Mr. Lee Barker reports

SPARTON RESOURCES INC.: VRB ENERGY INC. ACHIEVES MILESTONE GLOBAL CERTIFICATION FOR ITS THIRD GENERATION VANADIUM REDOX FLOW BATTERIES

Sparton Resources Inc. is pleased that Ivanhoe Electric noted, on Aug. 30, 2023, that its 90-per-cent-owned subsidiary, VRB Energy Inc., received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 1973 certification for its third-generation energy storage system (Gen3 VRB-ESS).

UL 1973 is an internationally recognized global standard for commercially available battery energy storage.

This is a major achievement for VRB Energy as the Gen3 VRB-ESS is the only battery system currently available that is certified at the UL 1973 standard for a one-megawatt-hour power module. This is the basic VRB Energy building block for its electricity storage systems.

Sparton's interest in VRB Energy is held through a 90-per-cent interest in VanSpar Mining Inc., which in turn owns 9.975 per cent of VRB Energy. Full information regarding the history of the company's VRB Energy investment is available in its various news releases, and available on SEDAR in its corporate filings or on the Sparton website.

About UL 1973

The UL 1973 certificate addresses major battery issues such as safety, reliability and operating uses. Included in this certification are testing protocols involving materials, vibration tests, high-temperature operation, overcharging, short circuiting and physical drop tests.

The work was undertaken by VRB Energy with the CSA Group, formerly the Canadian Standards Association, and the safety testing done using the international organization for standardization (ISO) protocols 13849-1 and 13849-2 2012 standards.

About VRB Energy Inc.

VRB Energy is a fast-growing, privately held clean technology innovator. The company has developed the most reliable, longest-lasting vanadium flow battery in the world, with more than 500 megawatt-hours installed or in development worldwide, and more than one million hours of demonstrated performance. The recent UL certification sets it apart from other energy storage system providers.

VRB Energy's vanadium redox battery systems store energy in liquid electrolyte in a patented process based on the reduction and oxidation of ionic forms of the element vanadium. This is a repeatable process that is safe, reliable and non-toxic. The electrolyte can be recycled at end-of-life, dramatically improving lifecycle economics and environmental benefits compared with lithium-ion and other battery types.

VRB Energy is majority-owned by Ivanhoe Electric, a North American minerals exploration and development company that also invests in minerals-dependent, high-growth emerging technologies. Ivanhoe Electric is a global leader in developing innovative commercial applications for exploration technologies, and is focusing on development of electric-metal-producing projects in North America and elsewhere.

Commentary

"Sparton is delighted to see this major development in VRB Energy's technical achievements," stated A. Lee Barker, company chief executive officer. "We believe vanadium redox flow batteries are clearly superior to lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale energy storage applications, and infinitely safer. The UL certification will provide global recognition of the Gen3 VRB-ESS system and provide VRB Energy with a very strong marketing tool for new business going forward."

About Sparton Resources Inc.

Sparton is a mineral exploration company currently focused on exploring gold projects near producing mines on or near the major gold-producing trends in northeastern Ontario and Northern Quebec, where it holds interests in three exploration prospects. The Bruell property hosts a new gold discovery and is now being explored by Eldorado, which owns the nearby producing Lamaque mine to the west. The Oakes and Pense properties, near Matachewan and Englehart in Ontario, are in close proximity to Alamos Gold's producing Young Davidson mine and the prolific Kirkland Lake gold-producing area.

The VRB Energy equity share asset is a keystone in the company's value base.

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