Cartier Cuts 7.1 g/t Au over 8.0 m at Portal (Cadillac); New Shallow High-Grade Gold Zone Discovered VAL-D’OR, Quebec, March 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cartier Resources Inc. (″ Cartier ″ or the ″ Company ″) (TSXV: ECR; FSE: 6CA) is pleased to announce the ninth batch of results from the 100,000-m drilling program (2 drill rigs), for the Portal Sector, specifically from the North Simon Zone (″ NSZ ″) on the 100%-owned Cadillac Project, located in Val-d’Or (Abitibi, Quebec). Strategic Highlights from Portal Sector Drill Hole Results (Figures 1 to 4) CA26-314 intersected 7.1 g/t Au over 8.0 m including 38.8 g/t Au over 1.0 m (NS Zone).CA26-325 graded 6.8 g/t Au over 2.2 m (NS Zone).CA26-308 reported 3.3 g/t Au over 4.2 m (5C5 Zone). Significance for Investors Holes CA26-314 and 325 confirm the newly recognized NSZ high-grade gold zone near surface. The mineralization extends over 200 m in strike length and remains open in all directions, suggesting significant upside exploration potential.Most importantly, NSZ is strategically located just 150 metres east of historical ramp. This logistical advantage should enhance the development flexibility and economics of Cadillac Project. Next Steps Further expansion drilling is planned to significantly refine the geological model, verify the mineralization continuity and determine the gold enrichment vectors.Additional exploration drilling is required to test several new high-priority regional targets along strike of the Portal Sector and the Cadillac Fault Zone, backed by detailed structural and geological modelling and VRIFY’s artificial intelligence (AI) driven targeting. " These results of Portal Sector are particularly exciting as they confirm the presence of a fourth gold sector with strong exploration potential. Benefiting from the existing road access and historical infrastructure, this new sector has the potential for resource growth while being strategically located with respect to the Main Sector. We believe it could significantly enhance the value of the project and provide additional flexibility as we continue to advance and expand the overall development opportunities." – Ronan Deroff, Vice President Exploration of Cartier. Table 1: Drill hole best assay results from Portal Sector Hole NumberFrom (m)To (m)Core Length** (m)Au (g/t) UncutVertical Depth (m)ZoneCA26-308122.8127.04.23.3≈805C5CA26-314127.0135.08.07.1*≈110NSIncluding127.0128.01.018.1Including134.0135.01.038.8*CA26-32529.031.22.26.8≈25NSIncluding29.030.01.05.8Including30.031.21.27.6 * Occurrences of visible gold (VG) have been noted in the drill core at various intervals. ** Based on the observed intercept angles within the drill core, true thicknesses are estimated to represent approximately 50-90% of the reported core length intervals. Figure 1: Location of the new drill results (regional plan view) Figure 2: Location of the new drill results (regional longitudinal section) Figure 3: Plan view, cross and long sections of the Portal Sector Figure 4: Photos of the drill core from hole CA26-314 Portal Sector The Portal Sector is a highly prospective area featuring the new North Simon Zone with indicated resources of 9,600 ounces (0.2 million tonnes at 1.9 g/t Au) and inferred resources of 112,600 ounces (1.8 million tonnes at 2.0 g/t Au). The latter is the first ever resource estimate in this sector for which there has been only limited and relatively shallow testing. This sector hosts several newly defined high-priority drill targets. This sector lies along an east-west trending, strongly sheared corridor (Cadillac Fault Zone) and occurs at the contact between the hanging wall turbiditic sedimentary rocks (wacke-mudrock), locally conglomerates and iron formations of Cadillac Group and the footwall mafic volcanics (basalt) of Piché Group. This lithological unit is a favorable horizon for hydrothermal fluid flow, likely related to synvolcanic gold deposition. The Portal Sector, defined by at least four parallel gold-rich zones, are typically and primarily associated with a fine-grained and disseminated arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite mineralization, with a pervasive biotite-chlorite-carbonate alteration, all crosscut by late-stage smoky and white quartz vein and veinlet stockworks containing visible gold. Locally, accessory minerals such as pyrite and tourmaline are observed. Milestones of 2025-2027 Exploration Program 100,000 m Drilling Program (Q3 2025 to Q2 2027) The ambitious 600-hole drilling program will both expand known gold zones and test new shallow surface high-potential targets. The objective is to unlock the camp-scale, high-grade gold potential along the 15 km Cadillac Fault Zone. It is important to note that Cartier’s recent consolidation of this large land holding offers the unique opportunity in over 90 years for unrestricted exploration. Environmental Baseline Studies & Economic Evaluation of Chimo mine tailings (Q3 2025 to Q3 2026) The baseline studies will be divided into two distinct