Mr. John Lee reports

CLEANTECH ENGAGES MERCATOR GEOLOGICAL SERVICES TO PREPARE NI 43-101 TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE CAMPBELL-CROTSER FLUORSPAR PROJECT

Cleantech Vanadium Mining Corp. has engaged Mercator Geological Services Ltd., a geological consulting firm based in Dartmouth, N.S., Canada, to prepare an independent technical report on its Campbell-Crotser fluorspar project in Livingston county, Kentucky. The report will be prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The company is also working with the Kentucky Geological Survey to assay archived historical drill core from the project for fluorspar, silver, zinc, lead and other critical minerals.

The engagement is being led by Michael Cullen, PGeo, chief geologist of Mercator, a professional geologist with over 40 years of mineral exploration experience, that includes previous work in the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district (the IKFD). Mr. Cullen visited Campbell-Crotser in August, 2026, as part of the engagement.

The technical report will describe the Campbell-Crotser's geology and mineralization, reference the project's historical exploration and drilling, and will set out a recommended work program to realize the project's potential. Mercator anticipates completing the report in the fourth quarter of 2026.

About the Campbell-Crotser project

The Campbell-Crotser project is located in Livingston county, Kentucky, and within the IKFD -- historically the principal fluorspar-producing district in the United States. Fluorspar mineralized zones with zinc and lead byproducts occur as a vein system hosted along the Campbell fault. The project has been tested by 77 historic drill holes, including drilling completed by Cerro Spar Corp. in the 1970s. Fluorspar is designated a critical mineral by the United States.

Historic core assay program

The company is working with the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) research centre at the University of Kentucky to sample and analyze historical drill cores from Campbell-Crotser archived at the KGS Earth Analysis Research Library in Lexington, Ky. Once the proposed program is approved by KGS, the archived cores will be analyzed for fluorspar, silver, zinc and other critical minerals, with the objective of verifying historical mineral grades under modern analytical and quality-control protocols and supporting the validation of the project's historical drill database.

Sampling will be conducted in accordance with the sampling policies of the KGS, which require that sufficient archive material be retained in each core box for future examinations. Analytical results generated from repository material are provided to the KGS and become part of the public record of the collection. Samples will be analyzed at the University of Kentucky laboratory, and results will be reviewed by the company's qualified person before disclosure.

Historical drilling information

References in this news release to historical drilling relate to work completed by previous operators before the company's involvement with the project. The company has not independently verified the historical drilling data, which are presented for context only and should not be relied upon. The historical core assay program described in this news release is a verification program and will not, on its own, support a mineral resource estimate, and there is no guarantee that its results will be consistent with the historical assays.

Stock options grant

The company also announces that its board of directors has approved the grant of incentive stock options to certain directors, officers, employees and consultants to acquire an aggregate of 2.25 million common shares in the capital of the company at an exercise price of 12 cents. All options were granted pursuant to the company's 10-per-cent rolling stock option plan and are subject to the terms of the plan, the applicable grant agreements and the requirements of the TSX-V. The options are exercisable for a five-year term expiring Sept. 16, 2031. The options will vest at 12.5 per cent per quarter for the first two years following the grant date starting on Dec. 16, 2026.

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 historical 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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