Solar International Core Canada, whose financing partners include the Sultanate of Oman Sovereign Wealth Fund, signed a binding MOU to invest in Critical One, fund the company’s plant stake and secure a right to its future antimony.
SICC’s C$25 million commitment includes C$15 million for 12.5 million shares at C$1.20: a 48% premium to the October 28 close, no warrants, a 12-month lock-up and the right to nominate a director. Within 90 days, SICC will work to put forward proposed terms for a construction loan of up to C$400 million.
SICC holds the exclusive right to buy up to 150 million pounds of future Howells Lake antimony at international benchmark prices. With the buyer in from the start, its product specifications will help shape how the material is processed. Future production is not guaranteed, and Howells Lake does not yet have a mineral resource.
SICC's C$10 million commitment funds Critical One's carried equity interest in a planned Ontario processing facility, which Northlink Development Group is developing as project manager. Critical One takes part twice: as a future feedstock supplier from Howells Lake and as an equity partner in the plant.
90-day due diligence, work toward indicative construction financing terms, metallurgical test work and resource drilling.
The MOU positions Critical One as a co-development partner in a Canadian critical minerals supply chain, with capital, a processing route and a buyer lined up before its first mineral resource estimate. Micon's independent NI 43-101 report traces Howells Lake antimony over more than 300 metres of strike and 200 metres of depth, open to the northeast and at depth, including 8.0 metres at 42.2% antimony, including 4.0 metres at 70.2%.
How much antimony Howells Lake can supply, and how its material will process, which the funded drilling program and metallurgical test work are designed to show.
Being positioned as a strategic co-development partner, with returns from processing as well as mining, elevates Critical One’s growth strategy.
Get future public Critical One announcements and investor updates.
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Toronto, ON – October 29, 2026 – Critical One Energy Inc. (“Critical One” or the “Company”) (CSE: CRTL) (OTCQB: CTLOF) (FSE: 4EF) is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding memorandum of understanding (the “MOU”) with Solar International Core Canada (“SICC”), a strategic investment and operating firm with institutional financing partnerships that include the Sultanate of Oman Sovereign Wealth Fund. The MOU positions Critical One as a co-development partner in building a Canadian critical minerals supply chain and brings C$25 million of strategic capital, a construction financing facility of up to C$400 million and a future antimony offtake agreement to the Company’s flagship Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project (“Howells Lake Project” or “Howells Lake”). Located in the homelands of the Eabametoong First Nation (“EFN”), Thunder Bay Mining Division, Howells Lake is approximately 120 kilometres west of the Ring of Fire access corridor in northwestern Ontario, Canada.
The MOU brings together SICC as the principal capital and offtake partner and Northlink Development Group Inc. (“Northlink”) as the developer and project manager of the planned Ontario antimony processing facility. Through this partnership, Critical One participates as both a future antimony feedstock supplier from Howells Lake and a carried equity partner in the facility.
“Being positioned as a strategic co-development partner, with returns from processing as well as mining, elevates Critical One’s growth strategy,” said Duane Parnham, Executive Chairman and CEO of Critical One. “We are advancing our geological results into a development plan that returns benefits directly to our shareholders and the Eabametoong First Nation community.”
Chief Solomon Atlookan described the growing partnership between Critical One and Eabametoong First Nation. “Our community members hunt, fish, and harvest throughout this beautiful area. It is our home, and we have begun a relationship with Duane and Critical One on respectful terms and will continue to be guided by our land users and stewards of the land. This partnership is not merely about revenue sharing or environmental protections. We are seeking to plan for the future of our people and sustainable growth of our community through strategic opportunities, and we are pleased to see respectful companies come alongside our First Nation.”
SICC’s stake in Critical One ties its future supply to the Company's success. Establishing the funding route at this early stage means the project can be designed and its capital planned together. As outlined in the MOU, the construction financing would become available after the studies, permits, and approvals that precede a construction decision.
