Spark Provides Corporate and Exploration Update

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 23, 2026) - Spark Energy Minerals Inc. (CSE: SPRK) (OTC Pink: SPARF) (FSE: 8PC) ("Spark" or the "Company") provides an update on progress at its Brazilian exploration projects since Dr. Fernando Tallarico became Chief Executive Officer in October 2025. During that period, the Company completed its first drilling at Arapaima, reported gallium and rare earth mineralization at Cruzeta and Boa Vista, raised approximately $2.9 million, and advanced exploration programs for lithium and tungsten. Arapaima remains the Company's principal focus.

Comment from the CEO

"When I became CEO, Arapaima had not yet been drilled. Since then, our team has completed 42 drill holes across Arapaima. All 33 holes reported so far have returned gallium and rare earth mineralization across Cruzeta and Boa Vista, with results from the remaining nine holes still to be reported. I'm proud of the work behind those results and grateful for our shareholders' support in funding it. Our focus now is to build on that work: complete the review of the remaining assays, advance metallurgical testing and use the results to guide further exploration. Alongside Arapaima, our lithium and tungsten programs are testing additional targets within the Company's Brazilian portfolio." — Dr. Fernando Tallarico, P.Geo., FSEG, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman.

Gallium and rare earth mineralization at two targets on 100%-owned Arapaima

Spark holds a 100% interest in the approximately 91,900-hectare Arapaima Project through its wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary, with no underlying royalties or outstanding vendor payments. The project comprises 62 exploration processes registered with the Agência Nacional de Mineração in Brazil's Lithium Valley.

The Company has reported gallium and rare earth mineralization at two targets 7 to 8 km apart: Cruzeta, where 28 reverse circulation (RC) holes have been reported, and Boa Vista, where five holes have been reported. All 33 reported holes returned gallium and rare earth mineralization.

Drilling results and pending assays

Drilling at Arapaima began in December 2025 with five vertical RC holes at Cruzeta; every hole intersected gallium mineralization from surface and rare earth mineralization below it (news releases of February 10 and 13, 2026, as clarified on March 12, 2026).

A 2,000 m follow-up program was launched in April 2026 and later expanded to 37 holes and 2,024 m. Twelve holes reported on July 22, 2026 returned near-surface gallium in every hole, with results of up to 85 g/t Ga₂O₃ and 1.20% TREO, and extended the interpreted footprint of mineralization at Cruzeta to approximately 4.4 km east-west by 1.5 km north-south. Eleven further holes reported on August 13, 2026 brought the Cruzeta dataset to 28 holes and included 32 m at 73.9 g/t Ga₂O₃ from surface, including 2 m at 91.4 g/t, in ARA-RC-021, and 48 m at 1,258 ppm TREO in ARA-RC-022. A review of the dataset also identified scandium in the surface gallium horizon; no recovery of scandium has been demonstrated.

On August 27, 2026, the Company reported the Boa Vista discovery, a target selected from surface geochemistry and drilled for the first time in this program. All five holes returned gallium from surface and rare earth mineralization below, including 114.3 g/t Ga₂O₃ over 2 m within 10 m at 92.2 g/t Ga₂O₃ from surface in ARA-RC-007, and 28 m at 1,557 ppm TREO in ARA-RC-031. Forty-two RC holes have now been completed at Arapaima and 33 have been reported; assays for the remaining nine holes will be reported after quality-control review.

Lithium exploration at Arapaima and Solonópole

A stream sediment, soil and rock sampling program designed to test lithium pegmatite targets is under way in the northern tenements of the Arapaima package, in the Araçuaí-Coronel Murta sector of the Lithium Valley, with results expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. The Company acquired exploration permits covering approximately 30,400 hectares in the Solonópole tantalum-lithium district of Ceará in 2025, with a 1% net smelter return royalty retained by the vendor. An initial stream sediment program is being completed; further details of the property and program will be announced shortly. No mineralization has yet been identified on the Solonópole permits.

Tungsten reconnaissance under way at Seridó

On September 16, 2026, the Company announced that reconnaissance exploration for tungsten at its Seridó Project in Rio Grande do Norte had commenced. The project comprises twelve exploration permits covering 21,492.74 hectares, granted in 2023 and 2024, in a district with producing and past-producing scheelite mines. Geological mapping and rock and stream sediment sampling are under way across five target areas, with first analytical results expected before the end of 2026. Seridó is an early-stage reconnaissance project; no mineralization has yet been identified on the permits, and mineralization at the district's mines is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on them.

