VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aventis Energy Inc. ("Aventis" or the "Company") (CSE: AVE | FRA: C0O | OTC: VBAMF), is pleased to announce the completion of an extensive high-resolution ground gravity survey across the Corvo Uranium Project. Additionally, the Company and Standard Uranium are pleased to announce that final planning is complete for the inaugural winter drill program on the Corvo Uranium Project ("Corvo", or the "Project"), situated in the prolific eastern Athabasca Basin region (Figure 1). Exploration teams will be mobilizing to the field in early February, ahead of schedule.
Highlights:
- Completion of High-Resolution Ground Gravity Survey: The Company has completed an extensive high-resolution ground gravity survey across the Corvo Project, covering more than 29 kilometres of electromagnetic ("EM") conductor strike length.
- Drill Plan Finalized: Approximately 2,500 - 3,000 metres planned across 8-10 drill holes, targeting shallow high-grade* basement-hosted uranium mineralization.
- Robust & Shallow Drill Targets: Drill plans comprise skid-supported diamond drilling focused on high-priority uranium targets refined by geophysical work completed by the Company in 2025. Uranium target zones on the Project lie within less than 200 - 300 metres below surface.
- Untapped Uranium Potential: One diamond drill will focus on the highest-priority target area along the northern EM corridor (Figure 2), investigating the never-before-drilled Manhattan Showing (8.10% U3O8 at surface1), coincident with modeled electromagnetic conductors for the first time.
- Fully Funded: Aventis will be funding 100% of the program to meet the year-one expenditure requirements under the Option Agreement.
- Key Vendors Secured: The Company has engaged all key contracts for the program and diamond drilling crews will mobilize to the Corvo Project in January to begin constructing Project access.
Michael Mulberry, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "With drilling and mobilization plans finalized, we are excited to advance Corvo into its maiden drill program in early 2026. Recent high-resolution geophysical work has refined shallow, high-priority uranium targets, including the never-before-drilled Manhattan Showing, reinforcing our confidence in the Project's potential."
Figure 1. Regional map of the Corvo Project. The Project is located 60 km due east of Cameco's McArthur River mine and 45 km northeast of Atha Energy's Gemini Mineralized Zone ("GMZ").
2026 Exploration Programs
In late 2025, the Company contracted MWH Geo-Surveys (Canada) Ltd. ("MWH") to complete an extensive 50 m x 200 m ground gravity survey covering more than 29 km of conductive strike length, designed to aid in identifying density anomalies that may represent hydrothermal alteration systems coinciding with uranium fertile electromagnetic ("EM") conductor trends. MWH completed the geophysical grid in early January 2026, and the survey comprised more than 5,000 individual gravity measurement stations.
A skid-assisted diamond drill program totalling approximately 3,000 metres is planned for winter 2026, which will mark the first drill program on the Project in more than 40 years. Drilling will target high-priority areas including the never-before-drilled Manhattan Showing and other newly-identified radioactive occurrences across the property. Outcrop grab samples collected earlier this year returned uranium assays reaching a maximum of 8.10% U3O8 at the Manhattan Showing1 (Figure 2).
The Company believes the Project is highly prospective for the discovery of shallow, high-grade* basement-hosted uranium mineralization akin to the Rabbit Lake deposit and the recently discovered GMZ and Ackio zone. Located just outside the current margin of the Athabasca Basin, Corvo boasts shallow drill targets with bedrock under minimal cover of glacial till.
Figure 2. Summary map showing EM conductor trends on the Corvo project and highlighting the Manhattan Showing, with Reduced-To-Pole Total Magnetic Intensity in the background.
Qualified Person Statement
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Sean Hillacre, P.Geo., President and VP Exploration of Standard Uranium Ltd. and a "qualified person" as defined in NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").
Samples collected for analysis were sent to SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for preparation, processing, and ICP-MS or ICP-OES multi-element analysis using total and partial digestion and boron by fusion. Radioactive samples were tested using the ICP1 uranium multi-element exploration package plus boron. All samples marked as radioactive upon arrival to the lab were also analyzed using the U3O8 assay (reported in wt.%). SRC is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and Standards Council of Canada certified analytical laboratory. Blanks, standard reference materials, and repeats were inserted into the sample stream at regular intervals in accordance with Standard Uranium's quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocols. All samples passed internal QA/QC protocols and the results presented in this release are deemed complete, reliable, and repeatable.
