Mr. Gary Lewis reports

AEF COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF THE SOUTH WOODIE WOODIE MANGANESE PROJECT, PILBARA DISTRICT, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

AE Fuels Corp.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Advanced Energy Fuels Inc., has exercised its option with Trek Metals Ltd. pursuant to an option and acquisition agreement dated Sept. 9, 2024. In accordance with the terms of the option agreement, Advanced paid $450,000 (Australian) in cash and issued an additional six million AE Fuels shares, bringing the total number of shares issued to Trek to eight million. Advanced now has a 100-per-cent ownership interest in the South Woodie Woodie manganese project.

Gary Lewis, chief executive officer and director of the company, said: "Exercising the option and securing 100-per-cent ownership of South Woodie Woodie is a key step for AEF. We now have a defined resource base and a clear pipeline of technical work to derisk the project from beneficiation through to purification and HPMSM crystallization. In 2026, our priorities are to progress the PFS and environmental baseline studies, complete the next stages of metallurgical testwork, and advance the project toward commercialization and production of battery-grade manganese products. This work will also include progressing our discussions with government and potential supply chain partners."

South Woodie Woodie comprises a contiguous group of nine mineral exploration licences covering a total area of 517.5 square kilometres. The project hosts the Contact and Contact North manganese deposits, and includes a broader suite of high-grade regional prospects with demonstrated exploration potential. Extensive historical drilling has been undertaken at the project (418 drill holes for 39,920 metres), resulting in a National Instrument 43-101 inferred mineral resource estimate of 11.3 million tonnes grading 15.0 per cent Mn at a 10.1-per-cent-manganese cut-off. Grades up to 42.8 per cent Mn were recorded in resource drilling.

In support of the NI 43-101 mineral resource, AE Fuels has also undertaken an initial assessment of mining, processing and infrastructure considerations to guide continuing technical work and prioritize key value drivers. AE Fuels continues to advance a staged, fully integrated development plan, targeting the production of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate.

AE Fuels has already completed a structured program of metallurgical testwork to assess beneficiation, leaching and purification pathways, with additional programs currently in progress and planned for 2026, including:

• Pyrometallurgical reduction, leaching and impurity removal on concentrate samples;
• Solvent extraction and crystallization from purified leach liquor, targeting production of battery-grade HPMSM;
• Engineering studies to advance project definition and support financing decisions.

Manganese strategy

AE Fuels is building a global battery mineral business focused on delivering high-purity manganese products into North American battery and technology markets. Manganese ranks amongst the highest U.S. net import reliance of any critical mineral and dominates life-cycle-extending battery chemistries, including current and emerging chemistries such as LMFP and LM-R, as well as solid-state and sodium-ion batteries. Manganese-based chemistries are essential for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, and are a key enabler for integrating intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

With supply chain concentration and geopolitical risk accelerating the push for onshoring, AE Fuels is strongly positioned to become a reliable, competitive supplier to North American battery and technology markets. The company looks forward to updating investors on project development milestones, supported by integrated technical, commercial and financing work streams.

Qualified person

John Levings, BSc, FAusIMM, technical director, AE Fuels, is the qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the scientific and technical information in this news release. Mr. Levings has reviewed, verified and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release. Mr. Levings is not independent of the company for the purposes of NI 43-101.

About AE Fuels Corp.

AE Fuels is a battery material company focused on the extraction and purification of minerals critical for the batteries that power electrification and energy storage. AE Fuels has a multiasset portfolio strategically located in Tier 1 jurisdictions with manganese projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and fluorspar prospects in New Mexico in the United States. Manganese and fluorspar are essential raw materials to multiple high-growth industries, and are designated critical minerals in Australia, United States and European Union due to their importance to energy security and clean technology supply chains. AE Fuels is advancing development activities aimed at delivering reliable, allied-sourced supply of these materials to reduce U.S. dependence on high-risk or non-aligned jurisdictions.

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