Vancouver, British Columbia, March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After securing approximately $4.82 million in flow-through financing last year, North American Niobium and Critical Minerals Corp. (CSE: NIOB) (FSE: KS82.F) (OTCQB: NIOMF) has spent the first quarter of 2026 identifying multiple priority drill targets across its Québec critical mineral portfolio. The Company has used company-acquired and historical government data to identify multiple priority targets for drill testing at its Seigneurie, Bardy, Blanchette, Miskam, Sabot, and Seigneurie projects.

“Our drill targeting pipeline across Québec has substantially improved,” said Murray Nye, North American Niobium’s CEO. “What is emerging is a district-scale picture with multiple targets and, in the La Tuque area (including Bardy, Blanchette, Sabot, and Miskam), evidence of more than one mineralizing event. That gives us multiple opportunities to test for niobium, rare earths, and other critical elements during what we expect will be an active 2026 drill campaign.”

Highlights

• The Company has generated multiple drilling targets across Seigneurie, Bardy, Blanchette, Sabot and Miskam, with a planned approximately 10,000-metre drill campaign before the end of 2026.

• Publicly disclosed work supports three broad target styles within alkaline systems prospective for niobium, rare earth elements (REE), and other critical minerals: carbonatite-associated systems, evolved syenitic intrusive phases, and late-stage pegmatitic or hydrothermal expressions.

• In the La Tuque area, historical government mapping and company compilation indicate the potential for multiple pulses of niobium and rare-earth elements mineralization, including younger syenitic intrusive events and older niobium and rare-earths-rich pegmatite mineralization.

• Soil-gas radon work in the La Tuque area is nearing completion and is expected to continue at Seigneurie, while the planned high-resolution magnetic drone survey at Bardy and Blanchette has been delayed by weather and personnel availability.

• At Seigneurie, the Company believes the intrusive target may exceed 300 metres in width in places, and planned drilling is intended to test the width and internal zoning of the system, where niobium and rare-earth elements mineralization may accumulate in different parts of the intrusion.

2026 Exploration Progress and Drill Campaign
Since the beginning of 2026, the Company has advanced a staged exploration program designed to refine and prioritize drill targets across its Québec portfolio. Publicly disclosed work has included radon surveying, selective rock sampling, geological reinterpretation, permitting progress, and project expansion through the addition of Miskam.

This work has sharpened the Company’s focus on a portfolio of targets associated with syenitic and carbonatitic systems, two of the principal deposit types the Company is exploring across its Québec portfolio for niobium, rare earth elements, and potentially other critical minerals.

North American Niobium plans to test these targets with an approximately 10,000-metre drill campaign that is expected to be completed by year end. Scale, continuity, internal zoning, and mineralization potential across several geological environments will be evaluated. The allocation of drill metres will remain flexible, so that targets can be ranked and adjusted as additional data is received.

Based on the stakeholder relationships established through recent permitting activities, the Company believes future ATI applications may advance more efficiently. The Company plans to submit additional ATI applications, as appropriate, in support of drilling across its Québec asset portfolio.

La Tuque Area: Evidence for Multiple Pulses of Nb-REE Mineralization
The Company believes the La Tuque area may host more than one episode of niobium and rare earth mineralization, which broadens the exploration opportunity across Bardy, Blanchette, Sabot, and Miskam.

Québec government research indicates that niobium and rare-earth element mineralization associated with pegmatites and syenites reflects two distinct mineralizing events. Geochronological data show that the mineralized Bardy and Blanchette pegmatites (1060–1070 Ma) predate the younger syenitic intrusive phases (approximately 1025–981 Ma) by roughly 35 to 90 million years. The Company views this as highly encouraging, as it suggests the district may have experienced multiple mineralizing episodes that remain unrecognized and warrant further exploration.

Further supporting this interpretation, the Company notes that bottom lake soil anomalies are spatially associated with alkaline intrusions of different ages. Anomalous grab samples enriched in rare earth elements and niobium have been identified from alkaline intrusions, while additional anomalous rare earth values have also been recorded in mafic intrusions and metasedimentary rocks spatially associated with those same alkaline systems.

Figure 1: NIOB’s La Tuque land package. Four properties, designed to test one, the niobium-rare earth bearing pegmatite prospects at Bardy and Blanchette, and two, the Alkaline intrusions on Sabot and Miskam.

Please click to view image

Project Updates
At Bardy and Blanchette, the Company has used radon results, selective sampling, geological interpretation and planned geophysics to define and refine drill targets. Earlier public disclosures highlighted radon anomalies and interpreted extensions of prospective systems in the La Tuque area. The magnetic drone survey planned for these properties was delayed but remains part of the Company’s broader targeting work.

At Sabot, previously disclosed field results and district-scale interpretation continue to support its inclusion in the Company’s 2026 target pipeline, with a backpack drill campaign planned for April/May as part of its broader syenite-related exploration strategy.

At Miskam, the Company expanded its land position into another area associated with government-defined niobium-lanthanite-yttrium anomalies and a mapped alkaline intrusive geology. Management views Miskam as consistent with its district-scale strategy of identifying prospective niobium-rare earth targets linked to alkaline systems.

At Seigneurie, the Company’s geological interpretation supports a large intrusive system that may exceed 300 metres in width in certain areas. Planned drilling will test the width of this intrusive body, recognizing that niobium and rare earth mineralization may concentrate in different zones within the system. Seigneurie remains an important part of the Company’s 2026 exploration plan following ATI permitting progress.

Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Clyde McMillan, P.Geo. (OGQ#2193), a consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained herein.

ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN NIOBIUM AND CRITICAL MINERALS CORP.

North American Niobium and Critical Minerals Corp. is a North American mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of precious, base, and critical mineral assets. Its portfolio includes the Silver Lake property in British Columbia’s Omineca Mining Division and a recently acquired land package in Quebec’s Grenville Province. The Quebec properties add exposure to rare earth elements, niobium, and nickel-copper occurrences, expanding the Company’s footprint into critical minerals that are strategically important for energy and defense applications.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Murray Nye
Chief Executive Officer
info@northamericanniobium.com
+1 (647) 984-4204

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects, anticipates or intends to occur in the future, or that otherwise reflect management’s expectations or beliefs about future events, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “strategy,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “would,” “may,” “could,” or “should” occur or be achieved.

Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to: (i) statements regarding the Properties and their mineral prospectivity; (ii) the Company’s planned exploration, development and evaluation activities on the Properties; and (iii) the potential for the Grenville Province to host significant rare earth element, niobium, nickel-copper or other critical mineral deposits. Such forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current plans, intentions, expectations and beliefs and are subject to certain assumptions, including, without limitation, assumptions that exploration results will continue to support the prospectivity of the Properties.

Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to: the timing and receipt of required regulatory approvals; changes in commodity prices and market conditions; the availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms; general economic, business and political conditions; risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, including operational risks, geological uncertainties, environmental risks and accidents; changes in government regulation or policy; and the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development. Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by the Company is available in the Company’s public disclosure record on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and undue reliance should not be placed on them. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date hereof and are based on information currently available and management’s beliefs, estimates, expectations and opinions at that time. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.