The Albany Gazette - 5E Advanced Materials Completes Transformational Acquisition of Searles Valley Minerals and Announces Shareholder Update Call

HESPERIA, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 2, 2026 / 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. ("5E" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:FEAM) announces that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of the assets and operations of Searles Valley Minerals ("Searles Valley") through a court-supervised sale process under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The closing marks a transformational milestone, transitioning the Company from a pre-revenue developer to a revenue-generating U.S. producer of boron and critical industrial minerals.

Searles Valley is an established industrial and critical minerals operation in Trona, California, with more than 150 years of production history and extensive processing, infrastructure and logistics assets. The acquisition brings Searles Valley together with 5E's Fort Cady Boron Project, creating an integrated Southern California boron platform with near-term production and long-term growth potential.

"This is a transformational moment for 5E and our shareholders," said Paul Weibel, Chief Executive Officer of 5E Advanced Materials. "With the closing of this acquisition, we are moving immediately into execution. Our focus is on optimizing the Searles Valley operations, rebuilding borate production and positioning 5E to serve growing demand for secure, domestically produced boron and critical materials. We look forward to discussing the transaction, our operating plan and the opportunities ahead with shareholders next week."

Shareholder Update Call

5E will host a special shareholder conference call on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the completed acquisition and the Company's plans for Searles Valley.

During the webcast and teleconference, Chief Executive Officer Paul Weibel will provide investors and analysts with a closer look at the Searles Valley acquisition and what it means for the next phase of 5E. Supported by an investor presentation, management will outline how the acquisition transforms 5E from a pre-revenue developer into a revenue-generating U.S. producer, introduce the Searles Valley operations and discuss the Company's plan to drive value through pricing, cost and volume initiatives. Management will also highlight the additional growth opportunities within the acquired asset base and discuss how Searles Valley and Fort Cady together position 5E to build a larger, integrated U.S. boron and critical minerals platform. A live question-and-answer session with analysts and investors will follow the presentation. Participants may also submit questions in advance by emailing [email protected].

Event Details

• Event: 5E Advanced Materials Shareholder Update: Searles Valley Minerals Acquisition
• Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
• Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time
• Format: Webcast and Teleconference
• Duration: 60 minutes

Live Webcast: Click Here to Register

Webcast Replay Expiration: Wednesday, October 6, 2027

Participant Numbers: Toll Free: 888-506-0062
International: 973-528-0011
Participant Access Code: 453619

Teleconference Replay Number: Toll Free: 877-481-4010
International: 919-882-2331
Replay Passcode: 54616

Teleconference Replay Expiration: Tuesday, October 20, 2026

The Company's investor presentation will be posted prior to the start of the call, and a replay of the webcast, together with additional information regarding the transaction, will be available in the Investor Relations section of 5E's website at www.5eadvancedmaterials.com.

About 5E Advanced Materials, Inc.

5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:FEAM) is an emerging producer focused on becoming a vertically integrated global leader and supplier of refined borates and advanced boron materials, complemented by calcium-based co-products, and potentially other by-products such as lithium carbonate. The Company's mission is to become a supplier of these critical materials to industries addressing global decarbonization, energy independence, food, national security, and the defense sector. The Company believes factors such as government regulation and incentives focused on domestic manufacturing and supply chains and capital investments across industries will drive demand for end-use applications like solar and wind energy infrastructure, neodymium-iron-boron magnets, defense applications, lithium-ion batteries, and other critical material applications. The business is based on two large domestic boron resources in Southern California: Fort Cady, which is designated as Critical Infrastructure by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Company's Searles Valley operations, a producing borate facility at Searles Lake acquired in 2026. Boron was added to the U.S. Department of the Interior's 2025 Critical Minerals List.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "intend," "target," "project," "contemplate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's transition to a revenue-generating producer following its acquisition of Searles Valley (the "Acquisition"), the Company's operating plan for Searles Valley, including the optimization of operations, the rebuilding of borate production and pricing, near-term production and long-term growth potential, positioning 5E to serve growing demand for boron and critical materials, cost and volume initiatives, expected revenue generation and financial statement impact, the anticipated benefits of integrating Searles Valley's production capabilities, customer base and infrastructure with Fort Cady, additional growth opportunities within the acquired asset base, expectations regarding the advancement, development and financing of Fort Cady, 5E's longer-term strategy to expand across boron, advanced boron materials, calcium-based co-products, potential by-products such as lithium carbonate and other critical mineral products, and anticipated borate supply, end-use demand and market opportunity, including the effect of government regulation, incentives and capital investment on such demand. Any forward-looking statements are based on 5E's current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially.

These risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks relating to environmental and regulatory obligations associated with the acquired assets, including the scope of liabilities assumed by the Company and any obligations that were not extinguished through the Section 363 sale process; the risk that any sale order entered by the Bankruptcy Court is subject to objection, appeal, modification, stay or reversal; risks relating to the indebtedness and other financing incurred in connection with the Acquisition, including the Company's ability to service, refinance or repay such obligations on acceptable terms; the risk that Searles Valley's historical operating results are not indicative of future performance; the risk that the Company is unable to rebuild borate production or implement its pricing, cost and volume initiatives on the anticipated timeline or at all; the risk that the anticipated benefits, revenue contribution or cost efficiencies of the Acquisition are not realized on the expected timeline or at all; risks relating to the integration of the acquired assets and operations, including the retention of Searles Valley's customers, suppliers and key personnel; risks relating to the operating, production, environmental, permitting and reclamation obligations associated with an operating asset; the risk that 5E requires additional capital to advance Fort Cady and that such capital is unavailable on acceptable terms, or at all, notwithstanding any cash flow contributed by the acquired assets; and risks relating to boron and critical minerals demand, pricing and end-use markets, including changes in government policy, regulation or incentives. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in 5E's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, its Current Reports on Form 8-K and its other reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on information available to 5E as of the date hereof and are made only as of the date of this release. 5E undertakes no obligation to update such information except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing 5E's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. In light of the foregoing, investors are urged not to rely on any forward-looking statement in reaching any conclusion or making any investment decision about any securities of 5E.

For further information, contact:

Investor Relations

Brett Maas
Hayden IR, LLC
[email protected]
Ph: +1 (480) 861-2425

Media Relations

Paola Ashton
PRA Communications
[email protected]
Ph: +1 (604) 681-1407

SOURCE: 5E Advanced Materials, Inc.

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