New Frontier Minerals to Accelerate Activities at its 100% owned North West Queensland (NWQ) Copper Project in Parallel with Diversified Rare Earth Strategy in North America

Receives Technical Assessment Approval for Big One Copper Deposit Marking Pivotal Step Toward Near-Term Copper Production

PERTH, Australia, April 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New Frontier Minerals (ASX: NFM; OTCQB: NFMXF) announced it intends to accelerate activities at its copper assets in Australia in addition to its ongoing rare earths work in North America.

"With the growing global demand for copper and the receipt of our technical assessment approval for our Big One Copper Deposit, New Frontier Minerals intends to expand our focus and activities in connection with these assets," said Gerrard Hall, chairman of the company. "The effort will be conducted in parallel with our current diversified rare earths strategy, with particular emphasis on our Pomme Rare Earth Element and Niobium Project in Quebec, Canada, where activities are currently underway."

Copper's demand profile is being fundamentally reshaped by three intersecting megatrends: the global energy transition, electrification of transport and the rapid build-out of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Recent reports from a variety of industry organizations have estimated that copper demand for EVs is forecast to grow from approximately 2.3 million MT in 2025 to 6 million MT by 2035, while grid upgrades and power infrastructure alone are projected to drive more than 60% of copper demand growth through to 2030. "Data center copper demand is anticipated to reach approximately 475,000 MT this year, up approximately 110,00MT year-over-year, according to recent reports," said Hall. He added that Bloomberg NEF's Transition Metals Outlook 2025 projects copper demand tied to the energy transition could triple by 2045 with the market potentially entering a structural deficit as early as this year.

In light of these projections, New Frontier  is prioritizing its work at the NWQ Copper Project, through the advancement of the Big One (MLA) and the company's strategic alliance and processing agreement with Austral Resources. "The MLA technical assessment approval marks a pivotal step toward potential near-term copper production, utilizing Austral Resources' Mt. Kelly Processing Facility," said Hall.

The Big One Copper Deposit hosts a mineral resource estimate to the standard of the 2012 JORC Code of 2.1 Mt @ 1.1% Cu¹, inclusive of surface stockpiles and near-surface copper oxide mineralization from surface to 50m depth, where historical intercepts have returned grades of up to 28.4% Cu². "We are assessing further resource drilling with the aim of extending known mineralization here to build on strong historical intercepts," said Hall.

The focus on copper will be conducted concurrently with the company's diversified rare earth strategy. "Although we were disappointed with our recent drilling results at Harts Range, as they related to heavy rare earths, we continue to assess the project for its Tungsten potential and intend to prioritize the remaining 40 untested Heavy Rare Earth geophysical targets," he said.

In addition, the company is undertaking metallurgical test work on the Pomme REE-Niobium diamond core, incorporating both conventional processing pathways and tailored testing with Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology, at Metallium's US facility in Texas. "This program will be a low-cost technical exercise to evaluate both conventional processing pathways and tailored testing using Metallium's technology, supporting mineralogical characterization and optimization of the processing pathway for the project," Hall explained. New Frontier Minerals holds an exclusive option to acquire up to 90% of the Pomme REE-Niobium Project should the evaluation demonstrate a clear indication to move forward.

Hall added that New Frontier Minerals maintains a strong working capital position moving forward. "With our strong programs in two areas – copper and rare earth elements – we believe that our current marketcap is not reflective of both our assets as well as the potential of the company," Hall said.

New Frontier Minerals (https://www.newfrontierminerals.com) is an Australian-based explorer, carrying out its strategy of developing multi-commodity assets that demonstrate future potential as economic mining operations. Through the application of disciplined and structured exploration, New Frontier identifies assets deemed core and actively progresses these interests up the value curve.

SOURCE New Frontier Minerals