Cleantech acquires Quarant fluorspar project

Mr. John Lee reports CLEANTECH DOUBLES FLUORSPAR MINERAL RIGHTS TO 15,975 ACRES WITH QUARANT PROJECT ACQUISITION IN ILLINOIS-KENTUCKY FLUORSPAR DISTRICT Through a wholly owned subsidiary, U.S. Fluorspar LLC, Cleantech Vanadium Mining Corp. has acquired the 7,825-acre Quarant fluorspar project by way of assuming an existing Quarant mineral lease agreement dated Nov. 16, 2022. Cleantech entered into a lease assignment agreement on Sept. 30, 2025, with an arm's-length private party (the assignor) to take over the Quarant lease, which includes a 2.5-per-cent royalty payment by Cleantech (lessee and project operator) to an arm's-length lessor, based on the sales of zinc and fluorspar products originating from the Quarant project. The Quarant project (7,825 acres) nearly doubles Cleantech's current mineral rights landholding to 15,975 acres in the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. This transaction establishes Cleantech as a major fluorspar mining company in the United States, measured by land mass, historic fluorspar mineral resources supported by over 745 drill holes, and mineral exploration potential for fluorspar, silver, zinc, germanium, gallium and rare earth elements. The Quarant project occupies a strategic position along the Rock Creek fault system in the western part of IKFD in Livingston county, Kentucky. The Quarant project benefits from historic exploration and mining activities by Alcoa, Reynolds Metals Company and Cerro Corp. The acquisition is highly synergistic as the Quarant project surrounds Cleantech's flagship Campbell-Crotser fluorspar-silver-zinc project (250 acres). A historic mineral resource estimate performed by Boyce Moodie III in 1974 for Cerro Spar Corp. on the Campbell-Crotser fluorspar project following its 62-hole drill program, reported 805,841 tons grading 37.10 per cent CaF2, 3.23 per cent zinc and 0.99 per cent lead. The key assumptions and methods used to prepare this historical resource estimate are not available. The company has not reviewed or validated the historic data, and caution should be taken as a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify these historical resource estimates as a current mineral resource and the company is not treating them as a current mineral resource. The Quarant project extends the currently known Campbell-Crotser 2,000-foot (600-metre) mineral strike to the south by a further 3,300 feet (one kilometre) at depths ranging from 300 to 800 feet below surface based on geological mapping and structural interpretation, covering the entire Campbell-Quarant-Morton fault system. See the section entitled Campbell-Crotser historic resource -- key assumptions -- below. The IKFD produced 90 per cent of America's fluorspar between 1915 and 1995, when China flooded the international fluorspar market. China has become a net importer of fluorspar since 2022, and the fluorspar price in China increased over 40 per cent from $350 (U.S.) to $375 (U.S.) per ton in October, 2022, to over $500 (U.S.) to $534 (U.S.) per ton in October, 2025. Fluorspar, a critical mineral that is essential in uranium enrichment, lithium and sodium battery electrolytes, production of semiconductor wafers, steel and aluminum. The United States currently has no known fluorspar production and relied entirely on China (5.9-million-ton-per-year production), Mexico (1.2-million-ton-per-year production), Vietnam (120,000-ton-per-year production) and South Africa (380,000-ton-per-year production) for its 440,000-ton annual fluorspar supply in 2024. China, Mongolia and Mexico accounted for over 85 per cent of the global fluorspar supply of 9.5 million tons per year in 2024. Under the lease assignment, Cleantech has agreed to pay the assignor a total of $210,000 (U.S.) in consideration for the transfer of its interest in the Quarant lease, payable as follows: $60,000 (U.S.) upon execution (paid); $50,000 (U.S.) on or before 12 months following execution; $50,000 (U.S.) on or before 24 months following execution; $50,000 (U.S.) on or before 36 months following execution. Kentucky Carrsville corridor, a continuation of the prolific Illinois Rosiclare subdistrict Both Quarrant and Campbell-Crotser projects are situated within the highly prospective Carrsville corridor, which extends approximately 5.5 kilometres from Ohio River to the town of Joy in Kentucky. Over 375,000 tons of crude fluorspar were historically produced from multiple mining operations within Carrsvile corridor including the Ellis mine (to the depth of 400 feet) located one km east of Campbell-Crotser and Quarant's Shouse-Skelton (also known as Joy) mine located two km southeast of Campbell-Crotser. More recent exploration at the Quarant project by Kuttawa Mineral Company in and around Shouse-Skelton mine in 2000 and 2001 included 15 core holes totalling 10,240 feet. A notable intersection in drill hole HJ 5 returned 17.4 per cent zinc over 21 feet within a 42-foot sulphide-rich zone located at the top of the Renault formation. The drill results indicate the continuity of mineralization along the Buck Creek trend connecting Ellis (north) and Shouse-Skelton (south) through the Quarant project area. Moreover, the Carrsville corridor lies within the southern contiguous extension of the large Rosiclare fault system (known locally as Rock Creek fault system in Kentucky), which hosts the Rosiclare fluorspar subdistrict in Illinois, just north of the Ohio River. The Rosiclare subdistrict is one of the most known districts accounting for significant IKFD historic production. The three highest-producing mines in Rosiclare (Daisy, Hillside and Knight), right across the Ohio River from Campell Crotser, collectively produced over one million tons of raw fluorspar in Illinois during the early to mid-20th century. The IKFD district's Mississippian carbonate-hosted structural environment, comprising dense limestone formations and systematic normal faulting, created optimal conditions for fluorspar deposition. The Meramecian St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve formations provide structural competency and chemical reactivity. The Chesterian Renault formation offers favourable replacement horizons, with the Bethel sandstone providing structural control. Temperature-pressure conditions during mineralization, estimated at 75 to 130 C based on fluid inclusion studies, are consistent with extensive deposition within carbonate hosts rocks. The abundance of apatite and micas in associated dikes suggests a genetic link between igneous activity and fluorine-bearing solutions. Campbell-Crotser historic resource -- key assumptions The key assumptions and methods used to prepare the Campbell-Crotser historic resource estimate are not available. The company has not reviewed or validated the historic data, and caution should be taken as a qualified person has not conducted sufficient work to classify these historical resource estimates as a current mineral resource and the company is not treating them as a current mineral resource. The historic resource does not demonstrate economic viability and should not be relied on. The Company considers the historical estimate relevant as it indicates significant fluorspar mineralization within the project area; however, the reliability is uncertain given the age of the data, and differences between historical estimation methods, and current Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum definition standards. The historical resource categories were defined prior to the adoption of current CIM definition standards and differ materially from current categories such as inferred mineral resource. The historical estimates do not meet current CIM requirements for mineral resource classification due to: insufficient verification, lack of documented estimation methodology and absence of quality assurance/quality control protocols. Steps to verify and upgrade the historical estimates to current CIM standards include: (i) compilation and validation of all historical drill data; (ii) twin drilling of select historical holes; (iii) confirmatory drilling in key areas of mineralization; (iv) updated geological modelling; and (v) preparation of a new mineral resource estimate in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. Qualified person The technical contents of this news release have been prepared under the supervision of Carlos Zamora, a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists and a certified professional geologist since 2024. Mr. Zamora is an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Cleantech Vanadium Mining Corp. Cleantech is a mining company focused on critical mineral resources in the United States. The company has an option to acquire 15,975 acres of mineral rights with historic fluorspar resources across multiple projects in the Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. Cleantech also owns a 100-per-cent interest in the Gibellini vanadium mine project in Nevada. We seek Safe Harbor.