SGN-2026-003 returns 211.17 ppm dysprosium oxide over 2.0 metres within 946.25 ppm heavy rare earth oxide over 7.7 metres
Vancouver, British Columbia, July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Assays from a second hole are in from North American Niobium and Critical Minerals Corp.'s (CSE: NIOB) (FSE: KS82.F) (OTCQB: NIOMF) (NIOB or the Company) Seigneurie Project, and the dysprosium grades are nearly three times higher than in the first, previously reported, hole. Hole SGN-2026-003 also returned the highest niobium oxide grade from the drilling to date and copper. This confirms that the Seigneurie pegmatite system, located in Quebec's Grenville Province, includes a higher grade zone of mineralization that warrants follow up.
"This is the intercept we were watching for at Seigneurie," said Murray Nye, NIOB's Chief Executive Officer. "The niobium, dysprosium, and copper grades are a clear step up from the first results we reported from the project and sit within the same pegmatite system. It is one hole and the intervals are narrow, so we will let the assays and the updated geological model tell us what it means. However, this confirms that there is a higher-grade zone within the Seigneurie system, and that sharpens our targeting for the next phase of drilling."
SGN-2026-003 Highlights
Niobium oxide: 4.75 m averaging 863.58 ppm niobium oxide (Nb₂O₅) from 71.15 to 75.90 m, the highest niobium grade reported from the Seigneurie drill program to date.
Dysprosium oxide: the hole returned 2.0 m averaging 211.17 ppm dysprosium oxide (Dy₂O₃) from 73.20 to 75.20 m within the niobium interval, nearly three times the dysprosium grade reported from hole SGN-2026-007.
Heavy rare earth oxide: the hole returned 7.7 m, averaging 946.25 ppm heavy rare earth oxide (HREO) from 71.15 to 78.85 m.
Copper: the hole returned 4.65 m averaging 910.89 ppm copper (Cu) from 74.20 to 78.85 m, adding a base-metal component to the mineralized system.
Higher-grade zone confirmed: all four composites cluster within a pegmatite hosted in the quartzofeldspathic gneiss sequence, confirming a coherent higher-grade zone that will guide follow-up drilling.
Next steps: completing assays for remaining Seigneurie drill holes, completing automated mineralogy study, and update geological model to target follow up drilling of higher-grade zone.
The niobium, dysprosium, HREO and copper composites overlap within an approximately 7.7-metre zone from 71.15 to 78.85 m core length centred on the pegmatite.
These results are from a single drill hole over narrow intervals, and additional work is required to determine whether the Seigneurie system hosts rare earth, niobium or copper mineralization of economic interest.