NIOB Reports Modest Heavy Rare Earth Grades at Seigneurie Project

First drill results from North American Niobium and Critical Minerals Corp.'s (CSE: NIOB) Seigneurie project in Quebec returned modest grades of heavy rare earth oxide and dysprosium. Hole SGN-2026-007 intersected 528 ppm heavy rare earth oxide over 32.20 metres near surface, with a 10-metre section grading 76.7 ppm dysprosium oxide. The company said the intercept confirms its pegmatite-targeting approach in the Grenville Province.

About two-thirds of the heavy rare earth interval consists of yttrium oxide. Cutoff grades for the composite were 40 ppm dysprosium oxide and 200 ppm heavy rare earth oxide. True widths remain undetermined until the geological model is updated with remaining drill data.

"This is a good result from Seigneurie: we've shown that the pegmatite carries niobium and rare earth mineralization that includes dysprosium," said CEO Murray Nye. Nye described the grades as modest. A higher grade intercept nearby could change the property's outlook, he added. The company intends to continue systematic exploration of its Quebec portfolio before deciding on next steps at Seigneurie.

These early-stage grades fall below typical thresholds for economic heavy rare earth deposits. Dysprosium, a critical element in permanent magnets, often requires concentrations above 100 ppm to be viable, depending on deposit scale and processing. The 528 ppm HREO intercept is a proof of concept rather than a resource statement.

NIOB shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange and the OTCQB. No timeline for additional Seigneurie assays has been released.