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Monday, September 14, 2026 Admin

ARS.CN ·

Ares Strategic Mining Awarded Multi-Year Pentagon Contract with Estimated Initial Award Value of ~$169M and Potential Task Orders Up to $250M Over Five Years

Ares Strategic Mining Awarded Multi-Year Pentagon Contract with Estimated

Initial

Award

Value

of

~$169M

and

Potential

Task

Orders

Up

to

$250M

Over

Five

Years

Vancouver,

B.C.,

20

th

January

2026

In

a

major

development

for

the

U.S.

critical

minerals

industry,

Ares

Strategic

Mining

Inc.

(CSE:

ARS)

(OTC:

ARSMF)

(FRA:

N8I1)

has

been

officially

awarded

a

$168,938,267.30

contract

by

the

U.S.

Department

of

Defense

(DoD)

through

the

Defense

Logistics

Agency

(DLA)

a

significant

initiative

to

help

strengthen

America’s

domestic

manufacturing

and

supply

base

and

support

the

rebuilding

of

U.S.

strategic

mineral

stockpiles.

The award is part of a five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement, with a

total

contract

ceiling

of

up

to

$250

million.

“This

is

the

kind

of

contract

that

transforms

companies,

and

secures

the

future

of

U.S.

industry,”

said

James

Walker,

CEO

of

Ares

Strategic

Mining.

“We’re

not

just

producing

fluorspar;

we’re

helping

build

a

more

resilient

and

secure

domestic

supply

chain

for

critical

minerals.”

This award represents a major milestone for Ares and further strengthens the Company’s

positioning

as

a

strategic

domestic

supplier

of

acid-grade

fluorspar,

a

U.S.

designated

critical

mineral

essential

to

defense

readiness,

industrial

manufacturing,

clean

energy

supply

chains,

and

high-tech

applications.

Contract Highlights

Award

Value

Locked

In:

$168.9

million

Potential

Upside:

Up

to

$250

million

through

future

task

orders

Customer:

United

States

Department

of

Defense

Supplier:

Ares

Strategic

Mining

the

only

U.S.

producer

of

acid-grade

fluorspar

Mission:

Support

replenishment

of

government

stockpiles

of

strategic

and

critical

minerals

This contract establishes Ares as a sole-source domestic supplier of acidspar to the U.S.

government

and

the

only

U.S.-based

operation

positioned

to

deliver

this

critical

mineral

supply

at

scale.

Strategic National Significance and A Major Step Forward for Domestic Critical Mineral

Independence

Acid-grade fluorspar (“acidspar”) is a vital input used in the production of hydrofluoric acid and

fluorine-based

materials,

supporting

industries

including:

Defense

systems

&

missile

tech

Steel

&

aluminum

production

Fluorochemical

manufacturing

Semiconductors,

batteries,

and

next-gen

electronics

National

defense-related

supply

chain

resilience

The United States has historically been 100% import-dependent for fluorspar, making the

establishment

of

a

domestic

supply

chain

a

critical

national

priority.

This

award

marks

a

turning

point.

It

not

only

validates

the

national

importance

of

Ares’

Utah-based

Lost

Sheep

Project,

but

also

positions

the

Company

at

the

heart

of

America’s

effort

to

build

a

robust

domestic

sourcing

network

to

ensure

long-term

self-sufficiency.

With this award, Ares is positioned to support the U.S. government’s mission to invest in a more

resilient

and

secure

national

supply

chain

and

promote

long-term

growth

by

prioritizing

domestic

sourcing

of

critical

minerals.

James

Walker

added

that,

“This

award

reflects

the

U.S.

government’s

commitment

to

revitalizing

a

long-neglected

critical

mineral

supply

chain.

We

are

proud

to

support

the

U.S.

government’s

strategic

material

reserves

by

supplying

domestically

sourced,

high-grade

acidspar.

This

contract

confirms

our

leadership

in

rebuilding

U.S.

critical

mineral

capability

and

ensures

our

products

directly

contribute

to

national

resilience,

industrial

strength,

and

long-term

security.

