Dr. Fernando Tallarico reports

SPARK ADVANCES TANTALUM AND LITHIUM EXPLORATION IN BRAZIL'S HISTORIC SOLONOPOLE MINING DISTRICT; LABORATORY RESULTS PENDING

An initial prospecting phase is nearing completion at Spark Energy Minerals Inc.'s Solonopole project in Ceara, northeastern Brazil, and the company is awaiting sample results from SGS. For Spark, the opportunity is to look beyond the district's historic workings and test what its 15,691-hectare position could hold. The pending results will help guide that search for metals used in electronics, aerospace and batteries.

A 91,900-hectare flagship, a separate opportunity in Ceara

Solonopole comprises eight exploration permits and one application covering 15,691.24 hectares, with most of the ground west of the documented pegmatite corridor (Table A1). It is a separate property in Spark's Brazilian portfolio, alongside the approximately 91,900-hectare flagship Arapaima project in Minas Gerais's Lithium Valley.

Paved highways connect the project towns to Fortaleza, 275 kilometres by road to the northeast, with its international airport. The port of Pecem is about 320 kilometres by road.

"What draws us to Solonopole is the combination of mining history and a geological question we can test on the ground," said Dr. Fernando Tallarico, chief executive officer of Spark Energy Minerals. "This was not just a lithium district: miners also recovered minerals containing tantalum and beryllium. The Geological Survey of Brazil's work helps us understand the host rocks and rare-metal enrichment, and gives our team a reason to look west of the old workings. Arapaima remains our principal project, with its gallium and rare earth discoveries. Solonopole is a distinct opportunity to explore for tantalum, beryllium and lithium within our Brazilian critical minerals portfolio."

Historic mining, modern demand: tantalum, beryllium and lithium

Solonopole's historical workings produced minerals containing tantalum, beryllium and lithium, metals now used in electronics, aerospace and batteries. All three are on the 2025 U.S. list of critical minerals. This mining history, together with regional geological evidence, gives Spark a reason to explore beyond the old workings, which lie outside its permits.

Looking west of the old workings for rare-metal pegmatites

The Geological Survey of Brazil's (SGB) 2026 study describes lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites: coarse-grained rocks enriched in rare metals as their parent magma evolved. The study reports that SGB visited 68 lithium-bearing pegmatites and that its regional geochemical index detected 65 of them. Spark's exploration question is whether the favourable host rocks and regional geochemical trends extend to mineralized pegmatites on its permits.

Most of Spark's ground lies west of the documented pegmatite corridor, on the Acopiara complex and adjoining granite belts; this description does not apply to Title 800.952/2022. SGB places most of the district's documented lithium bodies in that complex or along its contacts with the Banabuiu granites. Its mineral studies also identify cesium and rubidium enrichment, indicators that help guide exploration for rare-metal pegmatites.

SGB's regional stream-sediment index shows a belt of high values extending across much of Spark's ground west of the known corridor, rather than the entire land package. This is a guide for follow-up, not a map of pegmatites: The public samples were not collected on Spark's permits. Mapping and sampling on the ground are needed to test the interpretation.

From geological clues to field evidence; SGS results pending

Spark is finalizing its initial prospecting phase and awaiting sample results from SGS. The broader work program includes mapping pegmatite dikes and host rocks, ground-checking old workings with former miners, and sampling stream sediments and panned concentrates across the permit drainages. Any pegmatites identified would be mapped and sampled across their widths, with rock-chip and mica samples tested for tantalum, niobium, beryllium, tin, lithium, cesium and rubidium. The program also includes interpretation of SGB airborne radiometric data to help identify targets. Further samples would be submitted to an accredited laboratory under the company's quality assurance/quality control protocols, including certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates in every batch. Where warranted, trenching would precede drill planning.

Sources, verification and property context

This release draws on SGB studies and maps, the ANM cadastre, historical and academic publications, third party company disclosures, and USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) and IEA (International Energy Agency) publications, identified in the supporting document. The company has not verified the underlying public samples, analyses, observations or historical production. Neighbouring properties and historical workings are held by third parties in which Spark has no interest; their mineralization is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on Spark's permits. Their grades, production, drilling and historical reserve figures are not treated as current mineral resources or reserves. The company believes the public sources to be reliable but makes no representation as to their accuracy or completeness.

Exploration stage

Solonopole is an exploration-stage property. Spark has not identified mineralization on the permits, estimated a mineral resource or reserve, or completed an economic assessment. The program may not find pegmatites or mineralization, and any mineralization found may not be economic. Prospectivity reflects the company's geological interpretation.

Qualified persons

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, BSc (honours), FAusIMM, vice-president, exploration, country manager and director, and Dr. Fernando Tallarico, PGeo, FSEG, chief executive officer and chairman, each a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Neither qualified person is independent of the company.

About Spark Energy Minerals Inc.

Spark Energy Minerals is a Canadian critical minerals exploration company whose principal asset, the Arapaima project, comprises approximately 91,900 hectares across several municipalities in the Lithium Valley region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The company has made gallium and rare earth element discoveries at Cruzeta and, more recently, at Boa Vista, where mineralization is hosted in ionic adsorption clays developed over the Caladao granite. Lithium-bearing pegmatites are a secondary target on the property.

The company also holds the Serido project, comprising 12 exploration permits totalling 21,492.74 hectares in the Serido tungsten district of Rio Grande do Norte, where tungsten-focused reconnaissance exploration is under way.

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