Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 16, 2026) - United Critical Minerals Corp.  (CSE: UCM) ("UCM" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 2025 grass roots exploration activities at its 1,692.22-hectare Tahlo Lake porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold property (the "Tahlo Lake Property" or the "Property") located in north-central British Columbia. The Tahlo Lake Property is located approximately 11 km to the northeast of American Eagle Gold Corp's (TSXV: AE) NAK project, where drilling has identified numerous long high-grade intervals of copper-gold mineralization. *Mineralization on nearby or adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Property.

The Tahlo Lake Property is at the northern end of a prospective belt of rocks known as the Babine porphyry copper belt. This belt, measuring roughly 20 km by 80 km on the east side of Babine Lake, hosts many copper-rich mineral deposits at varying stages of development, including notable occurrences, developed prospects and past producing mines.

In September 2025, UCM completed a targeted geochemical till-sampling program (the "2025 Program") at the Tahlo Lake Property, focused on high-priority gold-copper targets defined by interpretation of the Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic ("ZTEM") airborne geophysical survey that the Company carried out in 2024. The ZTEM data was integrated with newly acquired Light Detection and Ranging ("LiDAR") data to improve surficial mapping and refine sampling locations.

A total of 18 till samples were collected from hand-dug pits designed to test subglacial till within and down-ice of key ZTEM targets (Figure 1). Approximately half of the samples were interpreted to represent true subglacial till, providing valuable information on glacial dispersion and potential underlying bedrock sources. While the 2025 Program covered only a small portion of the Tahlo Lake Property and no anomalous mineralization or significant geochemical anomalies were identified in the till samples, it confirmed the effectiveness of a focused, data-driven targeting approach and provided valuable information to refine targeting and guide future exploration efforts.

Much of the Tahlo Lake Property remains underexplored, and the results of the 2025 Program highlight the potential for follow-up work. More advanced exploration methods, including induced polarization geophysics and till drilling, are expected to play an important role in unlocking the full scale of the opportunity.

"The 2025 Program at Tahlo Lake was a highly targeted first step that helped us refine priority areas on a largely underexplored property," said Pat Donnelly, President and CEO of United Critical Minerals. "By combining ZTEM, LiDAR, and till sampling, we've laid the groundwork for more comprehensive exploration and see significant upside as we advance this project."

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Till pits were dug to a depth of 60 cm to more than a meter. The goal was to reach dense subglacial till. Large samples (generally 1 to 2.5 kgs) were collected in case further studies were desired. Till samples were then sent to ALS Canada Ltd in Vancouver BC for analysis. Subsequently, samples were screened to -80 mesh and a 25-gram subsample was taken. The subsample was then subjected to aqua regia digestion followed by ICP-MS analysis. QA/QC consisted of splitting a till sample into duplicate samples which were assayed and the results compared. The results were within 10% for the elements of interest, except Au and As. In addition, the Cu values for the 2025 till program were compared to the Cu values for the 2023 till sampling from the Property. The median sample results for the two datasets were within 1.5 ppm (<5% difference).

Figure 1. Location of Till Sample Locations

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Qualified Person

Patrick Donnelly P.Geo., CEO and a director of the Company and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About United Critical Minerals Corp.

United Critical Minerals is a junior exploration company focused on the exploration, development, and advancement of its Tahlo Lake property, located in south-central British Columbia. Tahlo Lake is comprised of four wholly owned mining claims totaling approximately 1,692 hectares.

For more information, please visit the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain disclosures in this document constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "expects," or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, or results "may," "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward‐looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding: the mineral deposits, bedrock sources and potential for follow-up work at the Property; and the potential use of advanced exploration methods at the Property.

In making these forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company will be able to complete exploration efforts as planned or at all; that the Company's planned exploration efforts will achieve expected results; that the results of the 2025 Program will refine targeting for future exploration efforts; and that the Company will be able to utilize more advanced exploration methods.

These forward‐looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: general market, economic and business conditions; that the results of exploration activities will not be consistent with management's expectations; delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government approvals or financing; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the risk of accidents; labor disputes or inclement or hazardous weather conditions; and unusual or unexpected geological conditions.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We seek safe harbor.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

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Source: United Critical Minerals Corp.