Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 16, 2025) - Highland Critical Minerals Corp. (CSE: HLND) ("Highland" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of certain mineral claims in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut (the "Sy Property"), approximately 870 kilometres east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and 300 kilometres south of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, in northern Canada, by the acquisition of all of the shares of a holding corporation that is the registered owner of the Sy Property (the "Acquisition"). The Sy Property consists of 4 contiguous mineral claims in Nunavut, being a total of 3,345 hectares. The Acquisition was previously announced in the Company's news release dated June 12, 2025. The region has been underexplored for gold and base metals.
Terms of the Acquisition
Under the terms of the Acquisition the Company issued 150,000 class A common shares of the Company to the sole shareholder of the entity which owned the claims that constitute the Sy Property at a price of $1.25 per share, being the closing price of the shares on the date immediately preceding the closing the closing of the Acquisition. The aggregate consideration paid to by the Company in respect of the Acquisition is valued at $187,500. The Company did not assume any long-term debt in connection with the Acquisition. The Company is now the sole shareholder of the entity that directly owns the Sy Property.
The Acquisition was negotiated on an arm's length basis to the Company. No finder's fees were payable in connection with the Acquisition.
About the Sy Property
The most recent National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties ("NI 43-101") technical report relating to the Sy Property was completed by APEX Geoscience Ltd. ("Apex") in 2007 (the "Apex Report"). The Company has not carried out any exploration on the project area and the historic data mentioned in this news release via references to the Apex Report has not been confirmed in the field by Highland. Reliance on the data in the Apex Report as referenced in this news release is based on past professionals and explorationists found in historical reports, including the Apex Report. Currently there are no mineral reserves or estimates for the project area based on the Apex Report. The Apex Report is considered historical in nature. It is no longer current and should not be relied upon.
The project is located in the Yathkyed Lake Greenstone Belt ("YLGB"). Similar Archean aged greenstone belts in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut have seen more exploration activity than the YLGB. These other nearby greenstone belts have similar geology and also host numerous gold and other base metal occurrences that include the Ferguson Lake Cu-Ni-PGM resource, Meadowbabk and Meliadine gold deposits. The previously mentioned gold deposits are in structurally altered Banded-Iron Formations ("BIF").
Previously historic exploration on the Property area revealed over 40 surface gold occurrences. Approximately 20 of the gold anomalies were considered high grade and extended over a strike length of historic drilling from 1986, conducted by Homestake Resources, intersected gold mineralization of up to 3.38 g/t of gold over 3.5 metres and 3.18 g/t of gold over 7.0 metres in a 3000 metre drill program.
The YLGB has poor surface outcrop exposure but surface gold and copper mineralization has been historically documented. Modern geophysics has been limited. A Fugro DIGHEM V Helicopter-borne magnetic and electromagnetic ("EM") survey was carried out on a portion of the region in 2006. This historic geophysical survey yielded over 690 EM anomalies over a 1,178.3 line kilometre program that the survey company considered to be possibly associated with base metal mineralization. A small surface lithogeochemical and prospecting program carried out by Apex in 2007 yielded surface gold mineralization in numerous samples with grades up to 8.88 g/t of gold, geologically associated with BIFs and rock type contacts. This historic Au mineralization was hosted in sheared and altered BIFs.
Highland is presently reviewing all the data sources and plans to develop an exploration plan for the upcoming future. Focus will be on the gold and copper potential of the project. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical data in this news release as current, and the Company is not treating the historical data as current. Highland does not have any more recent data available with respect to the historical data in the Apex Report and has not conducted sufficient work to establish the relevance and reliability of the historical data contained in the Apex Report.
To verify and update this historical data to current NI 43-101 standards, additional work is required. This includes further drilling, a review of the geological model, and validation of previous findings under the oversight of a qualified person. Until such work is completed, investors are cautioned that the historical data does not meet current NI 43-101 standards, and any economic analysis or decisions based on the historical data should be avoided.
ABOUT HIGHLAND CRITICAL MINERALS CORP.
Highland is a mineral exploration and development company. Its activities consist of acquiring and exploring, mining properties to enhance shareholder value as it proceeds with the exploration work on the Church Property among other mining properties it may acquire and develop.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Carey Galeschuk, P.Geo., who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Galeschuk is an independent consultant to Highland Critical Minerals Corp.
For more information, please visit https://highlandcritical.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties near Highland's may not necessarily indicate mineralization on the Company's property.
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements related to the expected benefits of the Acquisition and strategic rationale; the Company's plans and intentions for exploration and further review of existing data on the Sy Property; the potential for future mineralization or economic resources; the intention to verify and update historical data to current NI 43-101 standards; the anticipated enhancement of shareholder value through the Company's activities; the Company's business plans and objectives.
Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward- looking statements. The Company has applied several material assumptions in making such forward-looking statements, including without limitation: its ability to confirm the historical data disclosed in the Apex Report; its ability to verify and advance the Sy Property to current NI 43-101 standards; that it will be able to successfully plan and execute an exploration program for the Sy Property; and that the Company's acquisition and exploration activities will enhance shareholder value and lead to new opportunities for growth.
Forward-looking information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the risk that the Company may be unable to verify or validate the historical data contained in the Apex Report; that further exploration on the Sy Property yields no economically viable mineralization; that planned exploration programs may be delayed, revised or canceled; that historical data proves unreliable; risks associated with early-stage mineral properties and exploration activities; changes in commodity prices and general market conditions; and those risk factors disclosed in the Company's long-form prospectus dated May 9, 2025. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
For more information, please contact:
Edward Yew
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647-241-7202
Disclaimer
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or any securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the 1933 Act and any applicable securities laws of any state of the United States or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements is available.