Having the buyer (offtake partner) from the start also means its product specifications will help shape how Howells Lake material is processed, flowing through to engineering, infrastructure, and delivery design. Completion of the equity investment is subject to 90-day due diligence and acceptance by the Canadian Securities Exchange.
“This collaboration with Critical One Energy is a decisive step toward closing critical vulnerabilities in North American critical minerals supply chains,” said Marc Kealey, Vice-Chairman of Solar International Core Canada. “By integrating upstream Canadian feedstock with domestic refining infrastructure, we are creating an integrated, value-added supply ecosystem that keeps economic benefits, processing intellectual property, and high-skilled jobs inside Canada. Because of this, SICC is keen and proud to act as the principal capital partner accelerating this vital initiative."
The offtake and financing under the MOU are anchored by the Howells Lake Project, where the Company’s independent NI 43-101 technical report prepared by Micon International Limited (“Micon;” see press release dated September 22, 2026), describes antimony mineralization traced over more than 300 metres of strike and 200 metres of depth, open to the northeast and at depth. Intersections Micon calls very significant include 8.0 metres grading 42.2% antimony in HWL-2026-006 and 31.5 metres grading 4.9% antimony in HWL-2026-016 (see press releases dated May 15 and August 20, 2026). The funded, Micon-recommended 20,000-metre program is designed to develop a maiden resource calculation and show the scale of feedstock Howells Lake could supply for the offtake agreement.
Critical One welcomes ongoing planning and consultation sessions with Eabametoong First Nation as well as EFN’s participation in the development process as technical work at Howells Lake advances.
Preliminary mineralogical testing identified stibnite as the principal antimony mineral in the samples examined, with no arsenic- or mercury-bearing minerals identified in those samples (see press release dated July 27, 2026). Additional metallurgical test work will show how Howells Lake material can be processed and what product it can deliver. In parallel, drilling continues toward an initial mineral resource estimate to define the tonnage and grade of mineralization in the project’s East Zone.
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Matthew Trenkler, P.Geo., Chief Geological Officer of Critical One Energy Inc., a “Qualified Person” as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Solar International Core Canada (SICC) is a strategic capital partner with tier-one institutional financial capacity and sovereign wealth relationships, including institutional financing partnerships with the Sultanate of Oman Sovereign Wealth Fund. SICC has entered into the MOU directly as its principal capital partner, responsible for project capitalization, treasury equity funding, and project debt coordination.
Northlink Development Group Inc. is a Canadian development company focused on critical minerals, infrastructure and energy projects. It brings together stakeholders, capital and delivery partners to advance projects and strengthen domestic supply chains. Additional information is available at www.northlinkdevelopment.ca.
Critical One Energy Inc. is a critical minerals exploration company dedicated to advancing its flagship Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project as a new North American source of antimony for defence, energy storage, industrial applications, and high-performance technologies such as data centres and semiconductors. The Howells Lake Antimony-Gold Project, located in Ontario, Canada, hosts high-grade antimony mineralization confirmed through a modern drilling program. The Company’s objective is to advance Howells Lake as a potential Canadian source of antimony and help reduce North America’s dependence on foreign supply.
Additional information about Critical One Energy Inc. can be found at criticaloneenergy.com and on the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.
Duane Parnham
Executive Chairman & CEO
Critical One Energy Inc.
+1 (416) 489-0092
Adam Bello
Manager, Media & Analyst Relations
Primoris Group Inc.
+1 (416) 489-0092
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “likely”, “should”, “would”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “proposed”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions, and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” happen, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements relating to the Company’s business strategy and objectives.
Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that: the Company will have the resources required in order to conduct its business as currently operated.
However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected, or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the mining industry in general, and other risks as described in the Company’s continuous disclosure record on SEDAR+.
Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and are based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations, and opinions of management on such date. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required under applicable securities law. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties, and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information.
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