen to gain additional understanding of the high-grade lithium Lower zone, from which Bonnie Claire's lithium/boron resource and mine plan are derived.

"The dominance of illite, which can display a lithium grade comparable to many spodumene deposits, explains the very high grades observed within Bonnie Claire's lithium resource. As earlier analyses were undertaken prior to the identification of lithium residence within the clay fraction, this work provides important context for the interpretation of existing lithium grades. This context is also expected to be of use in targeting higher-grade mineralization in areas of clay-rich rocks, which could further increase the grade of the project's lithium resource.

"The research program at the University of Naples is continuing, and it is expected to provide further insight into the multiple zones of lithium mineralization at Bonnie Claire. Conclusions from the work to date are currently being integrated into Nevada Lithium's technical work programs, which are designed to advance the project, and deliver additional shareholder value."

Join Mr. Rentschler, CEO, and Dr. Jeff Wilson, vice-president, exploration, of Nevada Lithium for a live virtual event to learn more about the details of this news release

Date and time:  Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at 2 p.m. EST

Highlights:

• First positive determination of lithium residence at Bonnie Claire;
• Clay fraction sample from Lower zone identifies dominant illite mineralogy;
• Drill core displays illite trend in high-grade samples and potential smectite trend in low-grade samples;
• 19,815 ppm Li concentration in clay fraction sample;
• Potential to intercept higher-grade mineralization at Bonnie Claire within clay-rich rocks in Lower zone.

Lithium residence

The company announced a research agreement with the Department of Earth Sciences (DiSTAR) at the University of Naples Federico II of Naples, Italy, in its Dec. 11, 2025, news release. The research project seeks to develop a greater understanding of the lithium distribution in clay minerals in the Bonnie Claire deposit. The project involves the analysis of a suite of core samples from drill hole BC 2402C. The company initially disclosed drill hole BC 2402C in the company's Oct. 1, 2024, news release.

This release discloses the results from the first of these analyses, from sample N21, which was taken from a depth of 2,353.3 to 2,354 feet. This sample is located within the high-grade Lower zone at Bonnie Claire and was collected from an intercept having a bulk-rock lithium assay of 6,020 ppm.

Sample N21 underwent a series of analyses, including:

• Bulk-rock X-ray diffraction (XRD) to assess variations in mineralogy across the sample;
• XRD and short-wave infrared (SWIR) on clay fraction to determine dominant clay mineralogy;
• Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) on clay fraction to determine the lithium concentration.

Bulk-rock XRD

XRD analyses were carried out on a number of microsamples within sample N21 to assess mineralogical variations within different textural components. Results indicate that the fine-grained and clay-rich parts of the sample are dominated by searlesite and a 10-angstrom (illite and/or mica) phyllosilicate. The more granular parts of the sample also contain plagioclase and analcime, suggesting the occurrence of partially altered tuffaceous sediments, bearing relict igneous phases (plagioclase) and zeolite formed after glassy material (analcime).

XRD on clay fraction

XRD analyses were conducted on the clay fraction from sample N21. The measured XRD patterns demonstrate that the clay fraction is dominated by a basal reflection of 10 angstroms, reflecting a phyllosilicate (mica or illite). After glycol saturation, to allow for the expansion of any swelling (smectite) clays, analysis of the clay fraction did not show any significant shift of the basal reflection to 15 to 17 angstroms. The absence of any 15-to-17-angstrom shift rules out the presence of significant smectite and/or smectite-illite mixed layers components. The broad nature of the reflection peaks indicates that the 10-angstrom phyllosilicate is microcrystalline and hence can be classified as illite, rather than mica (further evidence are given by SWIR).

SWIR on clay fraction

High-resolution VNIR-SWIR (visible and near infrared/short-wave infrared) reflectance point spectroscopy was conducted on the clay fraction from sample N21. The analysis displays the typical OH-group-related features of sheet silicates in the SWIR range at around 1,400 and 1,900 nanometres. These are common to most clays and hence are not conclusive for classification purposes. Typical SWIR absorption bands of illite are found in the 2,000-to-2,500-nanometre range and include the 2,250-nanometre, 2,359-nanometre and 2,450-nanometre features. The absence of a feature at 2,100 nanometres points out that illite is prevailing over micas. These findings confirm the XRD results. The feature at 2,316 nanometres suggests an illite with magnesium-bearing composition, while that at 2,250 nanometres is a proxy of low-aluminum contents.

