Mr. Adrian Smith reports

FIRST ATLANTIC CLOSES FIRST TRANCHE OF NO WARRANT LIFE FINANCING; CEO PARTICIPATES WITH 1,000,000-share SUBSCRIPTION

First Atlantic Nickel Corp. has closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered, no warrant private placement of up to 21,666,667 common shares in the capital of the company, as described in the company's press release dated Feb. 12, 2026.

The first tranche closing of the LIFE offering consisted of the issuance of an aggregate of 17,036,609 common shares at a price of 18 cents per common share for gross proceeds of $3,066,589.62. No commissions or finders' fees were paid in connection with the LIFE offering.

The company's chief executive officer, Adrian Smith, participated in the private placement by subscribing for one million common shares for a total investment of $180,000.

In connection with the first tranche closing, the company relied on the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 -- Prospectus Exemptions for the issuance of 17,036,609 common shares, which are freely tradeable securities under applicable Canadian securities laws.

The company intends to use the gross proceeds from the offering to advance the company's projects (including Pipestone XL and Ophiolite-X), satisfy related option payment obligations, maintain and manage mineral claims and properties, and for investor relations, general and administrative expenses, and unallocated working capital for the next 12 months, as more fully described in the amended and restated offering document dated Feb. 12, 2026.

Mr. Smith, the company's chief executive officer, participated in the LIFE offering and subscribed for one million common shares. The insider's participation constitutes a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 -- Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The company is relying on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, on the basis that the common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange and neither the fair market value of the common shares issued to the insider nor the consideration paid by the insider exceeds 25 per cent of the company's market capitalization.

The company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the LIFE offering, as the details and amounts of the related party participation were not finalized until closer to the closing and the company wished to close the transaction as soon as practicable for sound business reasons.

The company intends to close a second tranche to the LIFE offering and will provide an update in due course.

Adrian Smith, PGeo, a director and the chief executive officer of the company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The qualified person is a member in good standing of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) and is a registered professional geoscientist (PGeo). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed herein.

About First Atlantic Nickel Corp.

First Atlantic Nickel is a mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and development of awaruite, a rare, naturally occurring nickel-iron-cobalt alloy, at its 100-per-cent-owned Pipestone XL project in Newfoundland. The project spans the 30-kilometre Pipestone Ophiolite complex, where multiple zones contain awaruite (nickel-cobalt) mineralization along with secondary chromium. Awaruite's magnetic properties enable processing through magnetic separation, potentially eliminating the need for conventional smelting or high-pressure acid leaching while reducing dependence on foreign-controlled processing infrastructure.

We seek Safe Harbor.