Earthworks engaged ABGi Canada to advance non-dilutive funding strategy for critical minerals recycling and recovery system

VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 13, 2026 /CNW/ -- Earthworks Industries Inc. (TSXV: EWK) (OTCQB: EAATF) ("Earthworks" or the "Company") a critical minerals recycling and recovery company advancing modular systems designed to recover critical minerals and strengthen Western critical mineral supply chains,  announces that it has engaged ABGi Canada ("ABGi"), an innovation funding and advisory firm with more than 30 years of experience, to assist the Company in identifying, evaluating and pursuing non-dilutive funding opportunities as Earthworks advances the commercialization and deployment of its Critical Minerals Recycling and Recovery System (the "System").

The engagement represents another step in Earthworks' strategy to establish the financial, technical and industry relationships required to advance the System from its current stage toward commercial deployment.

ABGi will work with Earthworks to identify and pursue applicable sources of non-dilutive capital, including government grants, subsidies, tax credits and other innovation and project-funding programs potentially available to support the Company's planned activities.

ABGi provides innovation funding and related advisory services to companies across Canada and internationally and maintains expertise across a range of industries relevant to Earthworks' activities, including mining, materials, manufacturing, engineering, energy and environmental technologies. Its Canadian practice advises companies on government grants, Scientific Research and Experimental Development ("SR&ED") tax incentives, clean technology investment tax credits and broader innovation funding strategies.

Under its engagement with Earthworks, ABGi will assess the Company's planned development and commercialization activities against applicable funding programs, assist in establishing a funding roadmap, prioritize opportunities based on their applicability and potential, and support the preparation and management of qualifying applications.

The Company has been seeking an experienced partner capable of taking a leadership role within this area of its development strategy, allowing Earthworks and its technical and operating partners to remain focused on advancing the System, establishing feedstock and industry relationships, evaluating potential deployment locations and developing its broader commercial model.

Earthworks believes this work is particularly timely given the increasing strategic importance of critical minerals and the growing emphasis being placed by governments and industry on strengthening domestic and allied supply chains, increasing recycling and recovery capacity, and developing more resilient sources of strategically important materials.

The Company intends to evaluate opportunities across multiple programs and levels of government as its activities advance and believes its relationship with ABGi may expand alongside the scope and scale of Earthworks' operations.

David Atkinson, CEO of Earthworks, commented:

"Accessing the right non-dilutive programs can play an important role in advancing emerging technologies and infrastructure while preserving shareholder capital. We have been looking for an experienced group that can take the lead for Earthworks in this area, and we believe ABGi brings the combination of technical, financial and funding expertise required to help us navigate a broad and evolving landscape of opportunities.

As we advance the Critical Minerals Recycling and Recovery System toward commercialization, our objective is to ensure that Earthworks is positioned in front of the appropriate programs, institutions and decision-makers at the appropriate stages of development. We look forward to working closely with ABGi as we continue building out this platform."

The engagement is performance-based, aligning ABGi's compensation with successful funding outcomes for the Company.

Earthworks views non-dilutive capital as one component of a broader financing and commercialization strategy for the System. The Company intends to pursue a combination of government programs, tax incentives, strategic partnerships, project-level financing and other capital sources appropriate to each stage of development.

As Earthworks' activities expand, the Company anticipates that potential funding opportunities may extend across research and development, technology validation, equipment and infrastructure, clean technology, critical minerals processing and recovery, commercialization, workforce development and other qualifying initiatives.

The Company believes establishing this capability early in its commercialization program can allow potential funding opportunities to be considered alongside project design and capital planning rather than pursued retrospectively.

Earthworks and ABGi intend to move expeditiously in reviewing the Company's current and planned activities and identifying programs that may complement its development objectives.

About ABGi Canada

ABGi Canada is an innovation funding and advisory firm with more than 30 years of experience supporting companies in realizing their investment and innovation projects. ABGi provides expertise in innovation funding strategy, government grants, tax incentives, innovation management and related advisory services.

The firm works across numerous industries, including mining, materials, manufacturing, engineering, energy and environmental sectors, assisting companies in identifying and pursuing programs designed to support research, development, innovation, commercialization and investment.

Additional information regarding ABGi Canada is available through its corporate website.

Addressing the Critical Minerals Supply Gap 

The race to build and power artificial intelligence infrastructure, electrify transportation, modernize defense systems and expand advanced manufacturing has created an unprecedented and accelerating demand for critical minerals, including copper, rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, nickel, tungsten, titanium and many other materials that form the physical foundation of the 21st-century economy.

The problem is supply.

Refining and processing capacity for many of these materials is heavily concentrated in foreign jurisdictions, most significantly China, creating vulnerabilities in Western supply chains that are no longer theoretical, but active and urgent.

Both Canada and the United States have responded with major policy commitments, including Canada's Critical Minerals Strategy and initiatives under the United States Defense Production Act and CHIPS and Science Act, directed at building domestic supply chain resilience.

Primary mining alone cannot close the supply gap quickly enough. New mine development frequently requires a decade or more to advance from discovery through permitting, financing, construction and production.

This is where recycling and secondary recovery become strategically essential.

Many of the materials required by Western economies already exist above ground in significant quantities within end-of-life electronics, industrial scrap, manufacturing byproducts, legacy mine waste, tailings, waste rock and other previously processed materials.

Urban recycling and secondary recovery can provide a faster, lower-impact and potentially more capital-efficient path to production than greenfield mine development. However, domestic recovery infrastructure across North America remains fragmented and undersupplied, creating a need for modular, deployable and digitally managed recovery capacity.

Through its acquisition of the Critical Minerals Recovery System, Earthworks holds a full-stack platform developed to address that need, beginning with copper and intended to expand into battery metals, rare earth elements, precious metals and defense-related materials across Canada and the United States.

About Earthworks Industries Inc.

Earthworks Industries Inc. (TSX.v: EWK, OTCQB: EAATF) is a critical minerals recycling and recovery company advancing modular systems designed to recover strategic metals and strengthen Western critical mineral supply chains. The Company is developing scalable recycling and recovery infrastructure to help address the growing need for domestic critical minerals production.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this News Release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this news release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans to develop and deploy modular critical minerals recycling and recovery systems; the proposed development of a pilot copper recycling facility in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia; the expected services and contributions of Fairfax Partners, Fair and Trifecta Capital Corp.; the anticipated ability of the engagements to broaden the Company's audience, improve the rhythm and consistency of its communications, build stakeholder relationships and support business growth; the Company's ability to establish and maintain a consistent communications cadence; the potential expansion of the Critical Minerals Recovery System into additional locations and material streams; and the Company's objective of contributing to more secure and resilient Western critical mineral supply chains.

Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the development, financing, construction and operation of recycling and resource recovery projects. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the Company's ability to obtain sufficient financing, secure suitable feedstock, identify and acquire an appropriate facility location, procure and commission required equipment, obtain permits and regulatory approvals, enter into strategic partnerships and offtake arrangements, validate anticipated processing performance and successfully commercialize the Critical Minerals Recovery System.

As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.

SOURCE Earthworks Industries Inc.

For further information, contact: Earthworks Industries Inc., David Atkinson, President/CEO, 604-669-3143, [email protected]