Mr. Darrin Campbell reports

LOFDAL HEAVY RARE EARTH PROJECT: UPDATE OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE AFTER COMPLETION OF 2023 INFILL DRILLING

Namibia Critical Metals Inc. has released an updated National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the large-scale Lofdal 2B-4 heavy rare earth project.

The company conducted a two-stage infill drilling campaign for the subprojects Area 4 and Area 2B (press releases of Feb. 2, 2024, Dec. 6, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2023) with the purpose of increasing the confidence of the resources for the planned open pits of Area 4 and Area 2B. The MSA Group provided an NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, which includes the new data.

Highlights of the mineral resource update include:

• Contained tonnages of dysprosium and terbium -- the most valuable heavy rare earth elements -- amount to 4,503 tonnes dysprosium oxide and 693 tonnes terbium oxide in the combined measured and indicated resource categories, which represent an increase of 11 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, compared with the previous mineral resource statement (filed on SEDAR+ on June 30, 2021);
• 38-per-cent increase in contained dysprosium oxide and 39-per-cent increase in contained terbium oxide in the inferred resources for the combined Area 4 and Area 2B deposits;
• 31-per-cent increase in contained total rare earth oxide (1) tonnage in the combined measured and indicated resource categories from 72,680 tonnes to 93,731 tonnes;
• The combined measured and indicated mineral resources increased from 44.8 million tonnes at 0.17 per cent TREO to 58.5 million tonnes at 0.16 per cent TREO for the combined Area 4 and Area 2B deposits based on the same cut-off of 0.1 per cent TREO as in the previous preliminary economic assessment (filed on SEDAR+ on June 30, 2021).

Darrin Campbell, president of Namibia, stated: "We are very pleased with the continued success of our development approach at Lofdal. With just under 11,000 metres of drilling last year, we have increased the overall contained rare earth tonnage by an impressive 37 per cent. The measured and indicated resource shells at Lofdal 2B and 4 contain over 4,500 tonnes dysprosium oxide and over 690 tonnes terbium oxide, which clearly establishes Lofdal as a globally significant heavy rare earth deposit. The updated resource will be incorporated into our prefeasibility study for Lofdal 2B-4 currently under way and expected to be completed in [third quarter] 2024."

(1) TREO refers to total rare earth oxides plus yttrium oxide; HREO refers to heavy rare earth oxides plus yttrium oxide; heavy rare earths as used in all company presentations comprise europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu) and yttrium (Y). Light rare earths comprise lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd) and samarium (Sm).

Infill drilling program at Area 2B and Area 4 deposit

The final drill program was worked out by the company with support by the MSA Group to increase the level of resource categories as required for the PFS for the expanded project Lofdal 2B-4.

Resource infill drilling was completed in November, 2023, which brought total drilling for Area 2B and Area 4 to 268 holes, with a total of 40,153 m of both diamond core drilling and reverse circulation drilling.

Sampling, analysis and quality assurance/quality control

Samples were collected at the drill rig's cyclone (A-sample) and submitted to Actlabs' preparatory laboratory in Windhoek, Namibia, in batches of 200 to 300 samples. The samples were dried and crushed to two millimetres, split using a riffle splitter, and pulverized to 105 microm. Pulverized subsamples were homogenized in a stainless steel riffle splitter, and a 15-gram sample and duplicate were drawn for analysis. The pulverized sample aliquots were shipped to the ISO/IEC 17025 accredited Actlabs analytical facility in Ancaster, Ont., Canada. The samples were assayed using lithium metaborate-tetraborate fusion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Actlabs' analytical code 8-REE includes 45 trace elements, 10 major oxides, loss on ignition and mass balance.

The samples were subjected to a quality assurance/quality control program consisting of the insertion of blank samples, field duplicates and certified reference materials at Lofdal, and the preparation of a laboratory duplicate at the sample preparation facility in Windhoek.

The qualified person, Dr. Scott Swinden, is satisfied that the assay results are of sufficient accuracy and precision for use in the future update of the mineral resource estimation.

