Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 6, 2026) - CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp. (TSXV: CTV) (OTCQB: CTVFF) ("CleanTech" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the permitting of its Campbell-Crotser Fluorspar Mining Project ("Campbell-Crotser") located in Livingston County, Kentucky, and to outline the regulatory roadmap toward the development of Campbell-Crotser and an associated central flotation processing and tailings facility to produce 97% acid-grade fluorspar on site.

In addition to appointing a full time Kentucky permitting specialist, the Company is engaging SynTerra Corporation ("SynTerra"), a Kentucky-based engineering firm to assist the Company to prepare and submit the permits for Campbell-Crotser and a flotation processing plant with supplemental technical and environmental studies by the end of 2026.

Permitting Program and Schedule

The permitting effort is organized around two parallel application packages - one for the Campbell-Crotser portal, and one for the processing plant and tailings facility - each advanced through a three-phase workflow designed to expedite the overall timeline:

• Phase 1 - Property control and project initiation: confirm mineral and surface title and rights of entry, complete site reconnaissance, and prepare preliminary operations mapping.

• Phase 2 - Permitting, engineering and regulatory review: complete environmental field investigations, prepare the Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement ("DMRE") Non-Coal permit application package, coordinate water permitting, manage public notice and agency review cycles, and arrange bonding and financial assurance.

• Phase 3 - Federal mine-safety compliance and operational readiness: secure a Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA") Mine Identification Number, finalize ground-control and safety plans, and complete pre-operational readiness.

A central element of the strategy is parallel processing - advancing water, air and mine-safety approvals concurrently with the core DMRE review rather than sequentially - to reduce potential regulatory delay and position Campbell-Crotser for operational readiness upon permit issuance.

The Company is targeting submission of the principal mine and processing plant permit applications by the end of November 2026, subject to completion of baseline field studies, and issuance of these permits is expected in the first half of 2028.

The processing plant and tailings facility are being designed with optional capacity expansion to support not only Campbell-Crotser but additional mines the Company may seek to commission in phases.

Currently the Company is actively engaging in talks of future acid-spar product sales to potential major global consumers. Substantial progress is made thus far and CleanTech expects to sign the first binding fluorspar off-take agreement by November 2026, with first acid spar product delivery anticipated in 2028.

Strategic Rationale: Fluorspar, Critical Minerals and the Semiconductor Supply Chain

In late 2025, The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) issued an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to secure acid-grade fluorspar (acidspar) for the National Defense Stockpile for up to $250 million to reduce import reliance.^[1]

Fluorspar (calcium fluoride, CaF₂) is included on the U.S. Geological Survey's 2025 List of Critical Minerals, published in November 2025, reflecting its strategic importance and U.S. reliance on imports^[2]. The United States has reported no significant domestic fluorspar mine production since 1995 and, excluding stockpile sales, was 100% net import reliant for fluorspar in 2025^[3].

Acid-grade fluorspar is the primary feedstock for hydrofluoric acid ("HF"), the gateway to the broader fluorochemical value chain^[4]. Beyond its established roles in aluminum production, steelmaking, refrigerants and high-performance fluoropolymers, HF and its derivatives are inputs to several technologies central to the growth of artificial intelligence and build-out of data centers, according to third-party industry sources:

• Semiconductor and memory manufacturing: Ultra-high-purity electronic-grade HF is used to etch and clean silicon wafers at the most advanced process nodes^[5]. Fluorine is also the basis for tungsten hexafluoride ("WF₆"), the precursor gas used in chemical vapour deposition and atomic layer deposition to lay down the tungsten interconnects and word-lines that form the structural backbone of 3D NAND flash memory, and that are used in DRAM, high-bandwidth memory ("HBM") and advanced logic^[6]. Industry analyses identify 3D NAND memory as the single largest end-use of WF₆, with consumption rising as device layer counts increase^[7]. Fluorinated gases such as nitrogen trifluoride ("NF₃") are used to clean deposition chambers between production cycles. In effect, fluorine is the carrier that brings tungsten - itself a 2025 USGS-listed critical mineral - into the chamber in volatile form, deposits it on the wafer, and cleans the tool between cycles. None of these high-purity steps has a commercial substitute, making fluorspar a non-substitutable input across advanced logic and memory.

• Energy storage: Lithium hexafluorophosphate ("LiPF₆"), the dominant lithium-ion battery electrolyte salt, and PVDF electrode binders are both produced from HF-derived chemistry, linking fluorspar demand to electric-vehicle and grid-storage growth^[8].

