Star Metro - NiobiumX Mining Outlines Its Staged Exploration Strategy at Shipshaw, Approximately Two Kilometres from North America's Only Producing Niobium Mine, as Brazil Supplies Approximately 93% of World Niobium and the United States Has No Domestic Mine

The Shipshaw Property

The Shipshaw Property comprises 48 mineral claims totalling approximately 2,686 hectares in the Saguenay region of Quebec. Its nearest claim boundary lies approximately two kilometres from the Niobec mine, North America's only operating niobium producer, in production since 1976. ^{1, 3}

The Shipshaw carbonatite is one of five carbonatite intrusions in the Waswanipi-Saguenay zone selected by Géologie Québec for characterization in metallogenic bulletin BM 2024-02, each marked by a negative magnetic anomaly. ⁴

Exploration Strategy

Carbonatite-hosted niobium systems in the Saint-Honoré corridor share a recognizable geophysical signature: a magnetic low, commonly accompanied by elevated thorium. The Property covers a low magnetic anomaly of this type, defined by a heliborne magnetic survey flown in 2010. Diamond drilling by a previous operator in 2010 and 2011, 23 holes totalling approximately 5,850 metres, intercepted the carbonatite complex in all holes. ^{1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7}

The Company is advancing the Property in four stages. Each one shrinks the search area before the next, more expensive one begins, so that the drill goes where the evidence is strongest:

1. Compile the Record: Bring the historical drilling, assay, mapping and geophysical record for the Property and the surrounding district into a single verified, machine-readable database, so that every later interpretation is tested against the full body of existing data.

2. Image the System at Modern Resolution: Survey the full 48-claim package with high-resolution airborne magnetics and radiometrics. Radiometrics have a direct precedent in the district: the Niobec deposit was discovered in 1967 by a radiometric survey during uranium exploration. ^{1, 4}

3. Rank Targets Against the District Signature: Integrate the new survey data with the compiled record using machine-learning methods and 3D magnetic inversion, scoring the Property against the signature of known carbonatite systems in the district and ranking targets by the overlap of magnetic, radiometric and structural evidence.

4. Drill-Test the Highest-Ranked Targets: Advance the best-supported targets to diamond drilling.

The Company intends to report on each stage as it advances. No mineral resource or mineral reserve has been estimated on the Property.

Why Niobium, Why Now

Few critical minerals have a supply chain as concentrated as niobium's. According to the United States Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, world mine production was approximately 112,000 tonnes of contained niobium in 2025, of which Brazil accounted for approximately 104,000 tonnes and Canada approximately 6,000 tonnes. The United States has had no domestic niobium mine production since 1959 and is 100% net import reliant, with an estimated import value of approximately US$525 million. ⁸

Niobium has no exchange-traded contract and no LME or COMEX price. The market is supplied largely under long-term contracts, and price discovery depends on assessments published by price reporting agencies. The USGS reports a ferroniobium average unit value of approximately US$26 per kilogram (gross weight) for 2025, and estimates United States consumption at approximately 77% steel and 23% superalloys. Niobium is added to high-strength low-alloy steel at fractions of a percent, where small additions deliver disproportionate increases in strength. ⁸

Two demand vectors sit outside the traditional steel market. Niobium-titanium-oxide anode materials are being commercialized for fast-charge lithium-ion batteries; CBMM and Echion Technologies opened a niobium-anode plant at Araxá, Brazil with a stated capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year. Separately, niobium-tin and niobium-titanium superconductors are core to magnetic resonance imaging and to fusion energy; the toroidal field coils of the ITER fusion project alone required approximately 420 tonnes of niobium-tin strand. ^{9, 10}

Niobium appears on the critical minerals lists of Canada, the United States, the European Union and Australia. In early 2026 the Government of Quebec released its 2025-2031 Québec Strategy for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals, which names niobium among Quebec's critical and strategic minerals and notes that Quebec is the only producer of niobium in the northern hemisphere. ^{11, 12}

"Four Western governments call niobium critical, and one country supplies almost all of it," said Kirby Renton, President and Chief Executive Officer. "North America has exactly one niobium mine. Our ground starts about two kilometres from it, sits on the same kind of geophysical signature, and has never been surveyed at modern resolution. We intend to change that, one stage at a time." ¹

About NiobiumX Mining Inc.