Mineral resource statement

The mineral resource was estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum best practice guidelines and is reported in accordance with the 2014 CIM definition standards, which have been incorporated by reference into National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). The mineral resource is classified into the measured, indicated and inferred categories, and is reported at a cut-off grade of 0.1 per cent total rare earth oxides. A summary of the mineral resource estimates is shown herein for Area 4 and for Area 2B.

The mineral resource was reported from within a Whittle optimized pit shell using the following assumptions and a cut-off grade of 0.1 per cent TREO plus Y2O3:

• Basket price of $91.64 (U.S.) per kilogram TREO;
• Mining cost of $2.65 (U.S.) per tonne;
• Processing cost of $32 (U.S.) per tonne of run-of-mine feed;
• General and administration cost of $1.41 (U.S.) per tonne of run-of-mine feed;
• Offshore treatment cost and shipment priced in discounted basket price;
• Metallurgical recovery of 65 per cent of contained run-of-mine TREO;
• Transport cost of $36.31 (U.S.) per tonne of concentrate.

From the assumptions, a 0.1-per-cent-total-rare-earth-oxide cut-off grade was calculated, which, together with the Whittle optimized pit shell, demonstrates reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE) for the mineral resource. The assessment to satisfy the criteria of RPEEE is a high-level estimate and is not an attempt to estimate mineral reserves.

Filing of report

The NI 43-101-compliant technical report will be filed on SEDAR+ within the next 45 days.

The qualified person for the mineral resource estimate is Jeremy C. Witley (BSc honours, MSc (eng)) who is a geologist with more than 30 years experience in base and precious metal exploration and mining, as well as in mineral resource evaluation and reporting. He is a principal resource consultant for the MSA Group (an independent consulting company), is registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions and is a fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa. Mr. Witley has the appropriate relevant qualifications and experience to be considered a qualified person for the style and type of mineralization and activity being undertaken as defined in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). The information in this press release that relates to the estimate of mineral resources for the Lofdal project is based upon, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation compiled by Mr. Witley, and Mr. Witley has reviewed and approved this press release.

Neither Mr. Witley, nor any associates employed by the MSA Group in the preparation of the mineral resource estimate have any beneficial interest in Namibia. These consultants are not insiders, associates or affiliates of Namibia. The results of the mineral resource estimate are not dependent upon any prior agreements concerning the conclusions to be reached, nor are there any undisclosed understandings concerning any future business dealings between Namibia and the consultants. The consultants are to be paid a fee for their work in accordance with normal professional consulting practices.

Geological services were provided by Gecko Exploration Pty. Ltd. under the supervision of Dr. Rainer Ellmies, who is vice-president, exploration, for Namibia. Drilling services were provided by Gunzel Drilling and Prinsloo Drilling, both Namibian contract drilling companies, which also carried out the downhole geophysical measurements. Sample preparation and analytical services were provided by Activation Laboratories Ltd. (Windhoek, Namibia, and Ancaster, Ont.) as the primary laboratory employing ICP-MS techniques suitable for rare earth element analyses and following strict internal quality assurance/quality control procedures inserting blanks, standards and duplicates. Check analyses were carried out by ALS Minerals (North Vancouver) as the umpire laboratory on approximately 5 per cent of the resource database.

About Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Namibia is developing the Tier 1 heavy rare earth project, Lofdal, a globally significant deposit of the heavy rare earth metals dysprosium and terbium. Demand for these critical metals used in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other electronics is driven by innovations linked to energy and technology transformations. The geopolitical risks associated with sourcing many of these metals has become a repeated concern for manufacturers and end-users. Namibia is a proven and stable mining jurisdiction.

The Lofdal project is fully permitted with a 25-year mining licence and is under a joint venture agreement with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security.

The company filed a robust updated PEA for Lofdal 2B-4 on Nov. 14, 2022, with a posttax net present value of $391-million (U.S.) and an annual internal rate of return of 28 per cent with a capital expenditure of $207-million (U.S.). The project is projected to generate a life-of-mine nominal cash flow of $698-million (U.S.) posttax over a 16-year mine life.

Rainer Ellmies, PhD, MScGeol, EurGeol, AusIMM, vice-president of Namibia, is the company's qualified person, and has reviewed and approved this press release.

The common shares of Namibia trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol NMI and on the OTCQB Market under the symbol NMREF.

We seek Safe Harbor.