Mr. Dean Pekeski reports

AMERICAN CRITICAL MINERALS MOBILIZES TO THE GREEN RIVER PROJECT TO COMMENCE DRILL PAD CONSTRUCTION

American Critical Minerals Corp. has commenced mobilization of a field crew to the Green River project to complete drill pad construction. The company has engaged Harrison Field Services Inc. for pad construction and SWPPP (storm water pollution prevention plan) monitoring. Harrison has been responsible for drill pad construction and reclamation of various drill pads for Anson Resources Ltd.'s adjacent Green River lithium project. The company anticipates commencement of drilling operations during July or August, 2026.

Dean Pekeski, chief executive officer and president of the company, stated: "After the culmination of over 10 years of work the company is excited to unlock the potash, lithium and bromine potential of the property, which shareholders have patiently awaited. We are confident our team will move towards unlocking the potential of the Paradox superbasin."

The initial drill location at the Green River project will be at the Duma Point AP-S-02 well, which is within Utah State-issued permit No. 51690 (School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, known as SITLA or trust lands administration). This drill hole is a high-priority target selected adjacent to historic oil and gas well Quintana Fed 1-1, which is:

• The location of the highest historical grades within the Green River project where logs measured eK2O equals 24.3 per cent potassium chloride based on elog (eKCl)) over 5.9 metres;
• Within a flat-lying portion of the regional antiform (see press release dated Oct. 15, 2025);
• Selected as a high-priority drill target as part of the company's newly issued National Instrument 43-101 technical report (see news release dated Feb. 5, 2026).

The company has engaged Respec Company LLC to execute the 2026 drill programs (see news release dated April 23, 2026). American Critical Minerals has in place all the necessary regulatory requirements, including the notice of intent (NOI), storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) and bonding approval (see news release dated May 26, 2026). The trust lands administration requires an additional $65,000 (U.S.) security bond prior to the commencement of drilling, which is in progress. As well, the right-of-way encroachment permit for county road access has been filed with the Granite County Road Department.

About American Critical Minerals' Green River potash and lithium project

The Green River project is situated within Utah's highly productive Paradox basin, located 20 miles northwest of Moab, Utah. It has significant logistical advantages, including close proximity to major rail hubs, airport, roads, water, towns and labour markets. It also benefits from close proximity to the agricultural and industrial heartland of America and numerous potential end-users for its products.

The history of oil and gas production across the Paradox basin provides geologic data from historic wells across the project, and the wider Basin, validating and derisking the potential for high-grade potash and large amounts of contained lithium. Wells in and around the project reported lithium up to 500 parts per million, bromine up to 6,100 parts per million and boron up to 1,260 parts per million (Gilbride and Santos, 2012). These data are reinforced by nearby potash production and the advanced stage of neighbouring lithium projects. The Paradox basin is believed to be one of the biggest sources of lithium brines in the United States.

The company has disclosed targets for further exploration at the Green River project, consisting of 500 million to 950 million tonnes of sylvinite (the most important source for the production of potash in North America) grading from 12 per cent to 18 per cent potassium oxide based on elog (eK2O equals 19 per cent to 29 per cent potassium chloride based on elog (eKCl)). Its target for further exploration for lithium and bromine is 600,000 to 1.7 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent grading from 91 to 152 parts per million and 3.3 million tonnes to 9.1 million tonnes bromine grading from 2,647 to 4,412 parts per million.

The company holds a 100-per-cent interest in 11 SITLA mineral and minerals salt leases covering approximately 7,050 acres, 1,094 federal lithium brine claims (Bureau of Land Management placer claims) covering 21,150 acres, and 11 federal (BLM) potash prospecting permits covering approximately 25,480 acres. Through these leases, permits and claims the company has the ability to explore for potash, lithium and potential byproducts across the entire Green River project (approximately 32,530 acres). The company is authorized to drill a total of seven drill holes across the Green River project.

Intrepid Potash Inc. is America's largest potash company and only U.S. domestic potash producer and currently produces potash from its nearby Moab solution mine, which the company believes provides strong evidence of stratigraphic continuity within this part of the Paradox basin. Anson Resources has advanced lithium development projects contiguous to the northern boundary of American Critical Minerals' Green River project and neighbouring to the south. Anson has a large initial resource and robust definitive feasibility study and has recently completed successful piloting operations through its partnership with Koch Technology Solutions as well as an offtake agreement with LG Energy Solution. The Anson exploration targets encompass the combined Mississippian Leadville formation and the Pennsylvanian Paradox formation brine-bearing clastic layers, which also underlie American Critical Minerals' entire project area.

In 2022, the United States imported approximately 96.5 per cent of its annual potash requirements, with domestic producers receiving a higher sales price due to proximity to market (Intrepid Potash's Aug. 15, 2024, investor presentation). In March, 2024, the U.S. Senate introduced a bill to include key fertilizers and potash on the U.S. Department of Interior list of Critical Minerals, which already includes lithium, and this process is well advanced, with potash being added to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) draft critical minerals list in August, 2025. Recent market estimates suggest that the global potash market is over $50-billion (U.S.) annually and growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 5 per cent. Annual lithium demand is now estimated to be over one million tonnes globally and continuing to grow rapidly.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dean Besserer, PGeo, the chief operations officer of the company and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

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