Nordique Critical Metals Achieves Rare-Earth Leaching Efficiency Exceeding 95%, Advancing A Smaller, Simplified Processing Plant Targeting Annual Production Of More Than 10,000 Tonnes Of Rare-Earth Oxides
The latest work also points to a substantially simpler processing plant. Building on earlier metallurgical studies by Hazen Research and COREM, L3 and SMH Process Innovation (“SMH”) have developed a revised hydrometallurgical flowsheet designed to eliminate several processing stages included in the Company's 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”). Fewer processing stages could mean less equipment, lower energy requirements, as well as reduced construction and operating costs at the Kwyjibo Project. L3 and SMH are continuing to optimize the revised flowsheet, with plans to validate the process through a continuous rare-earth demonstration plant targeted to begin operations in Q1 2027.
Higher recovery could further strengthen Kwyjibo's economics. The 2026 PEA assumed approximately 75% overall rare-earth recovery and outlined an after-tax net present value (8%) of $1.40 billion, an after-tax internal rate of return of 35.4% and an estimated two-year payback period. Based on recent testing, L3 and SMH are evaluating the potential to increase overall recovery in excess of 80%. If achieved, higher recovery could allow Kwyjibo to produce more saleable rare-earth material from the same quantity of mined ore. This recovery range remains a preliminary objective and is not included in the 2026 PEA economics.
A smaller, more efficient plant could support targeted annual production exceeding 10,000 tonnes of rare-earth oxides. Preliminary engineering discussions with L3 and SMH indicate that the simplified processing flowsheet could substantially reduce the hydrometallurgical plant's footprint and power requirements compared with the 2026 PEA design. This could allow Kwyjibo to pursue its planned production capacity with less equipment, reduced infrastructure and potentially lower operating costs, subject to further metallurgical testing and engineering confirmation.
Kwyjibo combines an approximately 10-year mine life with a strategic location in eastern Québec. The 2026 PEA outlines an underground mining operation with a planned surface mine footprint of approximately 2.67 hectares. The Project is located approximately 125 km northeast of Sept-Îles, with its proposed processing complex near Rivière-au-Tonnerre, along Québec's Côte-Nord transportation corridor. This location provides opportunities to connect with regional road, energy and marine transportation infrastructure and positions Kwyjibo within eastern Canada's supply chain already serving North American, European, and Asian markets.
The underground mine design also offers an opportunity to reduce surface footprint. Nordique is advancing a design intended to eliminate permanent surface tailings storage by returning all processing residues underground as cemented paste backfill. Arcadis Professional Services (Canada) Inc. (“Arcadis”) has been retained to evaluate this proposed approach and support the associated technical, environmental and regulatory studies.
The next step is to pilot and demonstrate that the simplified process can operate continuously. Nordique is working with L3 and SMH to prepare approximately 400 kg of nonmagnetic concentrate for a continuous rare-earth demonstration plant targeted to begin operations in Q1 2027. The program is intended to validate the revised processing flowsheet, evaluate rare-earth extraction and subsequent separation stages, and generate the operating data needed to advance Kwyjibo toward feasibility-level engineering.
Technical Disclosure and Qualified Person
The metallurgical results described in this release are based on laboratory-scale testing conducted by L3 Process Development on Kwyjibo mineral concentrate. Leaching efficiency measures the proportion of the specified elements transferred into solution during leaching and does not represent overall process recovery or recovery of finished rare-earth products. Further validation using representative material and continuous operating conditions is required.
The economic results and approximately 10-year mine life are derived from the Company's 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Kwyjibo Rare Earth Project, filed on SEDAR+ on August 14, 2026. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Annual production exceeding 10,000 tonnes of rare-earth oxides represents a proposed production target, not a demonstrated production rate. Its precise product basis and relationship to the filed PEA require more metallurgical test work with process engineering and equipment requirements and confirmation by the Qualified Person. Potential improvements to recovery, operating costs, plant footprint and energy consumption remain preliminary development objectives and have not been incorporated into a revised economic assessment.
The economic results and mine life referenced in this news release are based on the technical report entitled (( Rapport technique – Évaluation économique préliminaire – Mise à jour, Projet Kwyjibo, Québec, Canada )), prepared by DRA Americas Inc. and filed on SEDAR+ on August 14, 2026.
