Process Engineer Brings 15+ Years of Experience Across Rare Earths, Graphite, Uranium, and Iron Ore to Strengthen Technical Leadership

Belo Horizonte, Brazil--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2026) - Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (NASDAQ:ATCX) ("Atlas Critical Minerals" or "Company"), a company focused on critical minerals for energy, technology, and defense applications, is pleased to announce the appointment of James Schloffer as Chief Technical Officer. Mr. Schloffer is an accomplished process engineer with more than 15 years of study, design, project management, commissioning and operational experience across the full project lifecycle - from process simulation, conceptual studies, and feasibility-level engineering through commissioning, plant optimization, and commercial operations. His experience spans lithium (upstream and downstream), rare earths, graphite, uranium, vanadium, and iron ore projects in multiple jurisdictions, including Brazil.

Key Highlights

Deep Rare Earths Expertise: Mr. Schloffer brings direct rare earths processing experience, including plant optimization and metallurgical accounting at Northern Minerals' Browns Range rare earths operation in Australia, as well as process engineering contributions to the Ngualla rare earths project in Tanzania and the Nolans Bore rare earths project in Australia. This experience is directly applicable to advancing the Company's Alto do Paranaíba and Iporá rare earths projects in Brazil.
Graphite Processing Experience: His references include graphite concentrator process design and pre-feasibility study (PFS) deliverables for multiple graphite projects, including the Burke graphite PFS and the Carbonscape biomass-to-graphite PFS. This background supports Atlas Critical Minerals' Malacacheta Graphite Project, from which the tested material recently achieved nuclear-grade purity of 99.9995% carbon in independent testing at a premier specialized U.S. laboratory.
Uranium and Vanadium Experience: Mr. Schloffer most recently served as Lead Process Engineer on the detailed design of Deep Yellow Ltd's uranium and vanadium project for Deep Yellow Ltd, one of the most technically-advanced uranium development projects globally. He also contributed process engineering expertise to the Laguna Salada uranium and vanadium Project in Argentina. This experience aligns with the Company's strategic areas with uranium potential in Brazil.
Iron Ore Operations Expertise: His career includes significant iron ore experience with major operators including Fortescue, Mineral Resources, Rio Tinto, and Roy Hill, encompassing beneficiation, process design, commissioning, and metallurgical accounting - providing valuable operational perspective as the Company continues to ramp up its revenue-generating Rio Piracicaba Iron Ore Project.
Brazilian Project Familiarity: Mr. Schloffer has worked extensively as a key part of the Atlas Lithium's technical team developing the Neves Lithium Project in Brazil's Minas Gerais state. on Brazilian mining projects, including serving as Senior Process Engineer for Sigma Lithium Resources, where he supervised metallurgical testwork and delivered detailed feasibility study deliverables for projects in Brazil's Minas Gerais state.

Mr. Schloffer holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Mr. Schloffer commented: "I am delighted to join Atlas Critical Minerals as CTO at such a pivotal time. The Company controls one of the largest critical minerals portfolios in Brazil, spanning more than 218,000 hectares, and is advancing high-quality projects across rare earths, nuclear-grade graphite, uranium, and iron ore - all commodities I have worked with extensively. The opportunity to apply my experience to a mineral portfolio of this scale and strategic importance is truly compelling. I look forward to contributing to the technical advancement of these assets and helping build value for shareholders."

Marc Fogassa, CEO and Chairman of Atlas Critical Minerals, added: "James brings an exceptional combination of technical depth and breadth in critical minerals. His hands-on experience across rare earths, graphite, uranium, and iron ore makes him a strong addition to our team as we advance multiple projects simultaneously. This reflects our commitment to building a world-class technical organization capable of executing across the spectrum of critical minerals in our portfolio."

About Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation

Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (NASDAQ:ATCX) is an exploration and development company focused on critical minerals, including rare earths, graphite, and uranium. The Company's focus is to build a diversified global supply chain for the strategic minerals essential for the artificial intelligence revolution, energy transformation, and defense uses. More information is available at www.atlascriticalminerals.com and in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based upon the current plans, estimates and projections of Atlas Critical Minerals and its subsidiaries and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Risks related to the Company and its subsidiaries are discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 20, 2026. Please also refer to the Company's other filings with the SEC, all of which are available at www.sec.gov. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company explicitly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Investor Relations

Brian W. Bernier

Vice President, Investor Relations

+1 (833) 661-7900

brian.bernier@atlas-cm.com

https://www.atlascriticalminerals.com/

@Atlas_Crit_Min

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Atlas Critical Minerals Appoints Chief Technical Officer with Proven Track Record Across Multiple Critical Minerals