Appointment of New York-Based Director

Challenger Exploration (ASX: CEL) (“CEL” the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Pini Althaus as a Non-Executive Director of the Company.

Mr Althaus is based in New York and has been an Executive in the mining and resource sector since 2002. Pini was most recently the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of USA Rare Earth, which acquired and developed the Round Top heavy rare earth and critical minerals project in Texas.

As CEO Pini transformed USA Rare Earth from a resource startup to one of the highest-valued rare earth companies in North America. Under his tenure, USA Rare Earth opened the first rare earth and critical minerals processing facility in North America, located in Colorado, and acquired the only neodymium- iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing system in the Americas, formerly owned and operated in North Carolina by Hitachi Metals America, Ltd.

Additionally, Mr Althaus has experience in the gold sector as the former founder and CEO of Dominion Minerals Corp, which acquired and developed the Cerro Corcha Gold / Copper project in Panama. During his tenure as CEO, Dominion defined a significant open-ended gold and copper deposit with a project NPV in excess of US$500 million.

During this time as a leading mining executive, Pini has built a strong network in the North American investment community, with this network including many of the leading US Family Offices, US and Canadian Investment Funds, and US and Canadian Investment Banks. Additionally, Mr Althaus has made numerous appearances as a critical minerals expert on news outlets including, The New York Times, FOX, WSJ, Financial Times, CNBC, Forbes, and the Global Times, and continues to be an ongoing contributor to these outlets.

Mr Althaus' role is to introduce Challenger into this network and provide the Company with an ongoing presence in the North American market as it transitions from an explorer to a developer.

Commenting on his appointment Mr Althaus said:

“As an early investor and long-time shareholder of Challenger, I have watched the company progress from its first drill hole at Hualilan to a 2 million ounce MRE, which is still growing into what appears to be a world-class asset. I am also excited by the results that I have seen come out of El Guayabo in Ecuador, and I look forward to seeing a maiden MRE.

My personal belief based on several factors, including the aim to become a significant low-cost gold producer, what the Company is currently valued at and as Challenger transitions from explorer to developer, the time is right to introduce the Company to the North-American investment community which intuitively understands South American mining opportunities.

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