We

are

now

a

partner

in

America’s

strategic

future.”

About Ares Strategic Mining

Ares Strategic Mining Inc. is a mining company focused on the development of its fluorspar

projects

in

the

U.S.

The

Company

aims

to

become

a

significant

supplier

of

high-grade

fluorspar

to

North

American

markets,

supporting

industries

vital

to

modern

technology

and

infrastructure.

Lost Sheep Fluorspar Project – Delta, Utah

100% owned – 5,982 acres – 353 Claims

Located in the Spor Mountain area, Juab County, Utah, approximately 214 km

south-west

of

Salt

Lake

City.

Fully Permitted – including mining permits.

NI 43-101 Technical Report identified extensive high-grade fluorspar with low

levels

of

impurities.

Mining plan approved by BLM[1]

First

approved

by

Rex

Rowley

Area

Manager,

Bureau

of

Land

Management

24th

August

1992.

Renewed by Paul B. Baker – Minerals Program Manager, Bureau of Land Management – 12th December 2016.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

ARES STRATEGIC MINING LTD.

James

Walker

Chief

Executive

Officer

and

President

For

further

information,

please

contact

James

Walker

by

email

at

[email protected]

DISCLOSURE

AND

FORWARD-LOOKING

STATEMENTS:

Companies typically rely on comprehensive feasibility reports on mineral reserve estimates to reduce the

risks

and

uncertainties

associated

with

a

production

decision.

Historically,

situations

where

the

issuer

decides

to

put

a

mineral

project

into

production

without

first

establishing

mineral

reserves

supported

by

a

technical

report

and

completing

a

feasibility

study

have

a

higher

risk

of

economic

or

technical

failure,

though

some

industrial

mineral

ventures

are

relatively

simple

operations

with

low

levels

of

investment

and

risk,

where

the

operating

entity

has

determined

that

a

formal

prefeasibility

or

feasibility

study

in

conformance

with

NI

43-101

and

43-101

CP

is

not

required

for

a

production

decision.

Based

on

historical

engineering

work,

geological

reports,

historical

production

data

and

current

engineering

work

completed

or

in

the

process

by

Ares,

the

Company

intends

to

move

forward

with

the

development

of

its

Utah

asset.

Certain information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial

known

and

unknown

risks

and

uncertainties.

Forward-looking

statements

are

often

identified

by

terms

such

as

“will”,

“may”,

“should”,

“anticipate”,

“expects”

and

similar

expressions.

All

statements

other

than

statements

of

historical

fact

included

in

this

news

release

are

forward-looking

statements

that

involve

risks

and

uncertainties.

There

can

be

no

assurance

that

such

statements

will

prove

to

be

accurate

and

actual

results

and

future

events

could

differ

materially

from

those

anticipated

in

such

statements.

Important

factors

that

could

cause

actual

results

to

differ

materially

from

the

Company’s

expectations

include

the

failure

to

satisfy

the

conditions

of

the

relevant

securities

exchange(s)

and

other

risks

detailed

from

time

to

time

in

the

filings

made

by

the

Company

with

securities

regulations.

The

reader

is

cautioned

that

assumptions

used

in

the

preparation

of

any

forward-looking

information

may

prove

to

be

incorrect.

Events

or

circumstances

may

cause

actual

results

to

differ

materially

from

those

predicted,

as

a

result

of

numerous

known

and

unknown

risks,

uncertainties,

and

other

factors,

many

of

which

are

beyond

the

control

of

the

Company.

The

reader

is

cautioned

not

to

place

undue

reliance

on

any

forward-looking

information.

Such

information,

although

considered

reasonable

by

management

at

the

time

of

preparation,

may

prove

to

be

incorrect

and

actual

results

may

differ

materially

from

those

anticipated.

Forward-looking

statements

contained

in

this

news

release

are

expressly

qualified

by

this

cautionary

statement.

The

forward-looking

statements

contained

in

this

news

release

are

made

as

of

the

date

of

this

news

release

and

the

Company

disclaims

any

intention

or

obligation

to

update

or

revise

such

information,

except

as

required

by

applicable

law.