Eastport Critical Metals Corp. (TSXV: EVI) has provided an operational update on December 23, 2025, outlining progress across three active drill programs in Botswana and detailing work completed prior to a temporary pause for the holiday period. The programs, which are underway at the Matsitama Copper Project, the Semarule Rare Earth Elements (REE) Project, and the Foley Uranium Project, are scheduled to resume in mid-January 2026.

The company confirmed that drilling across all three projects has been temporarily suspended for the holiday season. According to Eastport, this pause follows the completion of initial phases of work at each site and allows teams to prepare for continued drilling and data collection in the new year. Rick Bonner, Director and Vice President Exploration, stated that Phase 1 activities have made a solid start and that the upcoming period will focus on resuming drilling and generating results as programs advance in 2026.

Matsitama Copper Project

The most extensive drilling activity to date has taken place at the Matsitama Copper Project, which remains Eastport’s most advanced asset. Drilling has been conducted using a combination of diamond and reverse circulation (RC) methods, targeting several prospects within the broader Matsitama copper district.

At the historic Nak prospect, drilling has focused on infill work, twinning of historic holes, and testing extensions of the known mineralization. A total of 1,228 metres across eight diamond drill holes has been completed at Nak, consistent with expenditures and priorities recommended by Qualified Persons. This work is intended to support a planned resource statement in 2026. In addition to the core Nak area, exploration drilling has been carried out on targets located to the northwest and east of the deposit. These activities, referred to as Nak Exploration drilling, consisted of 1,307.6 metres across seven diamond drill holes designed to test additional geological targets beyond the main deposit footprint.

RC drilling has also been undertaken along the extensive Copper-Cobra soil anomaly, which extends for approximately 25 kilometres. At this target, 450 metres of RC drilling across nine holes was completed, yielding 453 chip samples. These samples were collected for assay analysis and to provide lithological information to support subsurface geological mapping. Further RC drilling has been completed at Kopano South, located south of the historic Kopano Mine, previously known as the Mowana copper operation. This area lies along the southern extension of known mineralization and within the broader Bushman fault structure, which extends for approximately 85 kilometres, more than 60 kilometres of which fall within Eastport’s licences. At Kopano South, 700 metres of RC drilling across 14 holes was completed, producing 700 chip samples for assay and lithological analysis. Eastport stated that all RC chip samples were collected using industry-standard procedures and will be submitted to an independent accredited laboratory, with appropriate quality assurance and quality control protocols applied.

Semarule Rare Earth Elements Project

At the Semarule REE Project, Eastport has initiated a Phase 1 diamond drilling program targeting a multi-phase syenite intrusion at Semarule Hill. The drilling follows earlier rock chip sampling that returned encouraging results for total rare earth oxides (TREO).

To date, two diamond drill holes have been completed at Semarule for a total of 750 metres. The first hole, SEM003, was drilled to a depth of 400 metres and intersected a sequence of syenite transitioning into pyroxenite-rich intervals. Geological logging identified intervals of fenitized syenite containing calcite veining up to 15 centimetres thick, along with rare sulphide occurrences. Downhole geophysical surveys have been completed in this hole to assist with refining targets for subsequent drilling.

A second hole, SEM005, was drilled approximately 1.2 kilometres east of SEM003 and reached a depth of 350 metres. This hole intersected mafic-rich syenite from surface to a depth of 310 metres. Eastport noted that no assay results are available at this stage and that interpretations are based solely on geological logging. The Company indicated that further updates will be provided as additional data becomes available.

Foley Uranium Project

At the Foley Uranium Project, Eastport has commenced a Phase 1 RC drilling program designed to test a continuous paleo-channel extending for more than 15 kilometres from the adjacent Letlhakane Uranium Deposit, which is owned by Lotus Resources. Nine RC drill holes have been completed at Foley, totaling 920 metres, on the first of three planned drill fences. Drilling results indicated that depths to basement rocks increased progressively in holes six through nine, a result that aligns with expectations and supports the interpretation of a paleo-channel incised into the paleo-surface. Downhole gamma logging is currently underway to further evaluate the drilled intervals.

Eastport Critical Metals Corp. is advancing five projects in Botswana, with cumulative historical and current expenditures approaching $20 million. In addition to Matsitama, Semarule, and Foley, the Company’s portfolio includes the Selebi East nickel-copper-cobalt project, located approximately seven kilometres east of the historic Selebi Mines, and the Keng Project, which targets nickel, copper, and platinum group elements along the northern margin of the Molopo Farms Complex.