AE Fuels Expands South Woodie Woodie Manganese Footprint with Grant of Strategic Tenement Five-year exploration licence E46/1580 granted, adding 34.95 km² and increasing AEF's South Woodie Woodie exploration tenure to 533.43 km².
AE Fuels Expands South Woodie Woodie
Manganese Footprint with Grant of Strategic
Tenement
Five-year exploration licence E46/1580 granted, adding 34.95 km² and increasing AEF's
South Woodie Woodie exploration tenure to 533.43 km².
New tenure is immediately west of the Pearana and Pothole prospect areas, where AEF
recently defined 44 priority drill targets outside the existing resource area, providing
opportunities to test for additional manganese mineralization.
E46/1580 is located approximately 33 km south of the long-life, high-grade Woodie
Woodie manganese mining operation and contains geology associated with manganese
mineralization elsewhere in the district.
The expanded tenure strengthens AEF's broader resource growth strategy around its
existing 11.3 Mt at 15.0% Mn Inferred Mineral Resource, while the Company continues to
advance its downstream processing pathway.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 16, 2026) -
AE Fuels Corporation
(TSXV:
AEF) (OTCQB: NRGFF) ("
AEF
" or the "
Company
") is pleased to announce the grant of exploration
licence E46/1580 at the South Woodie Woodie Manganese Project in the Pilbara region of Western
Australia. The new licence covers 34.95 km², increasing AEF's tenure to 533.43 km² and adding
contiguous ground immediately west of the Pearana and Pothole prospect areas. Pearana and Pothole
are outside the areas supporting the Company's existing Inferred Mineral Resource and were the subject
of AEF's recently completed high-resolution gravity program, which defined 44 priority drill targets for
systematic testing (September 2, 2026).
The combination of an established Mineral Resource, defined exploration targets outside the existing
resource area and an expanded contiguous land position provides AEF with multiple opportunities to
test the broader scale of the South Woodie Woodie manganese system.
"South Woodie Woodie is moving beyond a single-resource proposition toward a broader project-scale
opportunity,"
said Gary Lewis, CEO and Director of AE Fuels
. "We already have a manganese
resource, a defined beneficiation pathway and successful downstream process development. The recent
gravity results gave us a focused pathway to test Pearana and Pothole, and the grant of E46/1580 now
extends our exploration footprint immediately west of those prospects."
"The new tenement contains prospective geology associated with manganese mineralization elsewhere
in the district and structural trends comparable to Pearana. Our objective is to test the broader resource
potential of South Woodie Woodie while advancing the downstream pathway toward high-purity
manganese products for allied and U.S.-aligned supply chains."
Strategic Expansion of South Woodie Woodie
E46/1580 lies immediately west of E46/1521 and E46/1387, which contain the Pearana and Pothole
prospect areas. Pearana and Pothole are being advanced as potential sources of additional
manganese resources separate from the areas supporting the Company's existing Inferred Mineral
Resource. The new tenement extends AEF's tenure immediately west of these prospects and provides
additional ground for regional geological, structural and geophysical assessment. Importantly, this
additional ground complements the pipeline of exploration targets outside the areas currently supporting
the South Woodie Woodie Mineral Resource.
Established Manganese District
E46/1580 is located approximately 33 km south of the long-life, high-grade Woodie Woodie manganese
mining operation. Regional mapping identifies Pinjian Chert Breccia within E46/1580, a rock formation
associated with manganese mineralization at the Woodie Woodie mine, the Contact deposits and the
Pearana-Pothole targets.
Two interpreted structural trends, east-west and northwest-southeast, intersect within the tenement. This
geometry is analogous to the interpreted structural setting at Pearana, where intersecting structures are
considered an important exploration control. The mapped geology and structure provide a clear basis for
follow-up exploration but do not demonstrate the presence of manganese mineralization, which requires
field investigation and drill testing.
Figure 1. AEF South Woodie Woodie tenement package, showing E46/1580 (top left), the
Pearana and Pothole gravity grids and the planned Contact open pits.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11811/314562_8ca96960e49c0abb_004full.jpg
Building Scale at South Woodie Woodie
South Woodie Woodie hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 11.3 Mt at 15% Mn
1
. The recently
identified Pearana and Pothole targets lie outside the areas supporting the existing Mineral Resource,
providing AEF with opportunities to test the potential scale of the broader manganese system. AEF has
also demonstrated a beneficiation pathway and, through continuous mini-pilot testwork, produced
battery-grade High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate crystals.
The grant of E46/1580 expands the area available to test the broader scale of the manganese system
while the Company continues to advance its processing pathway. Together, these initiatives support a
dual-track focus on potential resource growth and downstream value creation.
Next Steps
The Company will incorporate E46/1580 into its broader South Woodie Woodie exploration strategy.
Initial work is expected to include integration and review of available geological and geophysical
datasets, field reconnaissance and target validation, followed by assessment of priority areas for
additional geophysics and drill targeting. In parallel, AEF will continue advancing the 44 priority drill
targets identified at Pearana and Pothole and its downstream manganese processing pathway.
Qualified Person
John Levings, BSc, FAusIMM, Technical Director, AE Fuels Corporation, is the Qualified Person, as
defined by National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the scientific and technical information in this
news release. Mr. Levings has reviewed, verified, and approved the scientific and technical information
in this news release. Mr. Levings is not independent of the Company for the purposes of NI 43-101.
On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:
Gary Lewis,
CEO and Director
About AE Fuels Corporation
AE Fuels Corporation (TSXV: AEF) (OTCQB: NRGFF) is a US-aligned critical minerals company
focused on battery-grade manganese and fluorspar-hydrofluoric acid (HF) supply chains. The
Company's strategy connects allied-country manganese supply (Pilbara, Western Australia) and
domestic US fluorspar supply (New Mexico, USA) with US midstream processing and downstream
supply chains. Manganese and fluorspar are designated critical minerals in the US, Australia, and EU,
and are essential to multiple high-growth industries including battery materials, semiconductor
fabrication and advanced electronics, nuclear fuel processing and clean energy technologies. AEF is
advancing development activities aimed at delivering reliable, allied-sourced supply of these materials
to reduce foreign dependency and strengthen US industrial base resilience across these key industries.
For further information please contact:
Gary Lewis, CEO and Director
T
+61 422 880 055
E
W
www.aefuels.com
Susan Assadi, Public Affairs
T
+1 347 977 7125
E
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the
securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been
registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or
any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the "United States", as such term is defined in
Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act
and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the
TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, exploration activities on E46/1580 and the broader South Woodie Woodie Project, future
fieldwork, geophysical surveys and drilling; the potential identification, continuity and extent of
manganese mineralization; potential changes or additions to mineral resources; metallurgical testwork
and process development; the potential production of High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate,
including suitability for battery and precursor specifications; and the Company's business objectives and
strategy. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations, estimates and
assumptions as of the date of this news release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-
looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: results of exploration,
metallurgical and engineering work; assumptions underlying technical and economic studies; commodity
price and market volatility; availability of financing on acceptable terms; permitting and environmental
approvals; operating and capital cost assumptions; and general economic, market and business
conditions. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements except as required
by applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
1
NI 43-101 Technical Report, effective August 15, 2025, and filed on SEDAR+ on December 12, 2025.
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