Apex Critical Metals Sets Aggressive 2026 Drilling Timeline for Flagship Asset

While its share price exhibits volatility, Apex Critical Metals is moving decisively to advance its core project. The company has outlined a definitive operational roadmap for 2026, headlined by the imminent launch of a major drilling campaign at its Rift Rare Earth Project in Nebraska. This phase of work is poised to test the high-grade potential that has fueled significant investor expectations.

Operationally, Apex is proceeding from a position of financial strength. The company completed a private placement on October 30, 2025, raising $10 million USD through the sale of 4 million units at $2.50 USD each. These funds are earmarked for the upcoming exploration programs. With a market capitalization of approximately 260 million Canadian dollars, the market already ascribes a substantial valuation to this explorer, reflecting the high hopes pinned on the Rift project's success.

Detailed Plan for the Rift Project

The centerpiece of the 2026 strategy is the immediate mobilization of a Phase I drilling program at the Rift property. Apex has contracted the drilling services firm Boart Longyear to execute the campaign. The plan calls for approximately 8,000 meters of drilling across 10 to 15 holes, with full mobilization expected before the end of January 2026.

The drill holes will target depths between 600 and 900 meters. The primary objective is to confirm and expand upon historical high-grade intercepts. Company management points to previous results that underscore the project's promise, including one interval of 155.5 meters grading 2.70% Total Rare Earth Oxides (REO) and another of 236.2 meters at 2.10% REO.

This new campaign builds upon an active period of groundwork in 2025. During that year, Apex expanded the Rift land package to 3,500 acres and secured the necessary exploration permits. Furthermore, the company re-logged and sampled historical drill cores from past operators Molycorp (1970s) and Quantum (2010s). The data from this review directly informed the targeting for the forthcoming drill program.

Progress Across the Canadian Portfolio

Concurrent with the Nebraska activities, Apex is reporting advancements at its Canadian assets. At the Cap project in British Columbia, drill hole CAP25-006 intersected 124.5 meters containing 0.27% Nb2O5 (niobium pentoxide).

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Surface exploration at the Lac-Le-Moyne project in Québec has also progressed, identifying new carbonate zones. Grab samples from this work returned grades of up to 0.40% Nb2O5 and 0.50% REO. While these results are naturally overshadowed by the scale of the Rift project, they demonstrate Apex's strategy of building a broader pipeline of exploration assets.

Share Price Volatility Amid Operational Momentum

The stock market narrative has been more turbulent than the project timeline. Shares currently trade at 2.15 Euros. While the stock has appreciated significantly over a 12-month horizon, it remains prone to pronounced swings.

The recent modest pullback following the operational update can be interpreted as a cautious market response to the execution risks typically associated with deep drilling programs of this scale. Trading volume data, however, does not suggest panic selling; the pattern is more consistent with profit-taking in a volatile trading environment.

The Pivotal Year Ahead

Apex anticipates a steady news flow throughout the first half of 2026. Initial assay results from the Phase I drilling at Rift are scheduled for release during the first and second quarters. These analyses will be critical for verifying whether the historically noted high-grade mineralization is continuous and extensive.

The overarching corporate goal for the year is to complete an initial NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate for the Rift project in the second half of 2026. Achieving this would transition the asset from a pure exploration story to one with a defined economic potential. Planning is also underway for a potential Phase II drilling program in the latter part of 2026, although its scope will be entirely contingent on the results from the current campaign, making the upcoming data the key driver for the company's near-term trajectory.