• Nuclear fuel and energy security: Fluorspar-derived HF and elemental fluorine are the essential reagents for converting uranium concentrate (yellowcake) into uranium tetrafluoride and then uranium hexafluoride ("UF₆"), the gaseous feedstock required for uranium enrichment. Industry literature indicates that roughly 60% of global elemental-fluorine (F₂) production is dedicated to UF₆ for nuclear fuel^[9]. As nuclear power is increasingly considered a baseload source for energy-intensive AI data centers, this links fluorspar demand to the power side of the AI buildout as well as to the chip side.

Demand for high-purity HF and fluorinated specialty gases is growing, driven by semiconductor node miniaturization, the expansion of memory capacity for artificial-intelligence and data-center applications, and the electrification of transport^[10]. The Company believes these dynamics underscore the strategic rationale for advancing a domestic North American source of fluorspar.

Campbell-Crotser Summary

Campbell-Crotser covers approximately 275 acres in Livingston County, Kentucky, within the heart of the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District ("IKFD"), a region long recognized as North America's most prolific fluorspar-producing belt. This mineral belt spans approximately 540 square miles across western Kentucky and southern Illinois.

Commercial mining began in the 1870s, and the IKFD region went on to produce approximately 30 million tons of raw fluorspar, along with byproducts including zinc, lead, and barite. Fluorspar-rich veins in the region are hosted in Mississippian-aged limestones, controlled by steep normal faults, and are often accompanied by sphalerite, galena, and calcite.

A historic (non-43-101 compliant) mineral resource estimate performed by Boyce Moodie III in 1974 for Cerro Spar Corporation on the Campbell-Crotser, supported by a 66-hole drill program, reported the resource set out in the table below, as classified in the source report:^[11]

The category terms shown are those used in the historical estimate; these categories predate, and were not defined in accordance with, the CIM Definition Standards, and should not be assumed to have the same meaning as the current CIM Mineral Resource categories of the same name. See "Historical Data Disclaimer" below. The Company has planned a drill program at Campbell-Crotser to start in late August, 2026.

Historical Data Disclaimer

The mineral resource figures for Campbell-Crotser set out above are historical estimates prepared by Boyce Moodie III in 1974 for Cerro Spar Corporation (the "Historical Estimate"), based on a 66-hole drill program completed on the property. The Historical Estimate is presented using the historical category terminology of the source report, which predates and does not conform to the current CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.

The Company considers the Historical Estimate to be relevant as an indication of the historical exploration results on the property and as a guide for designing current and future exploration programs, but to be of limited reliability for the purpose of classifying current mineral resources. The Historical Estimate predates modern quality-assurance and quality-control ("QA/QC") procedures; the drill core, assay records and underlying geological data have not been independently verified by the Company or by a qualified person; and the Company is unable to confirm the sampling, analytical and data-verification procedures employed in its preparation.

To the extent known to the Company, the Historical Estimate was calculated using estimates of true widths of mineralized zones from drill core and assumed a 15% dilution of the mineralized zones. Grades are reported for calcium fluoride (CaF₂), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb). The physical volumes and specific gravities of the mineralized zones were not provided in the source report.

The Company is not aware of any more recent mineral resource or mineral reserve estimate for the Campbell-Crotser property. In order to verify or upgrade the Historical Estimate as a current mineral resource, the Company would need to complete confirmation and infill core drilling under modern QA/QC protocols, twin selected historical drill holes, re-sample and re-assay available material where possible, validate the historical drill-hole database, and prepare a new mineral resource estimate in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards under the supervision of a qualified person. The Company's planned drill program at Campbell-Crotser, scheduled to commence in late August 2026, is intended to advance this verification work.

A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the Historical Estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating the Historical Estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

Qualified Person

The technical contents of this news release have been reviewed and approved by Michael Hendrickson, P.Geo (3254) who is a member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. Mr. Hendrickson is a consultant to the Company, and a 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 USA. The Company has an option to acquire more than 17,550 acres of mineral rights with historic fluorspar resources across multiple projects in the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District. CleanTech also owns a 100% interest in the Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project in Nevada.

