Nio Strategic Metals provides operational update

DRA Global tasked with water balance assessment GHD to lead environmental and social impact studies AccoMine, a division of the Table Jamésienne de concertation minière (TJCM), has been selected to ensure quality control Guy Arbour and Terra Consulting to assist with environment and public safety CAMET retained as marketer Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2026) - Nio Strategic Metals Inc. (TSXV: NIO) (OTC Pink: NIOCF) (" Nio " or the " Corporation "), a critical mineral exploration company, would like to provide an operational update on the development of the Oka niobium project. The Corporation has assembled a team of highly skilled and respected mining engineers, environmental scientists and niobium market participants to ensure that our mining plan will be highly economic while restoring the Oka site and preserving its ecological diversity for future generations. Nio's management team believes the best reasonable way to move the project forward is twofold: to build a state-of-the-art underground mine with a minimal environmental footprint and to provide a solution to restore the site by removing and processing the historical tailings.

The Corporation's President and COO Bruno Dumais commented, "The essential priority for Nio has been to implement a holistic technical program to ensure the historical mining works are securely disposed of into a structured program to reduce risk and create value for all." As such, DRA Global was recently mandated to provide a general assessment of the water balance of the area. An assessment of the process water balance was undertaken to evaluate the implications of transitioning from a conventional Tailings Storage Facility to a Dry Stack Tailings configuration. The objective of the study is to determine how modifications to the tailings handling system would affect overall water management, reclaim water availability, and freshwater requirements.

In order to advance the required work onsite, Nio has retained GHD and the Table Jamésienne de concertation minière to assist the Corporation with all required environmental authorizations at the local and governmental levels (i.e. "ATI" Authorization of Impact Causing Exploration Work). Both GHD and Table Jamésienne will conduct the various social and environmental impact assessments required as well as review the economic potential of the project. The Corporation has also retained the expertise of Guy Arbour and Terra-Consulting Inc. to assist with environmental and public safety issues related to air quality and hazardous substances.

Given the increased interest in its significant economic niobium resource, Nio has retained the services of CAMET AG from Zug to develop a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy for its metal. Building on decades of history in the niobium sector – originating from the targeted establishment of CAMET to take over sales and marketing activities for established producers – as well as the long-standing collaboration of its founder Alfred Ebeling with leading market participants such as Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração, CAMET possesses a deep and well-established understanding of the global niobium industry. Complemented by further cooperation with major producers, a comprehensive market perspective has been developed over the years, enabling CAMET to assess industrial, commercial, and strategic dynamics in a holistic and well-founded manner.

Unlike pure trading companies, CAMET's expertise is therefore not limited to market transactions but is based on a thorough understanding of the entire value chain – from production through processing to marketing. This combination enables CAMET not only to support Nio Strategic Metals on a commercial level but also to contribute to the project's advancement through practical insights and a strong international network. These various partnerships will align Nio and the Oka project with long-standing industrial expertise and a global market experience.

Nio's management team looks forward to update the investment community on June 11th 2026 at 11 :00 AM on a webcast led by Amvest Capital, a mining investment boutique specializing in rare earth minerals. A registration link to the webcast can be found here: https://amvestcapital.brandlive.com/Nio-Strategic-Metals-06-11-26/en/registration . About Nio Strategic Metals Nio Strategic Metals is an exploration and development company, with a focus on becoming a ferroniobium producer.

The Corporation holds niobium properties located in Oka and near Mont-Laurier in the Province of Québec. For more information on the Corporation, please refer to the Corporation's public documents available on SEDAR ( www.sedarplus.ca ) or on the Corporation's website ( https://niostratmet.com/ ) or contact: Bruno Dumais, Chief Operating Officer bdumais@niometauxstrategiques.com 514-560-7623 Jean-Sebastien Blanchette, Chief Financial Officer jblanchette@niometauxstrategiques.com 917-399-0437 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 press release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Statements, other than statements of historical facts, may be forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved", the negative of these terms and similar terminology although not all forward-looking statement contains these terms and phrases.

Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set out in Nio Strategic Metals' annual and/or quarterly management discussion and analysis and in other of its public disclosure documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca , as well as all assumptions regarding the foregoing. Although Nio Strategic Metals believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frame or at all.

Except where required by applicable law, Nio Strategic Metals disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/298558 Source: Nio Strategic Metals Inc.