Leadership, funding and Board

Sead Hamzagic, CGA, was appointed Chair of the Audit Committee on July 2, 2025, the same date that Dr. Tallarico joined the Board. Dr. Tallarico then became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman on October 21, 2025, on the departure of the previous Chief Executive Officer. The Company's effort was concentrated on Arapaima, run from a field office in Padre Paraíso through the Brazilian subsidiary, with Jonathan Victor Hill as VP Exploration, Country Manager and Director. All resolutions were passed at the annual general meeting held on June 10, 2026.

The maiden program was funded with a $500,000 non-brokered private placement that closed on December 12, 2025, fully subscribed by one investor. It was followed by a warrant incentive program under which holders exercised 36,029,307 warrants at $0.05 for proceeds of $1,801,465.35 by February 22, 2026, and by a further $579,960 non-brokered private placement that closed on March 10, 2026. In total, approximately $2.9 million was raised in three months, for exploration at Arapaima and general working capital.

On September 2, 2026, Marina Fagundes de Freitas, formerly Chief Financial Officer of Jaguar Mining Inc., joined the Board as an independent non-executive director and Chair of the Audit Committee. As Arapaima advances, the Company is in discussions with senior engineering professionals to strengthen its technical team; any appointment will be announced if and when concluded.

Government and institutional engagement

The Company signed a non-binding Protocol of Intentions with the Government of the State of Minas Gerais, through the State Secretariat for Economic Development and Invest Minas, on June 18, 2026. It records the State's intention to support project advancement through engagement with State and municipal bodies, licensing, infrastructure and supplier introductions. It creates no enforceable obligation and does not constitute a funding award or regulatory approval.

The Company is finalizing draft terms of reference with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for a proposed agency-funded study of Arapaima, to be performed by a U.S. contractor selected by competitive tender. The proposed scope includes resource estimation, metallurgical test work and a scoping-level economic assessment, in phases subject to USTDA decisions. References to a feasibility study in this agency process do not mean a mining feasibility study under NI 43-101. USTDA has not made a funding decision, and no resource estimate or economic study has been completed. In the European Union, the Company applied in January 2026 for recognition of Arapaima as a Strategic Project under the Critical Raw Materials Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1252). The European Commission has acknowledged the application and confirmed it complete, and its assessment is ongoing. Neither process has resulted in any award, recognition or funding, and there is no assurance that either will.

Qualified Persons and reporting basis

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, BSc (Hons), FAusIMM, VP Exploration, Country Manager & Director of the Company, and Dr. Fernando Tallarico, P.Geo., FSEG, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Company, each a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Neither Qualified Person is independent of the Company.

About Spark Energy Minerals Inc.

Spark Energy Minerals Inc. is a Canadian critical minerals exploration company whose principal asset, the Arapaima Project, comprises approximately 91,900 hectares across several municipalities in the Lithium Valley region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Company has made gallium and rare earth element discoveries at Cruzeta and, more recently, at Boa Vista, where mineralization is hosted in ionic adsorption clays developed over the Caladão Granite. Lithium-bearing pegmatites are a secondary target on the property. The Company also holds the Seridó Project, comprising twelve exploration permits totaling 21,492.74 hectares in the Seridó tungsten district of Rio Grande do Norte, where tungsten-focused reconnaissance exploration is underway.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations, and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding: the Company's plans to advance the Cruzeta and Boa Vista targets toward an initial mineral resource estimate, further metallurgical test work and any economic study, and the timing of any such work; the timing of reporting of remaining drill assays; the timing, scope and results of the lithium sampling program at Arapaima and of exploration at the Seridó and Solonópole properties, and the timing of further disclosure regarding Solonópole; the Company's discussions with prospective technical personnel and any resulting appointment; the nature, scope and effect of any support under the Protocol of Intentions with the State of Minas Gerais; the Company's discussions with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and any resulting funded study; the European Commission's assessment of Arapaima as a Strategic Project under the Critical Raw Materials Act; and the Company's plans, objectives and strategies. Forward-looking information is identified by words such as "may," "could," "would," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project," "potential," "target," "priority," or similar expressions, including negative and grammatical variations of them.

Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management considers reasonable as of the date of this news release, including: that geological interpretations are reasonable and that mineralization continues between and beyond the holes drilled; the accuracy and representativeness of sampling and assay data and the reliability of laboratory analyses and quality control; that the Company's counterparties at USTDA, the European Commission and the State of Minas Gerais will continue to engage with the Company and evaluate its applications and proposals on their merits; that financing will be available on acceptable terms; and that tenure, permits and regulatory approvals can be obtained and maintained.

Mineral Exploration Disclosure

No securities regulatory authority in Canada, the United States or elsewhere has reviewed or approved this news release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction; the Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption.

The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.