NiobiumX Mining Inc. (CSE:NIOX)(FSE:O7D0)(OTCQB:NIOXF) is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on niobium. The Company's principal asset is the Shipshaw Property, a package of 48 mineral claims totalling approximately 2,686 hectares in the Saguenay region of Quebec, situated within the Saguenay Graben of the Grenville Geological Province and characterized by a swarm of carbonatite and lamprophyre dykes. The Shipshaw carbonatite is one of five carbonatite intrusions in the Waswanipi-Saguenay zone selected for characterization by Géologie Québec in metallogenic bulletin BM 2024-02.

Niobium is designated a critical mineral by Canada, the United States, the European Union and Australia.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Deepak Varshney, P.Geo., a consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

For Further Information

Kirby Renton, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Telephone: (604) 689-2646 | Email: [email protected] | Website: niobiumx.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Kirby Renton, President and Chief Executive Officer, NiobiumX Mining Inc.

Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historic fact this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's exploration plans and programs; the design, scheduling, acquisition, processing and interpretation of geophysical surveys; the ability of integrated data and machine-learning methods to define or rank exploration targets; the interpretation and prospectivity of the Shipshaw Property for niobium; the maintenance and registration of mineral title; and the Company's business plans generally. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, and is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including that geophysical or model-derived anomalies may not reflect mineralization; that interpreted targets may not be confirmed by drilling; that the Company's exploration strategy may change; that no mineral resource estimate exists for the Property and none may ever be established; that historical results may not be verified or replicated; that the Company may be unable to obtain financing, permits or title on acceptable terms; and changes in commodity prices, demand and critical minerals policy. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by law. Additional information on risks is available in the Company's filings at www.sedarplus.ca.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Notes and References

1. Readers are cautioned that the geology and mineralization of neighbouring properties, including the Niobec mine, are not necessarily indicative of the geology or mineralization of the Property. The Company has no interest in the Niobec mine; information about it is taken from public disclosure by its owners and has not been verified by the Company's Qualified Person.

2. The drilling information referred to is historical. It was obtained by a previous operator, DIOS Exploration Inc., in 2010 and 2011, is documented in Government of Quebec assessment reports, and has not been verified by the Company's Qualified Person. It should not be relied upon and is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Property. No mineral resource or mineral reserve has been estimated on the Property.

3. Niobec Inc. - Niobec mine, Saint-Honoré, Quebec; in production since 1976. niobec.com.

4. Géologie Québec (Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts), 2024 - Metallogenic bulletin BM 2024-02, Waswanipi-Saguenay carbonatite corridor.

5. Desbiens, S., 2010 - Assessment report GM 65544, Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec (EXAMINE: gq.mines.gouv.qc.ca).

6. Block, M., 2011 - Assessment report GM 66096, Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec.

7. Brassard, B., 2026 - Technical Report on the Shipshaw Property (NI 43-101), effective date 17 February 2026; filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

8. U.S. Geological Survey, 2026, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 - Niobium (Columbium): U.S. Geological Survey. pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-niobium.pdf.

9. CBMM and Echion Technologies, 2024 - niobium-anode production facility, Araxá, Brazil, inaugurated November 2024 (stated capacity 2,000 tonnes per year); company announcements.

10. ITER Organization - toroidal field coils, Nb3Sn strand production (approximately 420 tonnes). iter.org.

11. Critical-minerals lists: Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Critical Minerals List (2024); U.S. Department of the Interior / U.S. Geological Survey, Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (November 2025); European Union, Critical Raw Materials Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1252; Government of Australia, Critical Minerals List (2024).

12. Gouvernement du Québec, 2026 - 2025-2031 Québec Strategy for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals.

SOURCE: NiobiumX Mining Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

P.Beaulieu--SMC