Mr. Michael Rowley reports

STILLWATER CRITICAL MINERALS ENGAGES MINE TECHNICAL SERVICES TO COMPLETE AN UPDATED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE AT STILLWATER WEST IN MONTANA, USA

Stillwater Critical Minerals Corp. has engaged Mine Technical Services (MTS) to complete an updated National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the company's 100-per-cent-owned Stillwater West critical minerals project (Ni-Cu-Co-PGE-Au) (nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group element-gold) in Montana, United States.

Highlights

• The updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) is expected in H1 2026 and will mark the next step in advancing Stillwater West as a potential large-scale source of ten minerals listed as critical in the United States.
• Stillwater West hosts nickel, copper, cobalt, chromium, platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, gold and osmium -- a unique mix of battery, alloy and platinum group metals essential to clean energy, defence and technology supply chains.
• The update will build on the Jan. 25, 2023, inferred mineral resource estimate as detailed below.
• Results will support further technical studies and economic assessments.
• MTS has completed a site visit and is updating deposit models to incorporate new data, improved geologic domaining, geostatistics and structural controls -- leveraging insights from the Platreef district in South Africa.
• The work is being led by Timothy Kuhl (MTS) and Dr. Danie Grobler (Stillwater), who together previously worked with the late Dr. Harry Parker on the resource estimation and technical reports for Ivanhoe Mines' Platreef mine.
• The updated MRE will incorporate 14 drill holes totalling 5,781 metres (m) from the 2023 and 2025 programs, plus select historic holes not included in the current estimate.
• The 2025 drill campaign is now complete, totalling 3,471 m in eight holes, with all assays pending.

President and chief executive officer Michael Rowley commented: "Reuniting the team responsible for defining the large-scale polymetallic critical mineral resources at Ivanhoe's Platreef mine to complete an updated resource estimate is an important step towards evaluating production scenarios at Stillwater West. With platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold all demonstrating strong recent market performance, Stillwater West offers significant leverage to these precious metals. Based on the company's current NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, Stillwater owns one of the largest development-stage PGM (Pt, Pd, Rh, Au) resources in the United States. Our work applying those robust mine models to similar geology in Montana is timely given America's focus on securing domestic supplies of the commodities we have at Stillwater West. We continue to have a very positive reception from all levels of government and look forward to updates on all activities in the near term."

Vice-president of exploration, Dr. Danie Grobler, added: "I am pleased to collaborate again with Tim Kuhl and the MTS team on the updated Stillwater resource estimate. Their extensive experience in Platreef-type geology and resource estimation is expected to provide significant value to the project. The revised estimate will incorporate data from the previous two drilling campaigns and will reflect advances in our understanding of the lower Stillwater complex, informed by recent geophysical surveys and geological modelling. Recent exploration drilling and airborne geophysical surveys substantially enhanced our target generation and prioritization for the 2025 expansion drill campaign, resulting in the successful intersection of multiple near-surface magmatic sulphide zones in all three target areas. We look forward to reporting drill results and potentially extending resource areas at Iron Mountain and Chrome Mountain accordingly."

Current mineral resources of critical minerals at Stillwater West

The current MRE positions Stillwater West with a NI 43-101 resource of eight minerals listed as critical by the U.S. government in a historic and actively producing American mining district. The January, 2023, MRE is contained within five deposits in the 9.5-kilometre central area of the project, all of which are open along strike and at depth. Excellent expansion potential has been identified in multikilometre-scale geophysical targets and metal-in-soil anomalies within the 20-kilometre length area now modelled in detail by the company. Untested anomalies and earlier stage targets extend beyond this area, across much of the 33-kilometre-long Stillwater West project.

The current MRE presents base case mineralization at a 0.20-per-cent NiEq cut-off with higher-grade mineralization at 0.35 per cent and 0.70 per cent NiEq cut-off as detailed in tables 1 and 2.

Expansion of mineralization in the higher and high-grade zones of mineralization has been a primary objective of the 2025 drill campaign.