Historical data disclosed in this news release relating to sampling results from previous operators are historical in nature. Neither the Company nor a qualified person has yet verified this data and therefore investors should not place undue reliance on such data. The Company's future exploration work may include verification of the data. The Company considers historical results to be relevant as an exploration guide and to assess the mineralization as well as economic potential of exploration projects. Any historical grab samples disclosed are selected samples and may not represent true underlying mineralization.
Natural gamma radiation from rocks reported in this news release was measured in counts per second ("cps") using a handheld RS-125 super-spectrometer and RS-120 super-scintillometer. Readers are cautioned that scintillometer readings are not uniformly or directly related to uranium grades of the rock sample measured and should be treated only as a preliminary indication of the presence of radioactive minerals. The RS-125 and RS-120 units supplied by Radiation Solutions Inc. ("RSI") have been calibrated on specially designed Test Pads by RSI. Standard Uranium maintains an internal QA/QC procedure for calibration and calculation of drift in radioactivity readings through three test pads containing known concentrations of radioactive minerals. Internal test pad radioactivity readings are known and regularly compared to readings measured by the handheld scintillometers for QA/QC purposes.
References
1 News Release: Standard Uranium Confirms High-Grade Uranium Mineralization up to 8.10% U3O8 at Surface on the Corvo Project, https://standarduranium.ca/news-releases/standard-uranium-confirms-high-grade-uranium-mineralization-at-surface-on-the-corvo-project/
*The Company considers uranium mineralization with concentrations greater than 1.0 wt% U3O8 to be "high-grade".
**The Company considers radioactivity readings greater than 65,535 counts per second (cps) on a handheld RS-125 Super-Spectrometer to be "off-scale".
***The Company considers radioactivity readings greater than 300 counts per second (cps) on a handheld RS-125 Super-Spectrometer to be "anomalous".
About Aventis Energy Inc.
Aventis Energy Inc. (CSE: AVE | FRA: C0O0 | OTC: VBAMF) is a mineral exploration company dedicated to the development of strategic projects comprised of battery, base and precious metals in stable jurisdictions. The Company is working to advance its Corvo Uranium & Sting Copper Project.
The Corvo Uranium property has historical drill holes intersected multiple intervals of uranium mineralization, notably along a strike length of 800 metres between historical drill holes TL-79-3 (0.116% U3O8 over 1.05 m) and TL-79-5 (0.065% U3O8 over 0.15 m- 2. High-grade* Uranium at Surface with the Manhattan showing - 1.19 to 5.98% U3O8) and SMDI showing 2052 (0.137% U3O8 and 2,300 ppm Th).
The Sting Copper Project covers approximately 12,700 hectares and recently had results of 54.8m at 0.32% Cu starting at a depth of 27.0m, with higher-grade intervals including six samples (=0.5m length) ranging from 0.96% to 5.43% Cu. High grade samples of 0.5m at 2.85% Cu and 0.5m at 1.92% Cu with an additional broader interval of 31.1m at 0.27% Cu.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Michael Mulberry
Chief Executive Officer, Director
+1 (604) 229-9772
info@vitalbatterymetals.com
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "would", "could", "schedule" and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information.
Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of Aventis, future growth potential for Aventis and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of uranium, copper, gold and other metals; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; Aventis' ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the Canadian securities laws. Statements, other than statements of historical fact, may constitute forward looking information and include, without limitation, statements with respect to the Project and its mineralization potential; the Company's objectives, goals, or future plans with respect to the Project; the Company's anticipated exploration programs at the Project; the expected benefits of receiving the Permits; and completion of the Programs. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions regarding, among other things, the geological, metallurgical, engineering, financial and economic advice that the Company has received is reliable and are based upon practices and methodologies which are consistent with industry standards. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others: fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of well results and the geology, continuity and grade of uranium, copper, gold and other metal deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, recovery rates, production estimates and estimated economic return; the need for cooperation of government agencies in the exploration and development of properties and the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs or in construction projects and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; increased costs and restrictions on operations due to compliance with environmental and other requirements; increased costs affecting the metals industry and increased competition in the metals industry for properties, qualified personnel, and management. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.
The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
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https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47f13bf4-9444-4c61-9f1b-68c3befd9c38