Cautionary Note and Other Relevant Information
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Updated PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the Updated PEA will be realized. The mineral resource estimate specified in the Updated PEA (the“MRE”) has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2014), as incorporated by reference into National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). The Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources and cannot be converted directly into a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that additional drilling may upgrade portions of the Inferred Mineral Resource to the Indicated category; however, there is no certainty that such upgrading will occur. The Mineral Resource Estimate specified in the Updated PEA remains subject to assumptions regarding mining, metallurgical performance, processing recoveries, commodity prices, operating costs, capital costs, environmental permitting, taxation, title, legal matters, marketing, social considerations and other modifying factors that may materially affect the estimate. The MRE has an effective date of June 25, 2026, and is based on 109 surface drill holes totaling 19,168 metres, incorporating 4,962 analytical samples and 886 specific gravity measurements. The estimate was completed using three-dimensional geological modelling, inverse distance squared (ID2) interpolation, 1.5-metre composites, 10 m × 10 m × 5 m block dimensions, a density model correlated with iron grade, and a CAD $330 per tonne cut-off value. Reported Mineral Resources in the Updated PEA are exclusive of Mineral Reserves, and totals may not add precisely due to rounding. Readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the Measured, Indicated or Inferred Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves or that the Updated PEA represents, or will result in, an economically viable mining operation.The scientific and technical information relating to the hydrometallurgical program in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Eric Larochelle, P.Eng. (OIQ #112819), President of SMH Process Innovation and an independent consulting engineer to the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101.
SMH Process Innovation specializes in hydrometallurgical process development, optimization and engineering, with expertise in translating laboratory-scale metallurgical results into practical processing circuits. At Kwyjibo, SMH is contributing to the development and simplification of the hydrometallurgical flowsheet, including rare-earth recovery, impurity management and reagent recycling. Its involvement will support the integration of metallurgical testwork with process engineering and equipment requirements, helping establish a practical technical foundation for continuous demonstration testing and subsequent feasibility-level studies.
L3 Process Development provides specialized laboratory testing and process development services, including hydrometallurgical extraction, separation and process optimization. L3 has already completed bench-scale testing on Kwyjibo material, achieving encouraging rare-earth leaching results and evaluating subsequent extraction and purification stages. Building on this work, L3 will play a central role in the planned continuous demonstration program, evaluating rare-earth extraction, individual element separation and integrated process performance. Its laboratory and process development capabilities will help generate the operating data required to advance Kwyjibo's rare-earth processing technology toward larger-scale implementation.
Arcadis is a global engineering and environmental consulting firm with extensive expertise in environmental assessment, geochemistry, material characterization, mine residue management and regulatory compliance. Its specialists have supported projects involving complex mineral-processing residues, environmental monitoring and long-term management of mining materials. At Kwyjibo, Arcadis' expertise is being applied to evaluate the characteristics and long-term behaviour of process residues, assess their proposed return underground as cemented paste backfill, and support the environmental and regulatory studies required as the Project advances toward feasibility and permitting. This work is an important component of Nordique's strategy to develop Kwyjibo with a reduced surface footprint and no permanent surface tailings storage.
About Nordique Critical Metals Inc.
Nordique Critical Metals Inc. is a Canadian junior mining exploration and development company trading under the symbol“NQC” on the TSX Venture Exchange,“J6K” on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and“JORFF” on the OTCQB®Venture Market. The Company is focused on the exploration and development of critical mineral projects in stable jurisdictions and is committed to advancing critical mineral supply chains through responsible project development.
Contact
Nordique Critical Metals Inc.
Richard Quesnel | Chief Executive Officer
+1 (514) 249-6320 |... | nordiquecriticalmetals.com
Additional Cautionary Statements
This press release contains“forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to Kwyjibo with a view to the information contained in the Updated PEA and the Company's future business activities and operating performance in respect thereof. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words“may”,“would”,“could”,“should”,“will”,“intend”,“plan”,“anticipate”,“believe”,“estimate”,“expect” or similar expressions and includes information regarding the Company's estimates, expectations, forecasts and guidance for production, waste material, capital expenditures, cost savings, project economics (including pre-tax IRR) and other information contained in the Updated PEA; as well as references to other possible events, the future price of rare earth oxides, the estimation of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the realization of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of the project and mining and processing activities, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks and the anticipated timing for the filing of the Updated PEA in accordance with NI 43-101.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the Company.
This forward-looking information may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the combined business of the Company and market conditions, including (1) there being no significant disruptions affecting the Company's operations whether due to extreme weather events and other or related natural disasters, labor disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; (2) permitting, development, operations and production for the Kwyjibo being consistent with the Company's expectations; (3) political and legal developments in Québec being consistent with current expectations; (4) certain price assumptions for rare earth oxides; (5) prices for diesel, electricity and other key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; (6) the accuracy of the MRE; (7) labor and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with the Company's current expectations; and (8) environmental approvals and community engagement. This information is qualified in its entirety by cautionary statements and risk factor disclosure contained in filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulators, including the Company's annual and interim financial statements and related MD&A, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at .
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.
The Company has included certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, such as AISC. These non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning. Accordingly, these financial measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). AISC, as defined by the World Gold Council, is a common financial performance measure in the mining industry but has no standard definition under IFRS. AISC includes operating cash costs, net-smelter royalty, corporate costs, sustaining capital expenditure, sustaining exploration expenditure and capitalised stripping costs. Other companies may calculate these measures differently and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.
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