Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 29, 2026) - Critical One Energy Inc. (CSE: CRTL) (OTCQB: CTLOF) (FSE: 4EF) ("Critical One" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from four drill holes at its flagship Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project ("Howells Lake Project"), located approximately 120 kilometres west of the Ring of Fire access corridor in Ontario, Canada. The results extend antimony ("Sb") mineralization 30 metres ("m") northeast of the high-grade East Zone intersections, add near-surface antimony, further confirm gold ("Au") mineralization beneath the East Zone, and intersect additional gold mineralization in the West Zone.

Highlights:

• Antimony zone extended northeast: HWL-2026-017 returned 11.9 m grading 1.75% Sb, including 3.6 m at 3.78% Sb. HWL-2026-017 was drilled down-dip of HWL-2026-016 (released August 20, 2026) and extends Sb mineralization 30 m to the northeast of the Howells Lake East Zone. Assays from 168 m to 236 m are pending.

• Additional near-surface antimony: HWL-2026-009 returned 1.15 m grading 3.32% Sb and 3.75 m grading 0.90% Sb in the East Zone, and 7.64 m grading 0.46 g/t Au.

• Gold confirmed beneath the East Zone: HWL-2026-014 returned 7.0 m grading 1.49 g/t Au, including 3.0 m at 2.69 g/t Au, and a polymetallic interval of 6.0 m grading 0.39% Sb, 0.43 g/t Au and 0.40% Zn.

• Gold in the West Zone: HWL-2026-013 returned 5.0 m grading 0.57 g/t Au.

"The 2026 Howells Lake drill program is going according to plan, delivering strong, high-grade, near-surface antimony results that have exceeded expectations at this stage," said Duane Parnham, Executive Chairman and CEO of Critical One Energy. "We're continuing to move forward quickly to drill at Howells Lake, with more data coming this fall. These results are building toward a planned mineral resource estimate while also helping define the next steps needed to position Howells Lake for future development."

2026 Drill Program Update

Drilling has progressed on both the East and West Zones at Howells Lake, with an updated target of 15,000 m to be completed by the end of the 2026 campaign. The program has focused on defining shallow and high-grade mineralization. Initial drilling was conducted from a limited number of drill pads near the surface expression of the Howells Lake antimony-gold zones and the historical drill holes. Assays are pending for West Zone hole HWL-2026-010 and East Zone holes HWL-2026-015, HWL-2026-018 to HWL-2026-028.

HWL-2026-006, HWL-2026-007 and HWL-2026-016 have defined a high-grade corridor in the East Zone, with near-pure stibnite hosted within an intrusive porphyry. HWL-2026-006 included 4.0 m grading 70.2% Sb (Table 3). Antimony mineralization extends beyond the porphyry into sericite-silica-carbonate altered volcanic rocks, defining a footprint of 300 m of strike to a depth of 200 m (see the September technical report released September 22, 2026). HWL-2026-017 was drilled down-dip of HWL-2026-016 and extends the mineralization envelope 30 m to the northeast.

Beneath the high-grade East Zone antimony, a zone with anomalous antimony ± zinc and significant gold mineralization has been defined within volcanosedimentary horizons, now confirmed in HWL-2026-014. These horizons extend to the West Zone, where HWL-2026-013 adds to previously reported gold mineralization, including 12.0 m grading 1.30 g/t Au in HWL-2026-011. These gold-bearing horizons will continue to be evaluated for potential inclusion in a future mineral resource.

Next Steps

NQ-diameter diamond drilling is ongoing with the goal of identifying antimony-gold mineralization at depths greater than 200 m. Drilled holes pending assays are shown in Table 3. HQ-diameter drilling will be initiated for larger-scale metallurgical analysis and further geological understanding of the high-grade antimony mineralization in the East Zone. Assays will be released as they are received.

Figure 1. Cross-section A-B, highlighting drilling and Sb assays reported to date, including HWL-2026-017 and the conceptual antimony envelope. Sb assays above 0.1% are shown as colour-coded bars by grade. The conceptual envelope represents an illustrative geological interpretation. Section is 100 m thick and northwest-looking.

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Figure 2. Cross-section A-B, highlighting drilling and Au assays reported to date, with conceptual gold envelopes in the West Zone and beneath the East Zone antimony mineralization. Au assays above 0.1 g/t are shown as colour-coded bars by grade. The conceptual envelopes represent illustrative geological interpretations. Section is 100 m thick and northwest-looking.

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Table 1. Length-weighted Sb assay results from the current batch of drill holes. Note: Reported intervals represent core lengths; true widths have not been estimated due to insufficient geological information. All individual samples included in weighted intercept averages are >0.1% Sb and between 0.3 m and 1.0 m in length.

Table 2. Length-weighted Au assay results from the current batch of drill holes. Note: Reported intervals represent core lengths; true widths have not been estimated due to insufficient geological information. All individual samples included in weighted intercept averages are >0.1g/t Au and between 0.3 m and 1.0 m in length.

Table 3. Drillhole summary and highlight table for the 2026 drill program at Howells Lake. Drillholes highlighted in bold are from this release.

QA/QC and Sampling Procedures

Samples of NQ diamond drill core were sawed at Critical One Energy's operations at Howells Lake, Ontario. One-half of the core was retained for reference, and one-half was added to sample bags. Blanks of barren diabase rock, antimony-gold standards, and duplicates were inserted every 20 samples. Laboratory "Barren Wash" was completed during crushing and pulverizing, and additional blanks were inserted after visible high-grade antimony and/or visible gold. Samples, standards, and blanks were bagged, tagged, and delivered to AGAT Laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where samples are crushed and prepared for analysis in Calgary, Alberta. Antimony and 30 additional elements were analyzed by sodium peroxide fusion and ICP-OES finish (201-079). Overlimit antimony analyses (>5% Sb) were reanalyzed by ALS Vancouver via sodium peroxide fusion XRF (ME-XRF15c). AGAT and ALS Laboratories are internationally accredited laboratories.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Matthew Trenkler, P. Geo., Chief Geological Officer of Critical One Energy Inc., a "Qualified Person", as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Verification included a review of laboratory assay certificates, drill logs, chain-of-custody records, blank/standard/duplicate statistics, and review of collar and down-hole survey data. No QA/QC failures were identified.

About Critical One Energy Inc.

Critical One Energy Inc. is a critical minerals exploration company dedicated to advancing its flagship Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project as a new North American source of antimony for defence, energy storage, industrial applications, and high-performance technologies such as data centres and semiconductors. The Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project, located in Ontario, Canada, hosts high-grade antimony mineralization confirmed through a modern drilling program. The Company's objective is to advance Howells Lake as a potential Canadian source of antimony and help reduce North America's dependence on foreign supply.

Additional information about Critical One Energy Inc. can be found at criticaloneenergy.com and on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor CIRO accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking Statements

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However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected, or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the mining industry in general, and other risks as described in the Company's continuous disclosure record on SEDAR+.

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Source: Critical One Energy Inc.