Mr. Kerem Usenmez reports

VOLTA PARTNERS WITH THE IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY TO ADVANCE METALLURGICAL WORK FOR RARE EARTHS AND GALLIUM FROM THE SPRINGER DEPOSIT, ONTARIO, CANADA

Volta Metals Ltd. has entered into a material transfer agreement to conduct advanced metallurgical work on rare-earth elements and gallium from its Springer deposit, located in Ontario, Canada.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

INL is globally recognized for its expertise in advanced separation science and engineering and serves as the U.S. Department of Energy's primary separation sciences R&D (research-and-development) test bed. INL and the Department of Energy's objectives are to reduce North America's reliance on adversarial nations for critical minerals, secure a domestic supply chain for rare earths used in defence and electronics, as well as gallium for artificial intelligence, and advance mineral processing technologies essential for national resilience.

INL researchers will contribute their technical expertise and recommendations to refine production scalable mineral processes applicable for the Springer deposit. The testwork will seek to identify and advise on a recovery process for gallium and examine existing and emerging innovative mineral processing methodologies for the rare-earth elements present to support production capability for North America's critical material needs.

The Springer REE-Ga project

The project consists of 5,000 hectares of patented and non-patented claims and contains a historic National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource for total rare-earth oxides (TREO) of 4.167 mt (million tonnes) at 1.073 per cent TREO indicated and 12.73 mt at 1.119 per cent TREO in the inferred resource category at a cut-off of 0.9 per cent. Mineralization starts at surface, the deposit remains open for expansion and the large property is underexplored for REE-Ga mineralization.

The project is located eight kilometres outside Sturgeon Falls, Ont., near the Trans-Canada Highway, the Sturgeon Falls power station and the railway station. The Crystal Falls power station is located seven kilometres east of the project site, and power lines and paved roads run across the property. The project site is accessible from Sudbury and North Bay and is workable year-round.

Springer also contains high-grade gallium, a critical mineral that is vital for semiconductors, AI applications and national security applications. On Dec. 3, 2024, China announced an immediate ban on the export of multiple critical metals, including gallium, exacerbating supply chain challenges.

Examination of the drill database and 3-D modelling by the company as part of its due diligence suggests that the Springer deposit may contain a significant gallium resource. There has been no petrographic or metallurgical testwork completed on the gallium; consequently, INL's testwork will seek to determine gallium deportment (that is where it reports to mineralogically) in addition to conducting an initial assessment on its potential processing and recoverability. The company intends to drill and update the 2012 resource estimate in the upcoming exploration season.

About Volta Metals Ltd.

Volta Metals is a mineral exploration company based in Toronto, Ont., focused on rare earths, gallium, lithium, cesium and tantalum. It owns, has optioned and is currently exploring a critical minerals portfolio of rare earths, gallium, lithium, cesium and tantalum projects in Ontario, one of the world's most prolific, emerging hard-rock lithium districts.

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