Mr. John Lee reports

CLEANTECH COMMENCES CAMPBELL-CROTSER FLUORSPAR MINE PERMITTING AT PROMINENT KENTUCKY FLUORSPAR DISTRICT

Cleantech Vanadium Mining Corp. has retained full-time permitting specialist Michael Heim of Lexington, Ky., to initiate and manage the permitting process for the company's proposed Campbell-Crotser fluorspar mining operation in the prominent Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district (IKFD).

Mr. Heim and his team will prepare and submit separate permit applications to the Kentucky division of mine reclamation and enforcement (DMRE): a mining permit for the Campbell-Crotser underground mine at an initial extraction rate of 500 tons per day, and a permit for a flotation plant to process and convert raw fluorspar materials into commercial grade (97 per cent CaF2) acid-spar product onsite. The proposed modular fluorspar processing plant will be adaptable for expansion to receive feed from other fluorspar deposits at IKFD in addition to Campbell-Crotser.

The company recently met with DMRE and will submit permit applications supplemented by requisite technical and baseline studies by the end of 2026 to support a decision within 90 days of permit application submission. The company has also initiated and maintained positive discussions with members of the local Campbell-Crotser community regarding the proposed mining operation. The proposed operational area lies entirely on private land and is not subject to oversight by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Mr. Heim is a geologist with approximately 30 years of mining permitting, geology, and hydrology experience across Kentucky and neighbouring states. Mr. Heim is considered a permitting subject matter expert and has previously held senior permitting and engineering roles with several mining and engineering firms in the region. He works extensively with federal and state regulators, including the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the DMRE, and holds bachelor of science and master of science degrees in mining geology and hydrology from Morehead State University and Eastern Kentucky University, respectively.

Approving authorities

Both the mining permit and the processing plant permit are reviewed and approved by the DMRE, through its non-coal review branch, within the Department for Natural Resources of the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, which regulates surface mining and reclamation for non-coal minerals including fluorspar. Associated water permits are issued by the Kentucky Division of Water (KYDOW) and MSHA.

Campbell-Crotser fluorspar project summary

The Campbell-Crotser fluorspar project covers approximately 275 acres in Livingston county, Kentucky, within the heart of the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district (IKFD), a region long recognized as North America's most prolific fluorspar-producing belt. This mineral belt spans approximately 540 square miles across western Kentucky and southern Illinois.

Commercial mining began in the 1870s, and the IKFD region went on to produce approximately 30 million tons of raw fluorspar, along with byproducts including zinc, lead and barite. Fluorspar-rich veins in the region are hosted in Mississippian-aged limestones, controlled by steep normal faults, and are often accompanied by sphalerite, galena and calcite.

A historic (non-National Instrument 43-101 compliant) mineral resource estimate performed by Boyce Moodie III in 1974 for Cerro Spar Corp. on the Campbell-Crotser fluorspar project, supported by a 66-hole drill program, reported the resource set out in the attached table, as classified in the source report.

The category terms shown are those used in the historical estimate; these categories predate and were not defined in accordance with, the CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining) Definition Standards, and should not be assumed to have the same meaning as the current CIM mineral resource categories of the same name.

Historical data disclaimer

The key assumptions, parameters and methods used to prepare the historical resource or production estimates cited herein are not available. The company has not reviewed or validated the historic data, and caution should be taken as a qualified person has not conducted sufficient work to classify these historical resource estimates as a current mineral resource and the company is not treating them as a current mineral resource. The historic resource does not demonstrate economic viability and should not be relied on. The company considers the historical estimate relevant as it indicates significant fluorspar mineralization within the project area; however, the reliability is uncertain given the age of the data, and differences between historical estimation methods and current Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards.

The historical resource categories were defined prior to the adoption of current CIM Definition Standards and differ materially from current categories such as inferred mineral resource. The historical estimates do not meet current CIM requirements for mineral resource classification due to: insufficient verification, lack of documented estimation methodology and absence of QA/QC protocols. Steps to verify and upgrade the historical estimates to current CIM standards include (i) compilation and validation of all historical drill data, (ii) twin drilling of select historical holes, (iii) confirmatory drilling in key areas of mineralization, (iv) updated geological modelling, and (v) preparation of a new mineral resource estimate in accordance with NI 43-101.

Qualified person

The technical contents of this news release have been reviewed and approved by Michael Hendrickson, PGeo (3254), who is a member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. Mr. Hendrickson is a consultant to the company, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Cleantech Vanadium Mining Corp.

Cleantech is a mining company focused on critical mineral resources in the United States. The company has an option to acquire more than 17,550 acres of mineral rights with historic fluorspar resources across multiple projects in the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. Cleantech also owns a 100-per-cent interest in the Gibellini vanadium mine project in Nevada.

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