Vertical Announces Strong Results From Its 2020 Wollastonite Research and Development Program With Agrinova

VANCOUVER, February 22, 2021 - Vertical Exploration Inc. (TSXV:VERT) ("Vertical"or "the Company") would like to provide an update regarding the positive results it has received from its 2020 Crop Year research and development program that was conducted by AGRINOVA using wollastonite from the Company's St-Onge deposit. All of the research and testing for the 2020 program was managed and monitored by AGRINOVA, a highly regarded Center for Research and Innovation in Agriculture in Quebec, in an effort to optimize the potential agricultural uses of wollastonite and help improve production methods for farmers and agricultural companies located in Quebec.

Vertical first appointed AGRINOVA in 2018 to carry out a series of research programs related to the development of a range of agricultural applications for the Company's St-Onge wollastonite deposit located near Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec.

In its 2020 program report AGRINOVA again reported positive and encouraging results for Vertical's wollastonite related to agricultural applications, similar to past reports it provided to the Company during its 2018 and 2019 research and development work. AGRINOVA again noted that wollastonite has many important potential agricultural benefits including biological pest control, increased crop yields achieved by enhancing plant immunity, and having unique properties that allow it to serve as a natural bedding for odor management and improved animal hygiene.

AGINOVA's 2020 field research program involved working with an agricultural producer from the Nordic Organic Field Crops Innovation Group that volunteered to test Vertical's wollastonite on its farm with technical and scientific support from AGRINOVA. The main objective of the 2020 program was to experiment with the application of wollastonite in Nordic's organic field crops, Including comparing the yields obtained with and without the application of wollastonite and to briefly assess the marginal benefits per hectare of such application.

In spring 2020, two experiments were set up to test the application of wollastonite in human food wheat (a grass) and organic soybeans (a legume) at the producer's farm. The full-block devices included four application rates of wollastonite (0, 1.2, 2.5 and 5t /ha), as recommended in the original 2018 study. The results clearly indicate that the application of wollastonite increases yields at prescribed doses - the reported increase was 8% in organic wheat and 7% in organic soybeans. Most importantly, AGRINOVA calculated that the financial benefits of applying wollastonite at a rate of 2.5 kg/ha are calculated to be in the order of $125/ha for wheat and $150/ha for soybeans. Additionally, a saving in lime costs linked to the product equivalence of approximately $50/ha was estimated.

At the conclusion of its 2020 report, AGRINOVA summarized that "the application of wollastonite can be a beneficial way to improve the yields of organic field crops". Furthermore, AGRINOVA has also proposed that further in-depth experimentation with the application of the St-Onge wollastonite product, utilizing different crops and repeated over a minimum of three years, is warranted to define and describe its full beneficial effects (benefits linked to neutralizing power versus benefits linked to silica and its power to confer resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses).

ABOUT AGRINOVA

AGRINOVA (www.agrinova.qc.ca), the Center for Research and Innovation in Agriculture, is a Technology Access Centre located in Alma, Quebec that provides technical help and services to farmers and agricultural companies throughout the province in order to help them access new technologies and assist them with the adoption of innovative new technologies and practices. AGRINOVA's technology support focuses primarily on consumer concerns (milk quality); reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; organic or natural products; comfort and well-being of animals; digital adoption; and the economic efficiency of companies.

ABOUT VERTICAL EXPLORATION

Vertical Exploration's mission is to identify, acquire, and advance high potential mining prospects located in North America for the benefit of its stakeholders. The Company's flagship St-Onge Wollastonite property is located in the Lac-Saint-Jean area in the Province of Quebec.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Peter P. Swistak, President/CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Telephone: 1-604-683-3995
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).

SOURCE: Vertical Exploration Inc.