Southstone Minerals sells 1,390.42 carats in fiscal Q2

Mr. Terry Tucker reports SOUTHSTONE REPORTS Q2 2026 DIAMOND SALES RESULTS: RECORD QUARTERLY GROSS SALES Southstone Minerals Ltd. has released diamond sales and production results from the Oena diamond mine in South Africa for the quarter ending Feb. 28, 2026 (Q2 fiscal 2026). Gross diamond sales totalled $3,713,181 (U.S.) from 1,390.42 carats sold across two tenders. The company achieved its highest quarterly gross diamond sales since acquiring Oena in 2014. The applicable contractual revenue split between African Star Minerals Pty. Ltd. and the mining contractor is described below. Q2 2026 performance (December, 2025, to February, 2026) (versus Q1 fiscal 2026 ended Nov. 30, 2025): Gross diamond sales: $3,713,181 (U.S.) (versus $1,903,889 (U.S.), up 95 per cent); Carats sold: 1,390.42 (versus 897.24, up 55 per cent); Average price: $2,671 (U.S.) per carat (versus $2,122 (U.S.) per carat, up 26 per cent); Price distribution: 13 diamonds achieved individual prices greater than $5,000 (U.S.) per carat. Specials (diamonds greater than 10.8 carats) Mining of basal gravel layers has resulted in the recovery of specials (diamonds greater than 10.8 carats). In the quarter: Twenty-two specials were sold, averaging 19 carats each, for total proceeds of $2,774,934 (U.S.). The largest was a 38.247-carat diamond that sold for $616,197 (U.S.) ($16,111 (U.S.) per carat). This is the highest individual diamond sale price recorded by the company since it acquired Oena in 2014. Since November, 2023, specials have represented 29 per cent of recovered carats and 67 per cent of gross sales value from the Sandberg section. Inventory: Unsold inventory: The company enters the next fiscal quarter with an additional 305.1 carats, including five specials, in unsold inventory from late February production. Q2 2026 tenders African Star Minerals, a 43-per-cent-owned subsidiary of Southstone, is party to a contract mining and diamond recovery agreement with mining contractor Rietput Delwery BK. Effective July 1, 2025, gross diamond sales (net of tender costs) are split 80/20 between Rietput and African Star when individual tender sales equal or exceed 10 million South African rand. If a tender sells for less than 10 million South African rand, the split is 85/15 between Rietput and African Star. Southstone, through African Star, provides operational oversight at Oena, including diamond sales administration, contractor liaison, mining licence compliance and security. The company maintains a management and security team in South Africa, including the chief executive officer of African Star and the Oena operational site manager. The company's executive chairman, with external geological support, provides operational support for internal reporting of Oena activities and provides geological and technical support to the operations team and contractors. Botswana uranium acquisition update Further to its news releases of Feb. 18, July 21 and Sept. 12, 2025, Southstone Minerals announces that it has entered a third addendum to the binding term sheet with Afrium Energy Pte. Ltd. The third addendum extends the end date of the acquisition agreement to Sept. 12, 2026, to allow additional time for the renewal of the three prospecting licences in the Republic of Botswana. All other terms of the agreement remain unchanged and in full force. Southstone recognizes that licence renewals in Botswana can be a lengthy administrative process. The company, together with Afrium, is actively working with the relevant authorities to ensure the renewals are completed in due course. The company remains committed to advancing this strategic transaction while continuing to focus on its core operations at the Oena diamond mine. Corporate update The company confirms it is not currently in compliance with TSX Venture Exchange Policy 3.1 and Policy 3.2 requirements regarding the composition of the board and appointment of officers but is acting in good faith and continues to operate responsibly while working toward full compliance. The company expects/intends to restore compliance upon closing (subject to closing/TSX-V acceptance) of the Afrium transaction. At that time, the company will: Appoint a chief financial officer separate from the chief executive officer; Appoint at least one additional independent director, enabling the formation of a compliant audit committee. Qualified person statement The technical disclosure in this news release relating to diamond production, recovery and sales has been approved by Terry L. Tucker, PGeo (APEGBC), executive chairman and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr. Tucker has verified the production and sales records disclosed in this release. We seek Safe Harbor.