Nortec to Acquire Nevada Gold Property with Drilling Intersecting 2.27 g/t Au over 38.1 Meters (Including 15.55 g/t Au over 1.53 m plus 6.74 g/t Au over 1.52 m)

13:52 Uhr  |  Newsfile

Toronto, February 25, 2026 - Nortec Minerals Corp. (TSXV: NVT) ("Nortec" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered a purchase option agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire 83 Federal Lode mineral claims (1,364 acres) (the "Property" or "Pearl Gold Project"), located in the Varyville Mining District of Humboldt County, Nevada, U.S.A. (the "Transaction").

HIGHLIGHTS

• Permitted and Drill-Ready Gold Targets: Following an extensive phase of soil sampling, trenching, and preliminary drilling, delineated high-priority gold targets are ready for drill testing. All necessary permits are in place for 16 drill sites, 2,020 feet of trenches and 1,500 feet of diamond drilling.

• New Discoveries: A 2021 trenching program identified a new zone of mineralization ("Pearl Zone") returning 2.34 g/t gold over 17.7 meters, including a higher-grade section of 6.49 g/t gold over 2.0 meters (Trench 21I)

• Drill Results: Recent exploration at the Columbia Zone has intersected mineralization, including 2.27 g/t gold over 38.1 m (Hole YU21-02) and 11.96 g/t gold over 3.05 m (Hole YU22-11).

• Other recent and notable drill holes include:

  • 15.55 g/t gold over 1.53 meters plus 6.74 g/t gold over 1.52 meters, within 2.27 g/t gold over 38.1 meters (Hole: YU-21-02)

  • 13.57 g/t gold over 4.57 meters within 3.03 g/t gold over 25.91 meters (Hole YU22-09)

  • 11.96 g/t gold over 3.05 meters within 4.20 g/t gold over 10.67 meter (Hole YU22-11)

• Widespread Gold Potential: Surface grab samples have returned grades up to 150 g/t gold, with a gold-in-soil anomaly traced for roughly two kilometres along strike (see Table 1).

• Strategic Location: The Pearl Gold Project is situated approximately 55 km south of Denio in northern Nevada, a premier mining jurisdiction, and is fully road-accessible with power lines on-site.

• Proven Historical Production: Covers the historical Columbia, Bartlett, and Juanita Mines, which produced high-grade gold from 1870 to 1937, with historical run-of-mine sorted ore assaying over 34 g/t gold².

• Multiple Target Profiles: The property hosts both high-grade mesothermal quartz veins and newly identified broad zones of bulk-tonnage potential associated with diorite intrusions.

PEARL GOLD PROJECT DETAILS¹

The Pearl Gold Project is located in Humboldt County, northern Nevada, approximately 55 km south of Denio in the Varyville Mining District. The property covers the historical Columbia, Bartlett and Juanita Mines, which produced high-grade gold on a small scale between 1870 and 1937 from veins located more than 1,000 m apart within the same structural corridor. Historical mining only extended down to the bottom of the oxidized zone. Diamond drilling by previous operators in 1981 below the Columbia workings produced a true-width sulphide intersect, which graded 9.60 g/t gold over 3.3 m (Hole DDH C2) starting 49 m below surface subsequently no further drilling was completed until 2021.

A reconnaissance program conducted in 2018 focused on three zones - Columbia, Juanita and Josie. A total of 68 rock geochemical samples were collected during the program. Thirty-five of the 68 rock and/or chip samples collected returned greater than 1 g/t gold (see Table 1). Significant rock sample results are listed below:

• Columbia - 150.0, 75.4, 34.9, 10.5, 7.4, and 7.13 g/t gold

• Juanita - 11.4, 6.35, and 5.85 g/t gold

• Josie - 86.1, 45.2, 42.2, 36.2, 25.7, 21.6, 16.7, 13.1, and 5.49 g/t gold

Gold mineralization occurs with sulphides (arsenopyrite and pyrite) or their weathered products (scorodite and iron oxides). Only minor amounts of quartz or silica accompany the mineralization. The veins are found in fault/shear zones that cut andesites, andesitic epiclastics and diorites, but seem to be best developed within and on the margins of mapped diorite intrusions. Underground workings were not sampled or mapped during the program.

Figure 1 - 2018 Grab Sample Overview

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At Columbia, multiple drill holes (Table 2) confirmed that a broad envelope of gold mineralization flanks the high-grade vein identified by historical miners at Columbia and that a second high-grade vein parallels the structure targeted by historical miners. Highlight intervals include:

• 2.89 g/t Au over 9.14 m from 79.25 m downhole (including 6.74 g/t Au over 1.52 m) (Hole YU-21-02),

• 3.63 g/t Au over 15.24 m from 94.49 m downhole (including 15.5 g/t Au over 1.53 m) (Hole YU-21-02),

• 3.03 g/t gold over 25.91 m from 79.25 m downhole (including 5.45 g/t gold over 1.52 m and 13.57 g/t gold over 4.57 m) (Hole YU-22-09),

• 0.86 g/t gold over 9.14 m from 53.34 m downhole (including 2.20 g/t gold over 3.05 m) (Hole YU-22-10),

• 4.2 g/t gold over 10.67 m from 77.72 m downhole (including 13.26 g/t gold over 3.05 m) (Hole YU-22-11), and,

• 11.96 g/t gold over 3.05 m from 105.16 m downhole also in Hole YU-22-11.

