Critical Elements Hits 2.70% Li2O Over 10.50m at Rose West as Phase 2 Summer Drill Program Advances in Quebec

Critical Elements Lithium's Phase 2 Summer 2026 drill program at Rose West is returning shallow, high-grade spodumene, and the headline interval deserves the attention: 2.70% Li2O and 222 ppm Ta2O5 over 10.50 metres, sitting inside a broader 27.35-metre composite of 1.89% Li2O and 161 ppm Ta2O5, both from hole RW-26-35A through Pegmatite 3.

The company disclosed assay results for four holes — RW-26-35A, RW-26-51, RW-26-52, and RW-26-58 — in its August 12, 2026 news release on Newswire. The full picture across those holes:

RW-26-35A cut 1.89% Li2O and 161 ppm Ta2O5 over 27.35 m through Pegmatite 3, with a higher-grade sub-interval of 2.70% Li2O and 222 ppm Ta2O5 over 10.50 m and a secondary sub-interval of 1.84% Li2O and 115 ppm Ta2O5 over 9.00 m.

RW-26-51 returned two separate intercepts: 1.23% Li2O and 227 ppm Ta2O5 over 6.45 m (including 1.64% Li2O and 179 ppm Ta2O5 over 4.00 m) through Pegmatite 5, and 1.58% Li2O and 118 ppm Ta2O5 over 16.85 m through Pegmatite 3.

RW-26-52 delivered 1.00% Li2O and 88 ppm Ta2O5 over 19.40 m through Pegmatite 3, with sub-intervals of 1.11% Li2O and 176 ppm Ta2O5 over 6.70 m and 1.43% Li2O and 83 ppm Ta2O5 over 4.00 m.

RW-26-58 returned 1.33% Li2O and 145 ppm Ta2O5 over 14.05 m through Pegmatite 5, including 1.81% Li2O and 122 ppm Ta2O5 over 9.00 m.

All assay work is being processed by ALS Val-d'Or under QA/QC protocols, per the August 12, 2026 announcement on StockTitan.

The structural story matters as much as any single hole. Rose West's known footprint has grown six-fold since winter 2024, reaching 1,250 x 800 m as of the August 12 announcement. Two drill rigs are working a 100-metre grid targeting an eventual footprint of approximately 1,250 x 2,000 m. Eleven holes totalling 2,073 m have been drilled in the NE Main Target Area alone, testing a roughly 300 x 300 m corridor. The stacked, near-surface pegmatite system — multiple numbered pegmatites intersected across separate holes — is showing lateral continuity, which is what a resource expansion program needs to demonstrate.

The broader Rose Lithium-Tantalum project, of which Rose West is a discovery-stage extension, carries material infrastructure: a completed feasibility study published August 29, 2023, all major environmental permits in place, and a negotiated agreement with the Cree Nation, per the company's project page. That 2023 feasibility study estimated an after-tax NPV of US$2.2 billion at an 8% discount rate and an after-tax IRR of 65.7% for spodumene concentrate production, per the company's June 9, 2026 release on cecorp.ca. Rose West drilling is separate from and additive to that existing resource base.

On the market side, Critical Elements (CRE.V) was trading at CAD 0.36 as of September 20, 2026, per ca.investing.com, with a 52-week range of CAD 0.28 to CAD 0.58. The market cap stood at CAD 81.214 million intraday on September 17, 2026, per Yahoo Finance. Volume on September 17 was 84,225 shares against a 52-week average of 102,895, per the same source.

Three analysts carry a Strong Buy consensus on CRE with an average 12-month price target of CAD 1.08, a high of CAD 1.20, and a low of CAD 0.85, per ca.investing.com. Those are third-party figures; this is not a price forecast.

What's next: the 10,000-metre Phase 2 summer program is still running as of the August 12 announcement, with additional assays pending from holes already drilled. The program's mandate is continued expansion of the mineralized volume on the 100-metre grid.