ICP-OES on clay fraction

ICP-OES analysis was carried out on clay fraction from sample N21, and a list of the analyzed elements is presented in Table 2. Of particular note, the geochemical analysis of the clay fraction has yielded an overall lithium concentration of 19,815 ppm. A grade of this magnitude supports the identification of dominant illite in the XRD and SWIR analyses.

Lithium clay classification

One method to understand the context of this work is to include it in the lithium clay classification scheme of Putzolu et al. (2025), which plots lithium grade against magnesium/aluminum ratios.

Within this classification scheme, existing assay data from Bonnie Claire plot along two distinct trends. Low-grade samples plot along a hectorite (smectite) trend while high-grade samples plot much closer to a lithium illite (tainiolite) trend. The current 19,815 ppm Li assay from the clay fraction plots along the high-grade trend of the existing drill data, closer to the theoretical composition for lithium-fluorine micas than that of tainiolite.

In comparison, LA-ICP-MS data of lithium clays from Thacker Pass (Emproto et al., 2025) plot as a broad scatter between the hectorite and tainiolite lines.

Discussion

This analysis is the first of a suite of samples analyzed by the Department of Earth Sciences (DiSTAR) at the University of Naples Federico II of Naples, Italy. Each of the samples will illustrate different aspects of lithium residence at Bonnie Claire.

The bulk-rock XRD analysis suggests that sample N21 was a partially altered tuffaceous sediment, bearing relict igneous phases (plagioclase) and zeolite formed after glassy material (analcime). The XRD analysis of the clay fraction demonstrates that the clay fraction is microcrystalline illite, with no significant smectites, illite/smectite mixed layers or mica. The SWIR analysis confirms the XRD results, supporting that illite is the prevailing clay mineral.

The current ICP-OES analysis provided an overall assay of 19,815 ppm lithium, reflecting a high-lithium and relatively low-magnesium illite. This plots along the same trend between tainiolite and lithium-fluorine micas as high-grade bulk-rock assays at Bonnie Claire. The magnitude of this assay suggests the possibility of intersecting higher grades in clay-rich claystones within the Lower zone at Bonnie Claire.

PDAC presentation

Dr. Wilson, vice-president, exploration, for Nevada Lithium, will be presenting in the Exploration Insights technical session at the coming Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto next month. The presentation is entitled "The Bonnie Claire volcano-sedimentary Li-B deposit" and will take place on Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m., in Room 716.

This will be the first technical presentation about Bonnie Claire at a major conference. The presentation will provide an introduction to the geological characteristics of the volcano-sedimentary lithium-boron deposit class and the relative position of the Bonnie Claire deposit.

Quality assurance/quality control

Drill core from BC2402C were sampled by DiSTAR staff under supervision of Nevada Lithium personnel at the company's core facility at Betty, Nev. All samples were transported by Nevada Lithium personnel to Reno, Nev., and shipped by courier to the DiSTAR facility in Naples, Italy.

All XRD, SWIR and ICP-OES analyses were carried out at the DiSTAR facility in Naples, Italy.

Processing of the bulk-rock XRD data was carried out by using the PDF-2 mineral library of the International Centre of Diffraction Data. For SWIR acquisitions on clay fraction, the preprocessing step included a standard radiometric calibration. The SWIR data recorded as digital numbers were converted into radiance by subtracting the dark-reference measurements and applying sensor-specific calibration. Then, the measured radiance was converted into reflectance by normalizing the data to the reflectance measurements acquired on R99 and R80 Spectralon white reference calibration panels. ICP-OES samples were analyzed at the DiSTAR laboratory in Naples, Italy. Quality control in the form of duplicates, standards and blanks was provided by the laboratory. These were reviewed and found to be within target ranges.

Qualified person disclosure

Dr. Jeff Wilson, PhD, FGC, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Nevada Lithium, is the qualified person as such term is defined in NI 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release and is not independent of the company.

About Nevada Lithium Resources Inc.

Nevada Lithium Resources is a mineral exploration and development company focused on shareholder value creation through its core asset, the Bonnie Claire lithium project, located in Nye county, Nevada, where it holds a 100-per-cent interest.

The company recently filed a PEA (preliminary economic assessment) on the Bonnie Claire lithium project. The PEA has an effective date of March 31, 2025, and presents a $6,829-million after-tax net present value (NPV) at an 8-per-cent discount rate, based on $24,000 per tonne Li2CO3 (lithium carbonate) and $950 per tonne boric acid, together with a 32.3-per-cent after-tax internal rate of return (IRR). Results of the PEA were announced in the company's news release, dated Aug. 6, 2025. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are too speculative geologically to be classified as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized.

We seek Safe Harbor.