Mr. Shawn Westcott reports

OPHIR TO DRILL HIGH-GRADE CESIUM DISCOVERY AT THE PILIPAS PROPERTY, JAMES BAY, QUEBEC

Planning is under way for a drill program targeting the high-grade cesium discovery at the HW3 pegmatite on Ophir Metals Corp.'s Pilipas lithium property. Pilipas is located in Eeyou Istchee region of James Bay, Quebec, proximal to existing hydroelectric power that flanks the property to the east and an all-season highway that bisects the western side of the property.

"Our high-grade cesium discovery at HW3 has the unique potential to meet part of the reported worldwide shortage in cesium supply, which is just 50 metres from the main transport highway through the region. HW3 is one of only a select few pegmatites in the James Bay region to host high-grade cesium, which makes HW3 both very rare and an incredibly attractive drill target," commented Shawn Westcott, chief executive officer of Ophir Metals.

The drill program is currently planned to commence during the first week of June. The program will be approximately 1,000 metres and will be focused on testing the known cesium zone at depth and to the south, where the pegmatite remains open. The surface area of the cesium enrichment within the HW3 outcrop is at least approximately 11 metres by four metres, as identified from the recently completed channel sampling program.

HW3 cesium pegmatite highlights (see news release dated Feb. 3, 2025):

• Well-mineralized channel intervals at the HW3 pegmatite:
  • 1.4 metres at 6.00 per cent Cs2O (cesium oxide), including 0.5 metre at 12.40 per cent Cs2O (PCH24-001);
  • 5.0 metres at 1.46 per cent Cs2O, including 1.0 metre at 5.30 per cent Cs2O (PCH24-002);
  • 4.0 metres at 1.81 per cent Cs2O, including 2.0 metres at 2.30 per cent Cs2O (PCH24-003);
• 14.2 per cent Cs2O and 4.24 per cent Cs2O from outcrop grab samples;
• HW3 pegmatite remains open in multiple directions;
• Pollucite mineralization confirmed by quantitative XRD (X-ray diffraction) analysis.

The HW3 pegmatite is approximately 15 metres by 23 metres in size, with the southern extent plunging under cover of swamp with no defined contact observed, therefore remaining open in several directions.

Cesium is listed as a critical mineral in Canada and other jurisdictions around the world. To qualify as a critical mineral, the commodity must have a supply chain that is threatened and a reasonable chance of being produced in Canada. It must also meet one of the following criteria: be essential to Canada's economic or national security, be required for the transition to sustainable low carbon and digital economy, and/or position Canada as a sustainable or strategic partner within global supply chains.

Cesium has multiple commercial applications from environmentally friendly drilling fluids to a variety of chemical and electrical applications. Cesium isotopes are used as an atomic frequency standard within atomic clocks and play a vital role in global positioning systems (GPS), aircraft guidance systems, and the implementation of 5G Internet and cellular telephone transmissions.

Due to the lack of global supply, the only primary cesium mine in operation, the Tanco mine in Manitoba (owned by Tantalum Mining Corp. of Canada), has faced international competition for the supply of the mine's cesium. The Tanco mine is also evaluating options for long-term redevelopment in order to extract the remaining cesium that is contained within the mine.

Other areas of the Pilipas property also remain highly prospective for hosting pollucite mineralization, as indicated by strong geochemical fertility ratios obtained in pegmatite grab samples. The geochemical ratios of potassium/rubidium, niobium/tantalum, zirconium/hafnium and magnesium/lithium are commonly used to assess the potential for pegmatites to host LCT (lithium/cesium/tantalum) mineralization. Fertile pegmatites (and their source melts) typically have ratios of K/Rb less than 150, Nb/Ta less than 5, Zr/Hf less than 18 and Mg/Li less than 10. The more of these indices that are met, the higher the likelihood that a given pegmatite could host LCT mineralization.

Eighty-one surface samples collected during the 2024 work programs met all four of these fertility criteria, while an additional 172 samples met three out of the four criteria. All of the surface and channel samples containing visible cesium and/or lithium mineralization meet all four of the criteria, along with numerous other samples from outcrops lacking visible mineralization. This indicates a highly fractionated parental magma with strong potential for additional pegmatite outcrops to host cesium/lithium mineralization, particularly those surrounding the HW2 and HW3 areas.

Ophir also announces that, pursuant to its stock option plan, it has granted an aggregate of 200,000 options to purchase common shares in the capital of the company to certain consultants of the company, exercisable at a price of 10 cents per share for a period of five years from the date of grant.

Quality assurance/quality control

All channel samples were collected in the field using a hammer and chisel after using a gas-powered diamond saw to cut three-to-four-inch-deep channels. Channel locations were obtained using a hand-held GPS with samples placed in prelabelled sample bags. Metal tags with the sample numbers were left within the sample metre cuts. Samples were securely transported by field staff to SGS Canada's laboratory in Val d'Or, Que., for standard sample preparation (Code PRP90), which includes drying at 105 C, crushing to 90 per cent passing two millimetres, riffle splitting 250 grams and pulverizing 85 per cent passing 75 microns. The pulps were then shipped to SGS Canada's laboratory in Burnaby, B.C., where they were subsequently analyzed for multielement (including lithium and tantalum) using sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES/MS finish (Code GE_ICM91A50). Gold analysis was performed using gold by fire assay (Code GE_FAA30V5) and cesium overlimit analysis was completed by acid digest for alkaline elements (Code GC_AAS49C). A QA/QC protocol was incorporated into the program and included the insertion of certified reference material at and blanks at a rate of approximately 5 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. SGS Canada is independent of the company.

Management cautions that prospecting surface rock samples and associated assays, as discussed herein, are selective by nature and represent a point location and therefore may not necessarily be fully representative of the mineralized horizon sampled.

Qualified person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Nathan Schmidt, PGeo, senior geologist for Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a registered special authorization holder with Ordre des Geologues du Quebec (AS-10512) and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Mr. Schmidt has verified all scientific and technical data disclosed in this news release, including the sampling and QA/QC results, and certified analytical data underlying the technical information disclosed. Mr. Schmidt verified the data disclosed (or underlying the information disclosed) in this news release by reviewing the assay data and checking the performance of blank samples and certified reference materials. Mr. Schmidt detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data and noted no errors or omissions during the data verification process. The company and Mr. Schmidt do not recognize any factors of sampling that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data disclosed in this news release.

About the Pilipas lithium and cesium project

In December, 2023, the company entered into an option agreement with Azimut Exploration Inc. to earn 70-per-cent interest in the Pilipas property consisting of 135 claims totalling 7,100 hectares situated within the La Grande subprovince (Archean Superior province) (see news release dated Dec. 11, 2023). It is primarily underlain by volcano-sedimentary rocks (greenstone) of the Lower Eastmain greenstone belt: conglomerate, sandstone, basalts and felsic to intermediate tuffs. Two regional northwest-southeast dextral faults transect the southwestern and northeastern parts of the property.

About Ophir Metals Corp.

Ophir Metals is a mineral exploration company focused on the exploration and development of the Pilipas lithium property in James Bay, Quebec. Ophir holds an option to earn a 70-per-cent interest in the Pilipas property over a three-year period from Azimut Exploration Inc.

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