Mr. David Atkinson reports

EARTHWORKS INDUSTRIES INC. - CORTINA UPDATE

Earthworks Industries Inc. has updated all on the status of its pending complaint challenging the purported termination of the lease for the proposed integrated waste-handling project in California, held by the company's wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Cortina Integrated Waste Management Inc., and to affirm the company's plan for assertively moving forward.

CIWM received U.S. government approval of the lease of 180 hectares (443 acres) of the Cortina rancheria in California's Colusa county in 2007. Pursuant to the lease, CIWM is developing a state-of-the-art integrated waste-handling facility, which includes a material recovery system, composting, contaminated soil remediation, power generation and landfill operations.

First and foremost, it leased 443 acres of the Cortina rancheria, a 640-acre property located approximately 100 miles from San Francisco, specifically because it is tribal land held in trust by the U.S. federal government and is therefore exempt from state and local regulation. It provides the company land ideal for the development of state-of-the-art waste-handling operations. CIWM has invested significant resources to undertake the steps necessary to permit and operate the project pursuant to the lease and applicable tribal and federal law.

When CIWM and the tribe first entered discussions regarding the development opportunity, the company also sat down with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs to discuss the project. The agency fully supported the development and its long-term benefit to the tribe. They recognized that, even when the landfill was eventually filled, new technology would be available to continue responsibly processing materials.

Its development opportunity is not limited to Cortina but could also be of major benefit to other tribes with similar demographics and available land. Enhancing that opportunity to work with other tribes is one of the main motivations for the company's focused approach at Cortina.

Another important reason for choosing the Cortina location was that the company wanted to create its model facility on California, which has the highest standards for the environment anywhere in the world. This will set the standard for future siting actions and has been a primary reason for interest in the company most recently.

The company embraces working with first nations specifically because of their attachment to the land and environment, and, while some thought tribal land would streamline the process, it was quite the opposite. The bar was even higher because of tribal and federal regulatory environmental requirements.

The company sees a tremendous window of opportunity for the first nations to help contribute to the solutions of its coming waste challenges over the next several years, and it intends to help foster that opportunity.

That is the model it has assiduously developed at Cortina, and it is all about jurisdictional advantages and the availability of land where it might locate these facilities. It wants to showcase Cortina to demonstrate the facility of the future and work in co-operation with others to offer the best available technologies.

Management remains focused on its long-term growth strategy. It will continue to explore additional opportunities that build upon the Cortina model, which will serve as a blueprint for future waste-handling and recycling projects. It is committed to maintaining the highest industry standards as it looks to develop projects on both tribal and private lands. CIWM's work over the past decade has set the stage for a new era of waste-handling facilities in North America. Because of its unique approach, the company has attracted significant interest from both institutional and public investors over the years, and it expects this interest to continue to grow.

The company also wishes to report on the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California by Cortina Integrated Waste Management, challenging the order of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Board of Indian Appeals, which purports to cancel the federally approved lease between CIWM and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina rancheria, California.

CIWM's complaint challenges the IBIA order, issued on June 27, 2024, and requests the court to enter a judgement for the company providing the following relief:

1. Declare that the IBIA decision violates the Administrative Procedures Act;
2. Issue injunctive relief to vacate and set aside the IBIA decision affirming the Bureau of Indian Affairs' termination of the lease;
3. Fully reinstate the lease; and
4. Grant CIWM such other relief as the court deems just and proper.

CIWM and the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and Interior Board of Indian Appeals and defendant-intervenor Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina rancheria have continued to meet the timelines outlined in the joint briefing schedule referenced in the previous news release by the company dated April 11, 2025.

The federal defendants' and the tribe's opposition/cross-motions were both timely submitted on June 30, 2025. CIWM's reply/opposition was filed Aug. 8, 2025. The federal defendants' and tribe's cross-motion reply was filed Sept. 4, 2025. The company looks forward to the hearing scheduled for Oct. 27, 2025, and the court's decision.

The company looks forward to the tremendous opportunities in the waste industry for proper handling practices at additional locations that align with the highest standards from an environmental perspective.

We seek Safe Harbor.