Mr. Tony Guo reports

NICKEL NORTH COMMENCES 2026 SUMMER EXPLORATION PROGRAM AT HAWK RIDGE CU-NI-PGE SULFIDE PROJECT

Nickel North Exploration Corp.'s 2026 summer field exploration program has officially commenced during the first week of July at the company's 100-per-cent-owned Hawk Ridge Cu-Ni-Co-PGE (copper-nickel-cobalt-platinum group element) sulphide project in Northern Quebec.

The Hawk Ridge project encompasses 411 mineral claims covering a total area of 179.67 square kilometres along a highly prospective 50 km long magmatic sulphide belt. Field crews mobilized swiftly, and initial phases of geological mapping, geochemical sampling and passive seismic geophysics are already well under way across the major known mineralization zones.

Key exploration highlights from early July operations:

• Surface soil geochemical sampling: The field team has successfully completed 100 surface soil sampling over two high-priority target areas. All samples have been securely bagged and are being transported to Vancouver for immediate portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis to guide continuing field targeting.
• Targeted rock sampling and new mineralization zone discoveries: Prospecting and bedrock sampling have focused on the North Hopes Advanced, Pio and Sindler Gamma zones. A new mineralized zone outcropping with strong Cu-Ni (copper-nickel) mineralization and alteration within the North Hopes Advanced target areas have been discovered by the field crew. The new zone is about 500 m long and greater than 20 m wide which has been mapped and sampled. A total of 35 mineralized rock samples have been dispatched via air cargo to Vancouver for formal assaying.
• Historical core relogging and reassaying: A total of 106 mineralized core samples and 60 m unsampled mineralized cores from four historical holes from previous drilling campaigns have been systematically relogged and sampled. These historical samples have been shipped via air cargo to Montreal and are being submitted to a local certified commercial laboratory for comprehensive re-assaying.
• Passive seismic geophysical surveys: The geophysics crew has completed four lines of short-period receiver function technique (SFRT) passive seismic surveying, totalling around 3500 linear metres. The survey lines directly intersect the core mineralized trends and historical aeromagnetic pipe-like anomalies at Pio, Sindler-Gamma, Fold and Bay, and Hopes Advanced zones. Raw geophysical data will be processed and interpreted over the coming weeks to evaluate deeper structural extensions of the sulfide bodies and the pipe-like magnetic anomalies.

Tony Guo, chief executive officer of Nickel North, commented: "Kicking off our field operations early in the season is a tremendous achievement for the team. By deploying this focused, science-first strategy, we can systematically unlock value across several prominent targets within the broad Hawk Ridge footprint while keeping a sharp eye on our capital expenditure. Moving forward, these incoming data sets -- spanning geochemistry, assays and passive seismic profiles -- will directly shape the geometry of our upcoming diamond drilling campaign, which we intend to launch in 2027-2028. Investors can look forward to consistent updates as these results filter back from the labs and contact company late."

Qualified person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Guo, PGeo, registered in the province of Quebec, an independent geologist consultant from Eco-Goldex Inc. and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the field work program, reviewed, and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About Nickel North Exploration Corp.

Nickel North Exploration is a Canada-based exploration company focused on defining a Cu-Ni-Co-PGE mineral resource at its Hawk Ridge project in Northern Quebec. The board of directors, advisory committee and management team are experienced, successful mine finders. The property consists of a 50-kilometre-long belt of strong magmatic Cu-Ni-Co-PGE occurrences covering 179.67 square km near tidewater. Quebec is a globally recognized, mining-friendly jurisdiction. Nickel North Exploration is a conscientious corporate citizen that maintains strong, positive relations with local Inuit communities and is deeply committed to sustainable, collaborative mineral development. In 2021, Nickel North Exploration was recognized as a key participant in the critical and strategic minerals value chain by Quebec's Ministry of Economics and Innovation (MEI) under the Quebec plan for the development of critical and strategic minerals (2020 to 2025), which aims to stimulate exploration, mining, transformation and recycling of critical metals.

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