Mr. Dean Hanisch reports

FOCUS GRAPHITE ENGAGES BBA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FIELD PROGRAM SUPPORTING LAC KNIFE ACCESS ROAD

Focus Graphite Inc. has engaged Groupe Synergis, a member of BBA Consultants, to complete a complementary environmental field program at the company's 100-per-cent-owned Lac Knife graphite project in northeastern Quebec.

The program is being undertaken principally in support of Focus's continuing access road planning, engineering and permitting activities, and builds on the company's federally supported infrastructure program announced June 3, 2026. As previously disclosed, Focus secured up to $1,378,700 in non-dilutive funding from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) through the First and Last Mile Fund (FLMF) to support engineering, environmental, permitting, community engagement and feasibility activities associated with the planned Lac Knife access road and Hydro-Quebec grid connection.

As part of the program, BBA will conduct biological inventories along the planned road corridor and surrounding project areas. Because the program area overlaps portions of the broader Lac Knife footprint, the work also provides an opportunity to update select environmental inventories originally completed between 2013 and 2020, which may support the company's broader environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA).

2026 environmental field program

BBA's scope includes updated field inventories covering:

• Small mammals, including documentation of species diversity, relative abundance and the potential presence of species at risk;
• Bats, using fixed acoustic monitoring stations and assessment of potential daytime roosts and maternity colonies;
• Threatened or vulnerable plant species and invasive alien species;
• Wetlands and waterbodies, including aquatic environments, shorelines, littoral zones and associated terrestrial habitats;
• Preparation of a technical report consolidating the results of the updated inventories.

The approximately 550-hectare study area encompasses the project footprint and includes a 50-metre buffer on either side of the planned road right-of-way, together with a 150-metre buffer surrounding the proposed mining area.

Fieldwork is expected to be completed by early November, with a preliminary technical report expected before winter 2026. The program is expected to represent the final field program currently required to complete the updated environmental impact study ahead of its planned submission to Quebec's Ministere de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP) in late autumn.

BBA has noted that regulatory authorities may request additional seasonal bat surveys following their review of the 2026 data set. If required, this supplementary work would not prevent submission of the impact study, and Focus intends to address any resulting information requests promptly as part of the normal regulatory review process.

The company's ESIA continues to advance through the applicable regulatory review process, with the timing and scope of that review determined by the responsible authorities and their designated reviewers. Indigenous and community engagement, which was historically advanced as a separate component of the assessment process, is now being integrated directly into the ESIA pathway to support a more co-ordinated approach to project review and stakeholder engagement.

Focus is therefore advancing indigenous and community engagement alongside its technical and environmental work. Where appropriate and subject to regulatory requirements, information generated through the program may also be incorporated into the ESIA, while directly supporting environmental planning and permitting for the proposed access road and associated project infrastructure.

"While the ESIA remains under regulatory review, we are advancing the work within our control," said Dean Hanisch, chief executive officer of Focus Graphite. "The access road program gives us an opportunity to advance critical project infrastructure while refreshing environmental information that can also support the broader ESIA. Together with our ongoing indigenous and community engagement, this allows us to continue moving Lac Knife forward while the regulatory review proceeds."

The company previously selected an approximately 10.2-kilometre preferred access corridor combining existing road infrastructure with new road development to connect the Lac Knife site to the realigned Highway 389.

Qualified person

The technical content disclosed in this news release was reviewed and approved by Rejean Girard, PGeo (Qc), president of IOS Geosciences Inc., a consultant to the company, and a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

About Focus Graphite Inc.

Focus Graphite is building an integrated graphite platform to supply the industries shaping the future. Through the development of world-class graphite resources, advanced processing technologies and higher-value advanced materials, the company is positioning itself to support battery, defence, advanced manufacturing, and other strategic industries across North America and allied markets.

The platform is anchored by the company's two 100-per-cent-owned graphite assets in Quebec. Lac Knife is one of North America's highest-grade feasibility-stage graphite deposits, while Lac Tetepisca is one of the largest identified graphite resources globally. Together with strategic technology partnerships and government-supported innovation initiatives, these assets provide the foundation for a secure, scalable and increasingly integrated graphite supply chain.

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