Vancouver, British Columbia — December 23, 2025 — Leads & Copy —
Eastport Critical Metals Corp. (TSXV: EVI) has announced updates regarding its three drill programs across its critical metals projects in Botswana: Matsitama Copper, Semarule REE, and Foley Uranium. All three programs have been temporarily paused for the holiday season, with operations scheduled to recommence in mid-January 2026.
At the Matsitama Copper Project, drilling has focused on potential future resource definition and extension at the historic Nak prospect, initial reconnaissance RC drilling to test the 25 km Copper-Cobra soil anomaly, and RC drilling along the southern extension of the active Kopano mine and the 85 km Bushman fault structure. A combined diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling program is underway.
The Semarule Rare Earth Elements Project is undergoing a Phase 1 diamond drilling program to test the multi-phase syenite intrusion at Semarule Hill, following encouraging prior rock chip sampling for total rare earth oxides (TREO).
A Phase 1 RC drilling program has been initiated at the Foley Uranium Project to test a continuous >15 km paleo-channel extending from the adjacent Letlhakane Uranium Deposit, owned by Lotus Resources.
Director & VP Ex, Rick Bonner, stated that the holiday break provides an opportunity for the team to reflect on the volume of work completed and prepare for a busy 2026 when drilling will resume and results will begin to flow.
Regarding the Matsitama Copper drill program, drilling completed to date includes:
Nak Prospect: 1,228m / 8 diamond drill holes
Nak Exploration: 1,307.6m / 7 diamond drill holes
Copper-Cobra: 450m / 9 RC drill holes
Kopano South: 700m / 14 RC drill holes
The drilling at NAK has focused on infill of sections, twining of historic holes, and testing extensions of the deposit to assist with the planned 2026 resource statement. Diamond drill holes were testing a number of targets to the northwest and east of the Nak deposit. RC drilling on the ~25km copper-in-soil anomaly delivered 453 chip samples for assays, and lithology to assist with mapping the subsurface. RC drilling delivered 700 chip samples for assays and lithology to assist with mapping the subsurface. All RC chip samples have been collected in accordance with industry-standard procedures and will be submitted to an independent accredited laboratory for analysis, with appropriate QA/QC protocols applied.
Regarding the Semarule drill program update, drilling completed thus far includes:
Semarule: 750m /2 diamond drill holes
Drill hole SEM003 was completed to a depth of 400 meters and intersected a sequence of syenite transitioning to pyroxenite-rich intervals, including intervals of fenitized syenite with calcite veining up to 15 cm thick and rare sulphides. Downhole geophysics has been completed to refine targeting for follow-up drilling. SEM005, located 1.2 km east of SEM003, was completed to a depth of 350 meters, intersecting Mafic-rich syenite from surface to 310m. No assay results are available at this time, and all interpretations are based solely on geological logging. Further updates will be provided as additional data becomes available.
Regarding the Foley Uranium Drilling Update, drilling completed thus far includes:
Foley: 920 / 9 RC drill holes
Nine RC holes were completed on the first of three fences. Depths to the basement rocks in holes 6 to 9 increased as expected validating the concept of a paleo-channel cut into the paleo-surface. Downhole gamma logging is presently underway.
Liz de Klerk Pri.Sci.Nat.,FIMM, of Micon International, an independent consultant and Qualified Person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101, reviewed and approved the information in this news release.
Eastport is a critical minerals development company advancing five projects in Botswana, with cumulative historical and current expenditures approaching $20 million. The Company’s most advanced asset is the Matsitama Copper Project, which hosts multiple sizeable targets across the Matsitama copper district. The Company’s additional projects include Selebi East, the Semarule Rare Earth Elements Project, the Foley Uranium Project, and the Keng Project.
Botswana is widely regarded as one of Africa’s strongest mining jurisdictions.
Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi
CEO and Director, Eastport Critical Metals Corp.
burns@eastportcmc.com
info@eastportventures.com
Investor Relations
KIN Communications Inc.
604-684-6730
EVI@kincommunications.com
Source: Eastport Critical Metals Corp.
