Ameriwest Critical Metals Secures 100% Ownership of Xeno Rare Earth Project as Yttrium Gains Strategic Focus
CSE:
AWCM
OTC:
AWLIF
FSE:
5HV
Ameriwest Critical Metals Secures 100% Ownership of Xeno Rare
Earth
Project
as
Yttrium
Gains
Strategic
Focus
Acquisition strengthens the Company’s critical minerals portfolio with exposure to yttrium and
other
rare
earth
minerals
as
North
America
seeks
secure
supplies
of
key
strategic
minerals.
Vancouver, British Columbia – March 18, 2026 – Ameriwest Critical Metals Inc. (CSE: AWCM) (OTC:
AWLIF)
(FSE:
5HV)
(“Ameriwest”
or
the
“Company”)
is
pleased
to
announce
that,
further
to
its
news
release
dated
October
10,
2025,
the
Company
has
acquired
a
100%
interest
in
the
Xeno
Rare
Earth
property
(“
Xeno
”
or
the
“
Property
”)
in
British
Columbia.
On March 16, 2026, the Company and the arm’s-length vendor of the Property entered into an
amendment
(the
“
Amendment
”)
to
the
option
agreement
between
the
parties
dated
October
10,
2025
(the
“
Agreement
”)
in
order
to
modify
certain
commercial
terms
of
the
Agreement.
The
Agreement
originally
required
Ameriwest
to
issue
a
second
tranche
of
1,000,000
common
shares
of
the
Company
(the
“
Consideration
Shares
”)
to
the
vendor
on
or
before
the
first
anniversary
of
the
Agreement
and
to
incur
$125,000
in
exploration
expenditures
on
the
Property
within
18
months
of
signing
the
Agreement.
Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company agreed to issue the Consideration Shares to the vendor on or
before
March
18,
2026,
and
complete
a
one-time
cash
payment
of
$10,000
to
the
vendor
on
or
before
the
same
date
in
consideration
for
the
vendor
agreeing
to
eliminate
the
exploration
expenditure
commitment
noted
above.
The
Amendment
also
confirmed
the
deemed
price
of
the
Consideration
Shares
to
be
$0.26
per
share,
which
is
equivalent
to
the
deemed
price
per
share
of
the
common
shares
previously
issued
by
the
Company
to
the
vendor
under
the
Agreement.
The Consideration Shares are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day in
accordance
with
applicable
Canadian
securities
laws.
The
issuance
of
the
Consideration
Shares
and
completion
of
the
one-time
cash
payment
to
the
vendor
means
that
the
Company
has
now
fulfilled
the
terms
of
the
Agreement,
as
amended,
and
acquired
a
100%
interest
in
Xeno.
Xeno consists of two mineral claim units totaling 784.31 hectares and is located approximately 140
kilometres
east
of
Dease
Lake,
British
Columbia.
The
original
discovery
of
fluorite
mineralization
on
the
Property
occurred
in
1968.
Subsequently,
the
Property
has
been
explored
for
its
rare
earth
and
diamond
potential.
Historic
chip
and
grab
sampling
indicate
the
presence
of
a
variety
of
rare
earth
minerals,
including
yttrium
oxide,
dysprosium
oxide,
europium
oxide,
lanthanum
oxide,
cerium
oxide,
and
neodymium
oxide
(source:
B.C.
Assessment
Report
26,853).
One
of
Ameriwest’s
first
steps
will
be
to
analyze
historic
exploration
reports
on
the
Property
and,
where
possible,
digitize
any
pertinent
information.
Ameriwest believes the timing of this acquisition is significant. Recent developments in the United States
have
highlighted
growing
strategic
interest
in
secure
supplies
of
critical
minerals,
including
yttrium,
which
is
used
in
a
range
of
advanced
technologies
and
defense-related
applications.