Mineralization remains open to depth, and mineralizing systems of this character often extend to great depths. Columbia also remains open along strike as the most southerly drill hole, YU-21-01, was abandoned short of target depth. The most northerly hole, YU-21-03, was drilled on the north side of a cross fault that appears to offset the Columbia Zone approximately 160 metres to the northeast. Surface grab samples collected along the projected northern extension of Columbia, 100 m along strike to the northeast of hole YU-21-03, have returned assays including 7.18 and 7.13 g/t Au. In addition, Trench D retuned 7.4 m of 0.43 g/t gold 420 m along strike from YU-21-03.

The Juanita target hosts various underground workings and the Juanita Mine, which was once owned and operated by notable Nevadan prospector Josie Pearl. Many of the previous workings have yet to be mapped and sampled. Surface sampling at Juanita has returned grab samples grading 57.7 g/t gold⁵ and 11.4 g/t gold (see Table 1) while a shear zone exposed in a nearby road cut graded 11.9 g/t gold over 1 m⁵. Drilling has targeted mineralization to the south of the main shaft, intersecting:

• 0.99 g/t Au over 30.48 m, including 3.44 g/t Au over 6.1 m, starting 60.96 m downhole in hole YU-21-07, and,

• 0.23 g/t Au over 22.86 m from 102.11 m downhole in hole YU-21-14.

Hole YU-22-14 undercut hole YU-21-07 and terminated before reaching target depth due to mechanical issues. The last sample of the interval graded 0.52 g/t gold over 1.52 m.

The Josie target is a large area located south of the former Juanita Mine that contains scattered historical diggings, which requires further investigation for bulk tonnage potential. Mineralization at the Josie target was collected over a 500 m long by up to 200 m wide area, from structures that trend oblique to the Columbia/Juanita system. Most samples at Josie were taken from vein exposures or float, but a 2 m chip sample, mapped as weathered 'andesite' with minor iron oxide, contained 1.84 g/t gold. Two significant chip samples of vein exposures from partially collapsed trenches graded 45.2 g/t gold over 0.35 m and 42.2 g/t gold over 0.4 m³. The limits of the Josie target have not been defined.

Trench I, located to the east of Josie, returned 2.34 g/t Au over 17.7 m (including 6.49 g/t Au over 2 m)⁴. This discovery lies 500 m east of the closest drill hole and consists of multiple structures that cut highly altered granodiorite, lending to the bulk tonnage potential in this part of the project.

Results to date indicate that gold mineralization is more widespread than documented in the limited historical data and may occur in undocumented structural settings as well as broad zones of lower grade gold mineralization which would not have been of interest to historical miners.

In addition to drilling and trenching, completed geophysics include an airborne total magnetic field and radiometric survey, a ground based HLEM survey and widespread soil geochemical surveys.

Figure 2 - Property Location

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Figure 3 - Historic Workings¹

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Figure 4 - Gold-in-Soil Sample Results¹

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Figure 5 - 2021 and 2022 Drill Hole Locations¹

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Table 1: 2018 Grab Samples¹

Table 2: 2021 and 2022 RC Drill Hole Results¹

TRANSACTION DETAILS

The Agreement was entered into on February 24 2026 between Trifecta Gold Ltd., who holds a 100% interest in the Property (the "Seller") and Nortec, pursuant to which Nortec will have the sole and exclusive right to purchase from the Seller a 100% interest in and to the mineral claims comprising the Property, in consideration for the issuance or payment by Nortec to the Seller:

(a) on the earlier of (i) the date that is four months from February 24, 2026, and (ii) Nortec concluding an equity financing of at least $200,000., paying to Seller the amount of $25,000 in cash or, at the election of Nortec, common shares of Nortec;

(b) making the following annual payments to Seller in either cash or up to 50% Shares at Nortec's election, provided that if the election is made to satisfy any portion in Shares, the Shares will be issued at a deemed price equal to the volume weighted average price of the Shares on the Exchange (or, if the Shares are no longer traded on the Exchange, such other stock exchange on which the Shares are principally listed and posted for trading) for the 10 trading days immediately preceding but excluding the applicable payment date, subject to such deemed price not being less than $0.05 per Share:

(i) $50,000 on the first anniversary of the Agreement;

(ii) $150,000 on the second anniversary of the Agreement;

(iii) $300,000 on the third anniversary of the Agreement;

(iv) $500,000 on the fourth anniversary of the Agreement; and

(v) $1,000,000 on the fifth anniversary of the Agreement.

The Transaction is subject to the receipt of approval from the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") to the Transaction.

REFERENCES

¹ "Technical Report on the Yuge Property" dated November 16, 2023, prepared for Trifecta Gold Ltd., prepared by Ken Brooks, RPG, AIPG.
² Vanderburg (1938) report titled "Reconnaissance of mining districts in Humboldt County, Nevada," NBMG Mining District Files Search
³ Trifecta Gold Ltd. news release dated June 21, 2018
⁴ Trifecta Gold Ltd. news release dated November 2, 2021
⁵ Trifecta Gold Ltd. news release dated April 19, 2021

QUALIFIED PERSON

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, and a consultant to Nortec.

About Nortec Minerals Corp.

Nortec is a mineral exploration company focused on identifying properties with high discovery potential and advancing those projects to create outsized shareholder value. Current property holdings comprise 100% interests in two exploration stage critical mineral (zinc) projects, namely the Sturgeon Lake VMS and the Mattagami River Zinc properties, both located in Ontario, Canada. Additionally, the Company holds a 16.4% interest in the Tammela Gold in Southwest Finland. Additional information can be found on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca and its website at www.nortecminerals.com

On behalf of the Company,

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

Information set forth in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in palladium and other commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and tax consequences to Canadian and U.S. Shareholders. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

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