Mr. Stuart McDonald reports

TREKOR UPDATES STATUS OF ALEY NIOBIUM AND STRENGTHENS PROJECT TEAM

Trekor Metals Ltd. has provided an update on the company's wholly owned Aley niobium project, an advanced-stage development project located in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.

Over the past several years, the Aley project team has continued development of a proprietary flotation process, resulting in higher niobium recoveries and reduced reagent consumption. The concentrate produced with this process has been used to produce market-grade ferroniobium, a critical input for specialty steel production. The team is also evaluating opportunities to use the concentrate to produce high-purity niobium oxide directly or by utilizing a third party processor. In connection with this work, the company has appointed Steve Sparkowich as director, Aley niobium, to support technical development, market positioning and commercial strategy for the project.

Stuart McDonald, president and chief executive officer of Trekor, commented: "Our technical team has done a great job improving Aley's process flow sheet in recent years. We believe Aley has the potential to be a major new source of niobium, a designated critical mineral in Canada, the United States and Europe, and we look forward to advancing commercial and strategic discussions with niobium consumers seeking a reliable North American supply chain."

Aley project details

Based on a previously issued National Instrument 43-101 technical report, the Aley project contains an estimated 84 million tonnes of proven and probable mineral reserves grading 0.50 per cent Nb2O5. With a processing rate of 10,000 tonnes per day, the mine would have a production capacity of 14,000 tonnes of ferroniobium (nine million kilograms of contained niobium) per year over a 24-year mine life.

A significant amount of development work has been completed on the project since the last technical report. A focus of this technical work has been a refinement of the process flow sheet, which has undergone a pilot test program using material from a metallurgical sample taken in 2018. The test program has confirmed the operability of a new, optimized flotation process that has yielded higher niobium recoveries and improved concentrate grades with much reduced reagent consumption.

The test program generated enough niobium concentrate to complete the development of a two-stage smelting process, which has produced marketable ferroniobium. The proprietary flotation process has been patented by Trekor in the United States, Australia, Brazil and Europe. The project team is also developing a hydrometallurgical flow sheet that would produce niobium oxide from Aley's flotation concentrate.

The project team is now scaling up the pilot program to produce additional quantities of ferroniobium, with the focus shifting toward product marketing initiatives and engagement with potential offtake parties and processors.

Management appointment -- Steve Sparkowich

Mr. Sparkowich is a licensed professional metallurgical engineer who brings more than 30 years of experience in material engineering, metallurgy, new business development and supply chain innovation. His career has focused extensively on critical and refractory metals, including niobium. In his new role, Mr. Sparkowich will support technical development, market positioning and commercial strategy for Aley. His work will focus on connecting Aley's flow sheet development and product capabilities with the requirements of major niobium-consuming customers seeking a reliable North American supply chain, including large steel mills as well as stainless steel, superalloy and niobium producers.

Richard Tremblay, chief operating officer of Trekor, commented: "We are excited to have Mr. Sparkowich join the Aley project team. Niobium is a strategically important material for high performance steels, stainless steels, niobium alloys, superalloys, emerging magnetic materials, superconductors, energy systems and other critical technologies. Mr. Sparkowich's deep technical knowledge of niobium and other critical metals will play a key role in advancing the flow sheet optimization, production plan development and market engagement, and provide a strong foundation for customer qualification and long-term commercial discussions."

Technical report, qualified person and National Instrument 43-101

The scientific and technical information relating to the Aley project is based on the technical report titled "Technical Report on Mineral Reserves at the Aley Project, British Columbia, Canada," issued Oct. 30, 2014, with an effective date of Sept. 15, 2014, as amended and restated Dec. 4, 2017, which is available on SEDAR+.

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert Rotzinger, PEng, vice-president, capital projects, for Trekor Metals, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).

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