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ROCKEX MINING CORPORATION

CSE: RXM

ROCKEX MINING PROVIDES CORPORATE UPDATE - POSITIONED FOR ONTARIO'S ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE TRANSITION AND DEMAND FOR HIGH-QUALITY IRON UNITS

February 18, 2026 - Thunder Bay, Ontario - Rockex Mining Corporation ("Rockex" or the "Corporation") (CSE: RXM) is pleased to provide a corporate update as it believes global market trends, evolving steelmaking requirements and government priorities around domestic supply chains and economic resilience are creating a more constructive backdrop for the Corporation's 100% owned Lake St. Joseph Iron Project in northwestern Ontario. With the project at the preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") stage, Rockex views this period as an opportune time to re-engage potential strategic partners and stakeholders to assess interest on next-step de-risking work required to advance a potential pathway to project development.

"We invite interest from strategic partners, end users and other stakeholders aligned with advancing domestic iron units and strengthening Canadian industrial supply chains," said Pierre Gagne, Chief Executive Officer of Rockex. "In light of government focus on national security interests, we believe that the quality, size and location of the Lake St. Joseph Iron Project make it an attractive opportunity to help to address those interests."

The Project

Rockex's Lake St. Joseph Iron Project hosts a large hematite/magnetite resource that the Corporation believes could be developed into a source of high-quality iron units such as hot briquetted iron ("HBI"). HBI can complement scrap-based electric arc furnace ("EAF") steelmaking by supporting consistent chemistry and low impurities-an increasingly important consideration as Canadian EAF capacity expands, including at Ontario facilities such as Algoma Steel in Sault Ste Marie.

Project PEA Summary

The 100%-owned Lake St. Joseph Iron Project includes an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.287 billion tonnes at 28.39% iron (Fe), plus an Inferred Mineral Resource of 108 million tonnes at 31.03% Fe, at Eagle Island in northwestern Ontario. The Corporation's 2015 updated PEA was prepared by CIMA+ and evaluated the potential for production of approximately 4.3 million tonnes per year of HBI over a 30-year mine life. The 2015 PEA reported a pre-tax NPV of approximately $9.42 billion at a 6% discount rate (post-tax NPV of approximately $6.85 billion at a 6% discount rate), based on an HBI price assumption of US$350/t and other assumptions applicable at that time (see the Corporation's news release on October 27, 2015, and related Preliminary Economic Assessment filed at that time on the Corporation's SEDAR profile and currently available on the Corporation's profile at www.sedarplus.ca). The Corporation's 2015 PEA was prepared in 2015 based on commodity prices, costs, sales, revenues and other assumptions and projections which were current at that time, many of which have changed over the intervening years and may make the analysis in some respects outdated. Readers should refer to the Corporation's technical disclosure and its other filings on its SEDARplus profile for full assumptions, sensitivities and risk factors associated with the 2015 PEA and with the Corporation's ongoing business and activities.

Qualified Person

James G. Clark, P.Geo (Ontario), a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101, is independent of Rockex within the meaning of NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, of the Canadian Securities Administrators and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical contents of this news release.

About Rockex

Rockex is a Canadian exploration company focused on developing high quality iron ore assets strategically located in areas largely under-explored, and that host significant mineral potential. Its core asset is the Lake St. Joseph Iron Project which includes the Eagle Island Deposit, as well as additional potential deposits at Wolf Island and Fish Island. It also has other properties in northwestern Ontario which it refers to as the East Soules Bay Property and the North Spirit Lake Property.

For further information, please refer to the Corporation's profile on SEDARplus which may be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca, and visit our website at www.rockexmining.com.

Contacts:

Pierre Gagne, Chief Executive Officer of Rockex

Phone: (807) 623-2626

Email address: pierre.gagne@rockexmining.com

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All information, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Rockex believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. This forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond Rockex's ability to control or predict and which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The PEA is preliminary in nature and is subject to all of the limitations associated with such studies. The PEA was completed in 2015 and, accordingly, is based on historical information that should be updated. There is no assurance that the results of the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative to have economic considerations applied that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Rockex disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Although Rockex believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and, accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

Neither IIROC nor any stock exchange or other securities regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.