VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / January 5, 2026 / Apex Critical Metals Corp. (CSE:APXC)(OTCQX:APXCF)(FWB:KL9) ("Apex" or the "Company"), a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the identification and development of critical and strategic metals, is pleased to announce that it has received approval from the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment ("NDEE") for its mineral exploration permit ("drill permit") at the Company's flagship Rift Rare Earth Project, located within the Elk Creek Carbonatite Complex in southeastern Nebraska, U.