First Atlas Identifies Two High-Priority Drill Targets in Nova Scotia

First Atlas Resources Corp. has identified two high-priority drill targets in the Oxford-Salt Springs area of Nova Scotia following an extensive 2026 soil-gas densification campaign. The campaign, conducted by Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (QIMC), aimed to increase sampling resolution around previously identified hydrogen anomalies.

The 2026 program, which took place in July and August, focused on intensifying field sampling along existing trails and roads within the Salt Springs licensed properties. The goal was to tighten sample spacing around anomalous hydrogen responses, thereby improving the definition, continuity, and spatial relationships of these anomalies. Soil-gas measurements included hydrogen (H₂), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH₄), and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Helium (He) was subsequently incorporated into the field program.

The densification campaign has provided First Atlas with the necessary resolution to delineate two high-priority drill targets. These targets are being refined through the integration of the soil-gas results with structural interpretation, surficial geology, and ground-based geophysical work. This integrated approach is intended to optimize final drill collar locations and orientations.

The Oxford-Salt Springs area lies within a structurally complex portion of the Cumberland Basin, where mapped northwest-southeast, east-west, and northeast-southwest faults intersect folded stratigraphy, including rocks of the Windsor Formation and Cumberland Group. Edward Procyshyn, P.Geo., who oversees exploration activities on First Atlas' Cumberland and Colchester natural hydrogen licences, is leading the geological interpretation of the Oxford-Salt Springs target area.

Variable glacial overburden can affect the amount of hydrogen reaching the surface, and therefore the strength of individual soil-gas measurements. First Atlas and QIMC are integrating the 2026 densified soil-gas results with surficial geology, structural mapping, GIS compilation, gravity, and magnetic data to better define potential hydrogen migration pathways and subsurface trapping environments. This work will help optimize the locations and orientations of the two proposed drill holes.

Richard Penn, President and CEO of First Atlas, commented, "The 2026 densification campaign has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do, take previously identified hydrogen anomalies and systematically increase the resolution around them to define specific locations for drill testing. QIMC's team has undertaken an extensive field program along the roads and trails in the Oxford-Salt Springs area, and that higher-density dataset has now allowed us to delineate two high-priority drill targets."

The company's focus now is on integrating the detailed soil-gas results with the structural and geophysical datasets to optimize the two drill holes and test the strongest targets supported by the combined technical evidence. The next steps involve completing the integration of the 2026 soil-gas dataset with helium and radon-thoron measurements, surficial and structural geology, and ground magnetic and gravity data. This work will be used to finalize the collar locations, azimuths, inclinations, and planned depths of the two proposed Oxford-Salt Springs drill holes. The current technical concept contemplates NQ core drilling, with final drill parameters subject to field conditions, permitting, and operational planning.