Volta Metals Ltd. has returned continuous gallium mineralization across the full length of three drill holes completed during the 2026 winter program at the Springer Rare Earth Element deposit near Sturgeon Falls, Ontario.

Drill hole SL26-31 intersected 51.8 g/t Ga₂O₃ over its entire 399.0-metre length from 3.0 m to 402.0 m. The highest interval in SL26-31 yielded 236.6 g/t Ga₂O₃ and 6.41% Total Rare Earth Oxides over 0.5 m from 67.1 m to 67.6 m. That interval also contained 6,730 g/t neodymium oxide, 2,598 g/t praseodymium oxide, 414 g/t samarium oxide, and 265 g/t gadolinium oxide.

Assays show gallium extends vertically 210 m past the current conceptual open pit in the northern deposit. Hole SL26-32 intersected 1.22% TREO and 47.0 g/t Ga₂O₃ over 53.9 m from 372.1 m to 426.0 m at the bottom of the hole, which ended in mineralization.

“The gallium story at Springer continues to strengthen with every drill hole. What is most compelling is that gallium is not confined to the higher-grade rare earth mineralization. It is broadly distributed throughout the host rocks across the deposit, giving us confidence that the gallium footprint may ultimately extend beyond the current rare earth resource. Contingent on positive metallurgical confirmation, this supports our objective of delivering an updated mineral resource estimate incorporating both rare earth and gallium content later this year. On the rare earth side, SL26-32 delivered one of the strongest mineralized intercepts drilled to date, returning 53.9 metres grading 1.22% TREO. That interval exceeds the grade of the near-surface high-grade core in our current Indicated Mineral Resource and lies below the optimized pit shell, with the hole ending in mineralization, further highlighting the resource expansion potential”

— Kerem Usenmez, President and CEO

Data indicates that gallium substitutes for aluminum in K-feldspar within host units and is hosted with rare earth elements in carbonatite veins. Because gallium is not restricted to rare earth boundaries, lower-grade rocks carry gallium at levels approaching deposit-wide averages. Gallium is absent from the current Springer resource estimate.

Volta is targeting an updated mineral resource estimate incorporating rare earths and gallium in late 2026. The company expects to report remaining assays from the 13-hole, 5,452-metre winter program as they are received.

Read the full announcement: Volta Confirms Gallium Across Full Length of All Three Springer Drill Holes; Highlights Include 236.6 g/t Ga2O3 and 6.41% TREO