Mr. Adrian Smith reports

FIRST ATLANTIC TO ACQUIRE 100% OF THE NORTH ARM PROJECT, 52 SQ KM OF MANTLE-DERIVED ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS IN WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND NEVER SYSTEMATICALLY TESTED FOR GEOLOGIC HYDROGEN, CHROMIUM OR AWARUITE NICKEL-COBALT ALLOY

First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp. has entered into an asset purchase agreement dated Oct. 30, 2026, with two arm's-length parties to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in three mineral licences comprising 209 mineral claims spanning approximately 52.25 square kilometres (km) located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (the North Arm ophiolite property).

The North Arm ophiolite property, in the Bay of Islands ophiolite complex (BOIC) of western Newfoundland, is prospective for geologic hydrogen, awaruite nickel alloy (Ni3Fe), copper, platinum group elements (PGEs) and chromium. The property covers mantle-derived dunite and peridotite rocks, the same type of iron- and magnesium-rich ultramafic rocks that host First Atlantic's awaruite discoveries at the Pipestone XL project. They also enable serpentinization, the water-rock reaction that produces natural (white) hydrogen. Elsewhere in the BOIC, at the tablelands, active hydrogen-bearing alkaline springs show that the process is happening today. The same rocks are also targets for stimulated (orange) hydrogen and mineral carbon storage (CO2 capture). Awaruite forms under the strongly reducing, hydrogen-rich conditions that serpentinization creates, making it both a nickel-cobalt target and an indicator of hydrogen generation. The mantle section also hosts podiform chromite, the same deposit style as the historical high-grade chromite occurrences at Blow Me Down and Springers Hill. Numerous historical high-grade chromite occurrences have been found throughout the various ophiolite packages of the BOIC, yet little metallurgical or mineralogical work has been done to examine potential recovery and processing methods. The North Arm ophiolite property has seen limited modern exploration and has not been systematically tested for hydrogen or awaruite (a naturally occurring magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy).

The property consists of three mineral licences totalling 209 claim cells (5,225 hectares), on the north shore of North Arm, Bay of Islands. Boats can land directly on the property and the nearest road comes within five km of it. The claims cover the North Arm Mountain massif, one of the four massifs of the Lower Ordovician BOIC. The BOIC is one of the best-preserved sections of oceanic crust and upper mantle in the world. The North Arm ophiolite property lies 25 km north of the company's Ophiolite-X project, which covers the Blow Me Down and Lewis Hills ophiolites, and extends First Atlantic Nickel's control of ultramafic ophiolite complexes in Atlantic Canada to a third BOIC massif.

Terms of the transaction

Under the agreement, the company will acquire the property in exchange for the issuance of one million common shares of the company to the vendors, at a deemed price of 55 cents per share.

On closing, the company will also reimburse the vendors for $51,250 in refundable security deposits previously posted with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador in respect of the property. The company will receive the benefit of any future refund of those deposits.

The property is free of any royalties or options.

Closing is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange and is expected to occur five business days after TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, and in any event by Jan. 31, 2027. The payment shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance.

No finders' fees are payable in connection with the transaction.

The company also announces that it has granted incentive stock options to purchase an aggregate of 950,000 common shares of the company to directors and an investor relations consultant of the company under the company's omnibus long-term incentive plan, which was reapproved by shareholders on Aug. 13, 2026. The options can be exercised at 55 cents per share for a term of five years. The options granted to the investor relations consultant vest in stages over 12 months, with no more than one-quarter vesting in any three-month period, in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The options, and any shares issued on their exercise before March 1, 2027, are subject to a four-month hold period.

Investor information

The company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol FAN, on the OTCQB under the symbol FANCF and on several German exchanges, including the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Tradegate, under the symbol P210.

Qualified person

Adrian Smith, PGeo, a director and the chief executive officer of the company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The qualified person is a member in good standing of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) and is a registered professional geoscientist (PGeo). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed herein.

About First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp.

First Atlantic Nickel is a critical mineral exploration company in Newfoundland and Labrador developing the Pipestone XL nickel-iron-cobalt (Ni-Fe-Co) alloy project. The project spans the entire 30-kilometre Pipestone ophiolite complex, where multiple zones, including RPM, Alloy Max, Super Gulp, Atlantic Lake and Chrome Pond, contain awaruite (Ni3Fe), a naturally occurring magnetic nickel-iron-cobalt alloy of approximately 77 per cent nickel with no sulphur and no sulphides, along with secondary chromium mineralization. Awaruite's sulphur-free composition removes acid mine drainage risk, while its magnetic properties enable processing through magnetic separation and flotation, eliminating the electricity requirements, emissions and environmental impacts of conventional smelting, roasting or high-pressure acid leaching, while reducing dependence on overseas nickel processing infrastructure.

The U.S. Geological Survey recognized awaruite's strategic importance in its 2012 annual report on nickel, noting that these deposits may help alleviate prolonged nickel concentrate shortages since the natural alloy is much easier to concentrate than typical nickel sulphide. In 2026, initial metallurgical testwork using the company's Onshore Max (magnetic alloy extraction) process upgraded RPM zone material into a high-grade alloy concentrate averaging 67.4 per cent nickel and grading up to 71.9 per cent nickel and 1.76 per cent cobalt, demonstrating a smelter-free, mine-to-refinery pathway. First Atlantic is a member of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium. The company is also advancing a parallel geologic hydrogen initiative at Pipestone XL, where the same serpentinization process that formed awaruite also generates natural hydrogen, and has signed a letter of intent with VEMA Hydrogen to jointly develop low-carbon engineered mineral hydrogen (EMH) through a proposed 50/50 joint venture. The Pipestone XL project is located near existing infrastructure with year-round road access and proximity to hydroelectric power, providing favourable logistics for exploration and future development, and strengthening First Atlantic's role to establish a secure and reliable source of North American nickel and cobalt production for the stainless steel, electric vehicle, aerospace and defence industries. This mission gained importance when the U.S. added nickel to its critical minerals list in 2022, recognizing it as a non-fuel mineral essential to economic and national security with a supply chain vulnerable to disruption.

We seek Safe Harbor.