Eight critical minerals are defined in the current MRE:

• Nickel -- Nickel is primarily used in stainless steel and superalloys, with rapidly growing demand from the electric vehicle battery sector. Current global supply is dominated by Chinese-backed operations in Indonesia, with Russia also playing a significant role in the market.
• Copper -- Copper is a cornerstone of the U.S. clean energy and technology supply chain -- vital not only for electric vehicles and renewable power but increasingly for AI data centres, cloud computing, high performance electronics and the national electric grid modernization.
• Cobalt -- Cobalt is a critical element in lithium-ion battery chemistries, particularly for high-performance and energy-dense applications. Recent United States government support for domestic cobalt production reflects its strategic importance, as most current supply is concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Palladium -- Palladium is a key component in automotive catalytic converters, playing a vital role in reducing emissions from internal combustion engines. Demand remains robust, supported by global emissions regulations. Russia is a major global supplier, contributing to market volatility and supply risk.
• Platinum -- Platinum is used in catalytic converters, hydrogen fuel cells and various industrial applications, with growing interest in green hydrogen technologies. Supply is concentrated in South Africa and Russia, making diversification of sources increasingly important.
• Rhodium -- Stillwater West hosts the largest known rhodium resource in the U.S. This ultrarare metal is critical for high performance catalytic converters. With extremely limited global production and high price volatility, rhodium remains a high-value strategic metal. See Stillwater news release dated Nov. 4, 2024, for historical context and significance.
• Gold -- Gold provides significant byproduct potential. It remains a globally recognized store of value and is widely used in jewellery, investment products and central bank reserves.
• Chromium -- Stillwater West hosts the largest known chromium resource in the U.S. Chromium (chrome) is primarily used in stainless steel production and corrosion-resistant alloys. It is classified as a critical mineral in several jurisdictions due to its essential industrial uses and limited supply chain diversity. Strategic value is enhanced by growing demand for infrastructure and defence applications. Stillwater is evaluating its inclusion in formal mining plans.

Stillwater West also contains yet-to-be inventoried quantities of other rare platinum group metals including ruthenium and iridium, both listed as critical in the U.S., as well as osmium.

As the U.S. government prioritizes domestic production of energy transition metals under initiatives like the Defense Production Act and FAST-41, the role for these critical metals has expanded from traditional infrastructure to powering the next generation of digital, defence and clean energy technologies.

Near-term outlook

The company anticipates the following key milestones and updates through the first half of 2026:

• Results from the 2025 drill program, including assays and interpretations from priority target areas;
• Updated 3-D geological and mineralization models integrating new drilling, geophysics and surface data;
• An updated MRE for the Stillwater West project, incorporating 2023 and 2025 drilling results and new modelling work;
• Updates on non-core assets across North America;
• Updates on U.S. government initiatives.

Upcoming events

Michael Rowley, president and chief executive officer of Stillwater, is scheduled to attend the following events. Additional events will be announced as confirmed.

1. Red Cloud Fall Mining Showcase -- Toronto, Canada, Nov. 4 to Nov. 5, 2025;
2. Precious Metals Summit -- Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 10 to Nov. 11, 2025;
3. AEMA's Annual Meeting -- Sparks, Nev., Dec. 7 to Dec. 12, 2025;
4. VRIC 2026 -- Vancouver, Canada -- Jan. 25 to Jan. 26, 2026;
5. AMEBC Round Up -- Vancouver, Canada -- Jan. 26 to Jan. 29, 2026;
6. PDAC 2026 -- Toronto, Canada, March 1 to March 4, 2026;
7. Swiss Mining Institute Conference -- Zurich, Switzerland, March 18 to March 19, 2026.

About Stillwater Critical Minerals Corp.

Stillwater Critical Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company focused on its flagship Stillwater West Ni-PGE-Cu-Co plus Au project in the iconic and famously productive Stillwater mining district in Montana, United States. With the addition of two renowned Bushveld and Platreef geologists to the team and strategic investments by Glencore PLC, the company is well positioned to advance the next phase of large-scale critical mineral supply from this world-class American district, building on past production of nickel, copper and chromium, and the continuing production of platinum group, nickel and other metals by neighboring Sibanye-Stillwater. An expanded NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, released January, 2023, positions Stillwater West with the largest nickel-platinum group element resource in an active U.S. mining district as part of a compelling suite of eight minerals now listed as critical in the U.S.

Stillwater also holds a 49-per-cent interest in the high-grade Drayton-Black Lake gold project adjacent to Nexgold Mining's development-stage Goliath gold complex in Northwest Ontario, currently under an earn-in agreement with Heritage Mining, and the Kluane PGE-Ni-Cu-Co critical minerals project on trend with Nickel Creek Platinum's Wellgreen deposit in Canada's Yukon Territory. The company also holds the Duke Island Cu-Ni-PGE property in Alaska and maintains a back-in right on the high-grade past-producing Yankee-Dundee in British Columbia, following its sale in 2013.

Quality control and quality assurance

Mr. Mike Ostenson, PGeo, is the qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Mr. Ostenson is a geologist at Stillwater and is not independent of the company.

We seek Safe Harbor.