The
Company
believes
projects
with
exposure
to
minerals
such
as
yttrium
may
become
increasingly
relevant
as
the
United
States
and
its
allies
seek
to
strengthen
domestic
and
friendly-jurisdiction
supply
chains.
By completing the acquisition of Xeno, Ameriwest has added full ownership of a rare earth project that
aligns
with
its
broader
strategy
of
building
a
diversified
portfolio
of
critical
mineral
assets
in
North
www.ameriwestcriticalmetals.com
CSE:
AWCM
OTC:
AWLIF
FSE:
5HV
America. The Company believes Xeno complements its existing exposure to copper and lithium and
reinforces
its
focus
on
commodities
tied
to
long-term
industrial,
technology,
and
supply
chain
trends.
David Watkinson, Chief Executive Officer of Ameriwest, stated, “We plan to first review historic data that
is
available
on
the
Property
and
use
it
to
develop
an
initial
exploration
program
for
Xeno
for
2026.
Ameriwest
expects
early-stage
work
at
Xeno
may
include
rock
chip
and
soil
sampling
and
geophysics,
with
the
goal
of
developing
initial
drill
targets.
A
great
deal
of
historic
information
is
available
to
act
as
an
exploration
guide.”
Qualified Person Statement
David Watkinson, P.Eng. , a non-independent qualified person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and
approved
the
scientific
and
technical
information
contained
in
this
news
release.
Mr.
Watkinson
is
the
CEO
and
a
director
of
Ameriwest.
About Ameriwest Critical Metals Inc.
Ameriwest is an exploration company focused on identifying and acquiring strategic critical mineral
projects
for
exploration
and
resource
development.
The
Company
is
currently
advancing
its
Bornite
copper-gold-silver
property
in
Oregon,
its
Xeno
rare
earth
property
in
British
Columbia,
and
its
Thompson
Valley
lithium
clay
property
in
Arizona.
Ameriwest
also
owns
a
lithium
clay
property
in
Clayton
Valley,
Nevada,
and
is
in
the
process
of
optioning
its
Railroad
Valley
lithium
brine
property
in
Nevada
to
Pure
Energy
Minerals
Limited.
For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company’s filings available at www.sedarplus.ca.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
David
Watkinson
Chief
Executive
Officer
and
Director
For further information, please contact:
Ameriwest
Critical
Metals
Inc.
Tel:
(416)
918-6785
Email: [email protected]
The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the matters
referenced
herein
and
has
neither
approved
nor
disapproved
the
contents
of
this
news
release.
Caution
Regarding
Forward-Looking
Information
Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not
always,
identified
by
the
use
of
words
such
as
“anticipate”,
“plan”,
“estimate”,
“expect”,
“may”,
“will”,
“intend”,
“should”,
and
similar
expressions.
Forward-looking
information
involves
known
and
unknown
risks,
uncertainties
and
other
factors
that
may
cause
actual
results
or
events
to
differ
materially
from
those
anticipated
in
such
forward-looking
information.
The
Company’s
actual
results
could
differ
materially
from
those
anticipated
in
this
forward-looking
information
as
a
result
of
regulatory
decisions,
competitive
factors
in
the
industries
in
which
the
Company
operates,
prevailing
economic
conditions,
changes
to
the
Company’s
strategic
growth
plans,
and
other
factors,
many
of
which
are
beyond
the
control
of
the
Company.
The
Company
believes
that
the
expectations
reflected
in
the
forward-looking
information
are
reasonable,
but
no
assurance
can
be
given
that
these
expectations
will
prove
to
be
correct
and
such
forward-looking
information
should
not
be
unduly
relied
upon.
Any
forward-looking
information
contained
in
this
news
release
represents
the
Company’s
expectations
as
of
the
date
hereof
and
is
subject
to
www.ameriwestcriticalmetals.com
CSE:
AWCM
OTC:
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change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a
result
of
new
information,
future
events
or
otherwise,
except
as
required
by
applicable
securities
legislation.
www.ameriwestcriticalmetals.com