Ms. Misty Urbatsch reports

CORE NICKEL CORP. PROVIDES 2024 YEAR-END REVIEW AND OUTLINES 2025 EXPLORATION PLANS

Core Nickel Corp. has shared its 2024 year-end review, highlighting transformative growth in exploration, corporate development and sustainability initiatives. The company also provides insight into its strategic objectives for 2025, building upon its position as a leader in responsibly sourced Canadian nickel. Highlights of the company's 2024 achievements are provided below, but the full shareholder letter can be found on the company's website. Core Nickel encourages shareholders, stakeholders and interested parties to review the letter for a comprehensive overview of the company's progress and future plans. Stay up to date on the latest news and developments by subscribing to the company's newsletter.

Highlights

Strong capital structure

• Raised approximately $3.7-million in 2024, including $207,000 in non-dilutive critical minerals grants from the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF).
• Management and directors participated in recent financings and have been actively buying in the market; now collectively own approximately 28 per cent of the company's shares (approximately 42 per cent fully diluted).

Advancements at Mel deposit

• The Mel deposit has a historical mineral resource consisting of indicated resource of 4.28 million tons grading 0.875 per cent nickel (Ni), and inferred resource of 1.01 million tons grading 0.839 per cent Ni, at a cut-off of 0.5 per cent Ni.
• The Mel deposit has the potential to be one of the highest-grade undeveloped nickel deposits in North America and is located only 25 kilometres from Vale's operating Thompson mill complex.
• Planned helicopter-borne VTEM survey in January of 2025 will assist with identifying new targets for potential resource expansion and additional high-priority targets on the Mel project.
• Core Nickel has engaged Understood Mineral Resources Ltd. to assist in the development of the Mel deposit for the purposes of creating an updated, current mineral resource for the project in the near to medium term.
• A resampling and reanalysis program will be implemented to verify and validate the historical results from the Mel deposit.

Successful Halfway Lake program

• Inaugural drill program intersected 91 metres grading 0.37 per cent nickel from a vertical depth of approximately 120 metres.
• Two thousand twenty-four VTEM survey identified 14 high-priority targets, showcasing the property's strong discovery potential.
• The company will be conducting a 4,000- to 5,000 metre drill program commencing in January, 2025, to test these high-priority targets.

AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning integration

• Partnership with OracleAI Corp. to analyze multilayered exploration data using advanced AI; refining existing targets and defining new ones.

Strengthened leadership team

• Appointment of Paul Reid and Marc Pais to the board of directors, adding significant expertise in exploration, project development and corporate strategy.

Marketing and listing plans for 2025

• Partnerships with Junior Mining Network LLC (JMN) and Chinese Investment Club Inc. (CICI) to enhance global visibility.
• Attended the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) in January, 2025; plans to attend Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and Central Canada Mineral Exploration Convention (CCMEC) as well as targeted road shows to meet investors.
• Advancing an uplisting to the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) and concurrent OTCQB listing to broaden market access.

Misty Urbatsch, chief executive officer, president and director of Core Nickel, commented: "Our first full year as an independent company has been truly monumental. We have taken bold steps forward-advancing high-grade nickel projects, strengthening our team and committing to sustainable mineral development. With strong insider ownership and a well-funded capital structure, we're exceptionally positioned to expand our resource base. We thank our shareholders for their unwavering support and look forward to the exciting milestones ahead in 2025."

Core Nickel will be attending the PDAC and CCMEC conferences in 2025. Stop by the company's booth or e-mail it at info@corenickel.com to schedule a meeting -- the company would love the opportunity to share its vision and hear your thoughts in person.

About Core Nickel Corp.

Core Nickel is a junior nickel exploration company that controls 100 per cent of five properties in the prolific nickel district, the Thompson nickel belt (TNB) in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The five properties consist of approximately 27,000 hectares of land that are proximal to existing infrastructure, such as highways, railways, major hydroelectric transmission lines, and operating mills.

Core Nickel has a large contiguous land package in the northern part of the TNB, situated approximately 16 kilometres to 20 kilometres from the city of Thompson. Core Nickel's northern TNB projects consist of three properties: Mel, Hunter and Odei River. The Mel property encompasses the Mel deposit, which is characterized by a historical National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate with an indicated resource of 4.3 million tonnes at 0.875 per cent nickel, equating to 82.5 million pounds contained nickel, and a historical inferred resource estimate of one million tonnes at 0.839 per cent nickel, equating to 18.7 million pounds of contained nickel. The target stratigraphy (Pipe formation) that hosts the Mel deposit and other deposits in the Thompson nickel belt extends onto the Hunter and Odei River properties and drill hole intersections into the target stratigraphy on the Hunter project have successfully intersected elevated nickel.

The company also holds two projects in the central TNB near Wabowden: Halfway Lake and Resting Lake. Both projects host the target Pipe formation associated with known elevated nickel mineralization and are proximal to existing nickel deposits, mills and other infrastructure.

The qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is Caitlin Glew, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Core Nickel, who has reviewed and approved its contents.

Technical disclosure

The historical results contained within this news release have been captured from Manitoba Integrated Mining and Quarrying System (iMaQs) as available and may be incomplete or subject to minor location inaccuracies. Management cautions that historical results were collected and reported by past operators and have not been verified nor confirmed by a qualified person but form a basis for continuing work on the subject projects.

We seek Safe Harbor.