Mr. Nicolas Tremblay reports

NI-CO ENERGY LAUNCHES APPROXIMATELY 7,500-METRE DRILL PROGRAM AT THE KREMER PROJECT; FIRST HOLE TARGETS KREMER-2

Drilling of the first hole of Ni-Co Energy Inc.'s approximately 7,500-metre 2026 program has begun at Kremer-2. The Kremer project, focused on nickel, copper and cobalt exploration, is 100 per cent owned by the company and located within ZEC Lavigne in Quebec. The program, planned in two phases, is financed and the required permits have been obtained.

Highlights

• Drilling of the first hole has begun at Kremer-2, located southeast of Kremer-1. Kremer-2 is the company's highest-priority untested exploration target.
• The approximately 7,500-metre program will be carried out with one drill rig in two phases. Phase 1 will cover the principal identified electromagnetic conductors, while phase 2 will provide more detailed drilling of the areas considered most prospective.
• As announced on July 22, 2026, 11 of 33 grab samples from Kremer-2 returned more than 0.5 per cent Ni (nickel), including values of up to 1.21 per cent Ni. Most Kremer-2 samples were collected at multiple locations over approximately two kilometres.
• The initial holes will target TDEM conductors in areas where massive sulphide zones have also been observed at surface and where magnetic and gravity responses are present. Borehole electromagnetic surveys (BHEM) are planned on the majority of holes.
• Closely spaced drilling will also be carried out at Kremer-1 to better constrain the true widths, geometry and continuity of zones intersected in 2023.
• The program will test part of an approximately eight km prospective geological and geophysical corridor. Several conductors, extensions and areas, including Kremer-3, will remain to be evaluated after this program.

Management commentary

Alain Tremblay, president and chief executive officer of Ni-Co Energy, stated: "We are starting at Kremer-2 because it is our untested target with the strongest convergence of surface and geophysical data. The approximately 7,500-metre program represents the first systematic subsurface evaluation of part of the Kremer corridor. It will test several targets at Kremer-2 and help better define Kremer-1. This program is not designed to test the full potential of the project: several conductors, extensions and areas within the approximately eight km prospective corridor, including Kremer-3, will remain to be evaluated afterward. We will advance the project step by step, based on drilling data, assays and borehole electromagnetic surveys."

Marc Boivin, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, of Ni-Co Energy and qualified person for the company, stated: "The first holes at Kremer-2 are designed to intersect the TDEM conductors, interpreted to dip to the southwest, at a high angle. Their relationship with the interpreted dense and magnetic body in the area remains to be confirmed. Borehole electromagnetic surveys will help us determine whether the conductors extend off-hole and rapidly guide follow-up work."

2026 drill program

This drill campaign is intended to confirm the economic potential of the favourable corridor and document the geological and ore-deposit setting of the mineralized zones. The planned holes are designed to test sulphide mineralization observed at multiple surface sites and confirm vertical extensions, thicknesses, and grades. Hole design integrates the geometry of modelled TDEM conductive plates, magnetic and gravity responses, topography, and ground access.

At Kremer-1, closely spaced drilling will be carried out after drilling at Kremer-2. Modelling of borehole electromagnetic surveys completed in 2024 indicates that several 2023 holes were oriented subparallel to the interpreted dip of the target. The new holes will be oriented to intersect the interpreted geometry at a higher angle and better evaluate true widths, which remain unknown.

The company intends to provide updates on the progress of the program and release assay results once they have been received, verified and approved.

Kremer project and geophysical coverage

The Kremer project is interpreted as a nickel-copper-cobalt-bearing sulphide mineralization system hosted within the Morin Anorthosite, near its contact with Grenvillian metasedimentary rocks. Work completed at Kremer-1 in 2023 confirmed the presence of nickel-, copper- and cobalt-bearing sulphides in drilling and at surface.

Kremer-2, located southeast of Kremer-1, had never been drill tested before the current program. The area was prioritized based on the convergence of several factors: assay-confirmed sulphide mineralization at multiple surface sites, electromagnetic conductors, and magnetic and gravity responses.

The initial helicopter-borne TDEM survey covered the project-scale corridor. Detailed ground TDEM, gravity and drone magnetic surveys completed in 2024 and early 2025 over the grids then designated Kremer-1 and Kremer-2 also cover the southeastern extension now designated Kremer-3. Kremer-3 remains an untested follow-up area and is less advanced than Kremer-2.

Integrated geological and geophysical work has defined an approximately eight km prospective corridor containing several distinct electromagnetic conductors as well as magnetic and gravity responses. Ni-Cu-Co (nickel-copper-cobalt) mineralization has been confirmed by drilling at Kremer-1 and by grab samples at multiple sites at Kremer-2. The continuity, source and economic significance of the individual conductors along the corridor have not yet been established.

Reference to previous results and quality assurance/quality control procedures

This news release presents no new assay results, but refers to the company's news release dated July 22, 2026, and filed on SEDAR+.

As part of the drill program, core will be oriented, photographed, logged, sawn and sampled in accordance with the company's procedures. The quality assurance and quality control program will include the regular insertion of blanks, certified reference materials and duplicates. The selected laboratory, analytical methods, and full details of the quality assurance and quality control protocol will be disclosed with the first assay results.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Marc Boivin, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, of Ni-Co Energy and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Boivin is not independent of the company.

About Ni-Co Energy Inc.

Ni-Co Energy is a Quebec-focused mineral exploration company advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Kremer nickel-copper-cobalt project, located within ZEC Lavigne approximately 90 kilometres north of downtown Montreal. The company's objective is to explore for nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization in Quebec, with a focus on critical minerals required for electrification, energy-transition technologies and industrial supply chains.

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