Mr. Chris Pennimpede reports

CANTERRA LAUNCHES FULLY FUNDED 15,000 METRE DISCOVERY-FOCUSED DRILL PROGRAM IN NEWFOUNDLAND

Canterra Minerals Corp. is entering a high-impact discovery phase in 2026 with the launch of a fully financed, up-to-15,000-metre diamond drill program across its 100-per-cent-owned projects in central Newfoundland. Drilling has commenced at the company's Buchans project, one of the world's most prolific past-producing high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide districts, where modern deep-seeking geophysics have generated multiple untested targets.

The 2026 campaign marks a transition from target generation to systematic drill testing across three areas: (i) drill test high-priority targets at Buchans identified by modern deep-seeking geophysics and integrated geological modelling; (ii) prioritize selective follow-up drilling across Canterra's broader Victoria Lake supergroup portfolio as potential satellite deposits to the Buchans project; and (iii) advance gold targets at the Wilding gold project along the same structural corridor that hosts Equinox Gold's producing Valentine mine.

2026 program highlights

Up to 15,000 metres of fully financed diamond drilling across Buchans, the Victoria Lake supergroup portfolio and Wilding:

• Buchans (approximately 5,000 metres planned): 2,000-metre winter program has commenced, targeting 3-D induced polarization anomalies and structural corridors prospective for Buchans-style massive sulphide mineralization, plus expansion drilling at the Lundberg deposit and Two Level zone; additional approximately 3,000 m follow-up testing later in 2026;
• VLSG portfolio (up to approximately 5,000 m): belt-wide target ranking across multiple VMS deposits (Bobbys Pond, Daniels Pond, Boomerang, Lemarchant, Long Lake and Tulks deposits) and prospects to prioritize 2026 prospecting, geophysics and targeted diamond drilling;
• Wilding gold project (approximately 5,000 m planned): initial field program consisting of approximately 250 percussion drill holes (basal till and top-of-bedrock sampling) has commenced along the 55-kilometre Valentine structural trend, with follow-up diamond drilling scheduled for second half 2026.

Chris Pennimpede, president and chief executive officer of Canterra, commented: "Two thousand twenty-six marks the beginning of a true discovery-driven phase for Canterra. At Buchans, winter drilling is already under way as we apply modern deep-seeking geophysics to one of the world's most prolific high-grade VMS districts and systematically test targets that previous operators could not effectively evaluate at depth.

"In parallel, we are advancing our Wilding gold project along the same structural corridor that hosts the producing Valentine mine, where we control a 55-kilometre extension of this gold-bearing trend. Our Q1-Q2 program is designed to refine and prioritize targets ahead of diamond drilling in the second half of the year.

"With a fully funded 15,000-metre program and successive drill results anticipated throughout 2026, we believe we are positioned to demonstrate the broader district-scale potential of our Newfoundland land package."

2026 exploration program overview

Buchans project -- winter drilling under way; follow-up on 3-D induced polarization results and integrated targeting

Objective: advance discovery and resource growth potential at Buchans by drill testing high-priority targets generated from the company's 2025 deep-seeking 3-D IP program and subsequent integrated interpretation. In addition, Canterra intends to undertake additional drilling for resource expansion at the Lundberg deposit and at the high-grade Two Level zone as follow-up to positive drilling results achieved in 2025.

2026 work program -- Buchans project:

• Approximately 5,000 metres of drilling, beginning with an initial approximately 2,000-metre winter program currently in progress at the West Clementine target;
• Winter drilling will test priority targets interpreted from 3-D IP chargeability/resistivity responses, integrated with geology, structure, historical drilling and continuing targeting work to refine vectors toward Buchans-style massive sulphide mineralization;
• Results from the winter program will be used to update target rankings and refine follow-up drill plans later in 2026.

Victoria Lake supergroup portfolio -- target ranking

Objective: Unlock additional discovery and expansion potential across Canterra's consolidated VMS land package by systematically ranking and drill testing the highest-priority deposits and prospects within the Victoria Lake supergroup. The 2026 program is designed to focus capital on targets with the strongest geological indicators for Buchans-style massive sulphide mineralization and resource growth within a proven, district-scale mining belt.

2026 work program -- Victoria Lake supergroup portfolio:

• Belt-wide target ranking initiative across VLSG deposits and prospects, including Boomerang, Lemarchant, Long Lake, Tulks, Daniels Pond, Bobby's Pond and additional prospects;
• Develop a prioritized list of field activities, including prospecting, ground geophysics and drill targeting;
• Anticipate up to approximately 5,000m of targeted diamond drilling, focused on the highest-ranked opportunities for discovery and/or expansion.

Wilding project -- first quarter basal till and top-of-bedrock drilling to build drill-ready gold targets

Objective: advance district-scale gold discovery potential along the 55-kilometre structural corridor contiguous with the producing Valentine mine by refining and prioritizing high-confidence bedrock targets for diamond drill testing in 2026. The program is designed to systematically vector toward structurally controlled orogenic gold mineralization along an underexplored extension of a proven gold-bearing trend.

2026 work program -- Wilding project:

• A combined basal till and top-of-bedrock percussion drilling program has commenced.
• Phase 1 is expected to include approximately 250 percussion drill holes, focusing on priority areas that are proximal to known gold occurrences and gold-bearing regional structures including areas recently returning favourable results from 2025 drilling (news release dated Jan. 20, 2026).
• The program is designed to identify coherent gold-in-till patterns and multielement vectors to help prioritize follow-up work and define the strongest bedrock targets for drilling.
• Subject to results, additional basal till sampling may be completed later in 2026 to expand coverage or tighten spacing over emerging trends.
• The company anticipates follow-up diamond drilling of approximately approximately 5,000 m in the summer/fall on the highest-priority targets, along with prospecting and mapping across the broader property.

Regional context

Canterra's central Newfoundland land position provides optionality across multiple commodity exposures and deposit styles, supported by year-round access corridors, established mining communities and proximity to key infrastructure.

Newfoundland and Labrador junior exploration assistance

Canterra would like to acknowledge financial support it may receive from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador's junior exploration assistance program related to completion of portions of its 2026 exploration activities.

Qualified person

Paul Moore, MSc, PGeo (Newfoundland), vice-president of exploration for Canterra, a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release.

About Canterra Minerals Corp.

Canterra is a diversified mineral exploration company focused on critical minerals and gold in central Newfoundland. The company's projects include seven mineral deposits located in close proximity to the world-renowned, past-producing Buchans mine and Teck Resources' Duck Pond mine, which collectively produced copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold. Several of Canterra's deposits support current and historical mineral resource estimates prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. Canterra's gold projects are located on trend of Equinox Gold's Valentine mine currently in production and cover an approximately 55-kilometre extension of the same structural corridor that hosts mineralization within Equinox Gold's mine project. Past drilling by Canterra and others within the company's gold projects intersected multiple occurrences of orogenic-style gold mineralization within a large land position that remains underexplored.

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