Solitario receives drilling permits for Cat Creek

Executive Summary

• Solitario Resources Corp. has secured federal and state drilling permits for its Cat Creek critical metals project in Colorado, with core drilling scheduled to begin in mid-summer 2026.
• The Cat Creek project is a high-quality, undrilled molybdenum-rhenium porphyry system, originally discovered by Anaconda Copper in the early 1980s but never drill-tested.
• The project is strategically located within a prolific molybdenum corridor in Colorado, situated between major existing mines, and shows exceptional rhenium enrichment compared to typical molybdenum deposits.

Key Details

• Permitting and Timeline: Both federal and state permitting for the Cat Creek project has been completed. Core drilling is planned to commence in mid-summer 2026.
• Project History: Originally discovered by Anaconda Copper in the early 1980s, the property underwent surface exploration (geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, and induced polarization geophysical survey) but was never drill-tested due to corporate restructuring. Solitario signed a lease for a 100% interest in 2023 and has conducted confirmatory surface exploration.
• Geological Target: The project is identified as a high-quality undrilled molybdenum-rhenium porphyry system. Anaconda’s IP survey revealed a strong circular-shaped conductive body underlain by a resistive body, consistent with a potentially mineralized porphyry system approximately 800 meters in diameter.
• Strategic Location: Cat Creek is located less than 150 miles south of Freeport-McMoran’s Climax and Henderson mines (two of the world's largest primary molybdenum mines) and 80 miles north of the historically important Questa molybdenum mine, placing it in the middle of a prolific molybdenum corridor.
• Molybdenum Context: Molybdenum is a strategic metal selling for approximately $25 per pound, valued for its alloying properties in steelmaking, oil and gas, aerospace, defense, nuclear energy, and automotive industries.
• Rhenium Potential: Rhenium is classified as a critical metal by the U.S. government, used extensively in defense and aerospace (jet/rocket engines, gas turbines). It sells for approximately $4,200 per kilogram ($4.20 per gram).
• Grade Estimates: Sampling indicates molybdenum-rich rocks at surface are rhenium enriched, averaging approximately 30 grams per tonne (g/t) Re. This is significantly higher than the average Re grades of approximately 0.5 g/t Re found in most molybdenum mines (normalized to a 0.10% Mo grade).
• Mineralization: Molybdenum-rhenium mineralization occurs at surface within a porphyry intrusive complex. Significant areas of intense clay-pyrite alteration are centered over a rhyolite, latite, and monzonite porphyry complex. High-grade rhenium values are associated with molybdenite mineralization comprising quartz-molybdenite stockwork veins.

Notable Quotes

• Chris Herald, President and CEO: "Although the Golden Crest gold project has been, and remains, our primary focus, we have been quietly advancing the Cat Creek project for the past two years and are excited to able to drill test this large-scale drill target next year. With the current interest in domestic critical and strategic metals in the U.S., Cat Creek is an important new addition to our property portfolio."
• Chris Herald, President and CEO: "In addition to the Cat Creek's molybdenum potential, this system appears to be exceptionally well endowed with rhenium. Virtually all worldwide rhenium production comes as a byproduct of molybdenum mines. Sampling to date indicates that molybdenum-rich rocks at surface are also rhenium enriched, averaging approximately 30 [grams per tonne] Re, versus average Re grades of approximately 0.5 gpt Re for most molybdenum mines (normalized to a 0.10 per cent Mo grade)."