Further information on CleanTech can be found at www.cleantechvanadium.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information is generally identifiable by the use of words and phrases such as "believe," "may," "plan," "will," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "project," "potential," "target," "objective," and similar expressions, including the negative of such expressions. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the preparation, timing, submission, review and potential approval of mining, processing, environmental, water and other regulatory permit applications for the Campbell-Crotser Fluorspar Project; the expected timing, scope and results of technical and baseline studies; the proposed Campbell-Crotser underground mine and flotation plant, including the initial extraction rate, onsite processing of raw fluorspar material, potential processing plant expansion and potential receipt of feed from other IKFD deposits; ongoing community engagement; the Company's expectations regarding private land, title and access matters; the availability of financing; potential construction, development and operation of the proposed mine and plant; and the Company's expectations regarding the Campbell-Crotser Fluorspar Project.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions, estimates and assumptions of management as of the date of this news release, including assumptions regarding the Company's ability to prepare and submit complete permit applications and supporting technical and baseline studies as currently contemplated; the timing and outcome of regulatory review by DMRE, KYDOW, MSHA and other applicable authorities; the availability of personnel, contractors, consultants, equipment, permits, approvals, financing and other resources; the accuracy and reliability of historical information, geological interpretations and technical data; the suitability of the Campbell-Crotser Fluorspar Project for a proposed underground mine and flotation plant, including potential processing plant expansion and future feed from other IKFD deposits; continued constructive engagement with the local community; the Company's expectations regarding private land, title and access matters; future commodity prices, market conditions and regulatory requirements; and the absence of material adverse changes affecting the Company or the Project. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward-looking information involves significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as a guarantee of future performance, events or achievements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such information. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks relating to permitting, regulatory review and development activities; uncertainty as to whether permit applications and supporting technical and baseline studies will be completed or submitted on the expected timeline, in the expected scope or at all; uncertainty as to the timing, conditions or outcome of regulatory review by DMRE, KYDOW, MSHA and other applicable authorities; uncertainty as to whether the proposed underground mine, flotation plant, processing plant expansion or receipt of feed from other IKFD deposits will proceed as contemplated or at all; environmental, water, reclamation, technical, operational and metallurgical risks; risks relating to community engagement, stakeholder concerns, private land, title and access; availability and cost of labor, equipment, contractors, consultants, power, water, transportation and other infrastructure; financing, construction, development and capital market risks; commodity price and foreign exchange volatility; weather and other conditions affecting site activities; changes in business plans, economic conditions or applicable laws; and the other risks described in the Company's latest annual and interim management's discussion and analysis, available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance, events or results, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information in this news release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

^[1] https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/e12226a986464110ae24dc322ff06b19/view
^[2]U.S. Geological Survey, "Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals," Federal Register, Nov. 7, 2025 - fluorspar (and tungsten) are among the 60 listed critical minerals. federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/07/2025-19813
^[3]U.S. Geological Survey, "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 - Fluorspar," Feb. 2026: significant U.S. fluorspar mine production has not been reported since 1995, and excluding stockpile sales the United States was 100% net import reliant for fluorspar in 2025. pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-fluorspar.pdf
^[4]Acid-grade fluorspar (≥97% CaF₂) is the primary feedstock for hydrofluoric acid, the single largest end-use of fluorspar. Industry overview: Elite Fluorspar, "From Fluorspar to Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)," 2025. elitefluor.com
^[5]Electronic-grade HF is used for wafer etching and cleaning at advanced nodes (including 3 nm-class logic and high-stack 3D NAND); leading consumers include TSMC, Samsung, Intel, SK hynix and Micron. Source: GlobeNewswire, "Electronic Hydrofluoric Acid Market to Reach $1.87 Billion by 2030," June 26, 2026. globenewswire.com
^[6]Tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆) is the CVD/ALD precursor that deposits the tungsten interconnects and word-lines forming the structural backbone of 3D NAND flash memory, and used in DRAM, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced logic. Sources: Global Semiconductor Research (2026); Merck KGaA / EMD Electronics product information. globalsemiresearch.substack.com
^[7]Industry analysis identifies 3D NAND memory as the single largest end-use of WF₆, at roughly 40% of global supply, with per-wafer consumption rising as device layer counts increase. Source: IndexBox, "Tungsten Hexafluoride Precursor Market Forecast," 2026. indexbox.io
^[8]Lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆), the dominant Li-ion electrolyte salt, and PVDF electrode binders are produced from HF-derived chemistry. Sources: Elite Fluorspar (2025); Mordor Intelligence, "Fluorspar Market." mordorintelligence.com
^[9]Hydrofluoric acid converts uranium oxide concentrate to uranium tetrafluoride (UF₄), which is further fluorinated with elemental fluorine to uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), the gaseous feedstock used in commercial uranium enrichment. The estimate that roughly 60% of world elemental-fluorine (F₂) production is devoted to UF₆ for nuclear fuel derives from the fluorine-chemistry literature (Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd ed.) and is a share of elemental fluorine, not of total fluorspar or HF. See also World Nuclear Association, "Conversion and Deconversion." world-nuclear.org
^[10]Third-party forecasts attribute growth in high-purity HF and fluorinated specialty-gas demand to semiconductor node miniaturization, memory-capacity expansion for AI / data-centre applications, and transport electrification. Sources: GlobeNewswire (June 26, 2026) and IndexBox (2026), cited above. indexbox.io
^[11] Boyce Moodie III, 1974, Final Geologic Report and Ore Estimate Campbell-Crotser, Livingston County, Kentucky, 69 p

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/304048

Source: CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp.