Metal Energy Begins First Drill Program at NIV Copper-Gold Project in British Columbia

• Drilling has commenced at NIV, with the first hole collared at the property's high-priority northern target
• The program is planned for more than 6,000 metres across 12 drill holes along the length of the NIV porphyry system
• Drill targets were selected using geophysical data that coincides with soil geochemical anomalies and altered rock exposures
• Metal Energy holds approximately $9 million in cash
• Centerra Gold and Teck Resources each hold a 9.9 percent interest in the company

Metal Energy Corp. (TSXV: MERG, OTCQB: MEEEF) is a Canada-based exploration company focused on base and precious metals. Its lead asset is NIV, a permitted, drill-ready copper-gold-silver-molybdenum project in British Columbia's Toodoggone district, an area that hosts both porphyry and epithermal style deposits. The company also holds the Highland Valley project in British Columbia, targeting copper, molybdenum, silver, gold and rhenium, and the Manibridge project in Manitoba, targeting nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements.

Commencement of Inaugural 6,000 Metre Drill Program at NIV

Metal Energy has begun drilling at NIV. This is the first time either the NIV or West NIV claim blocks have been tested with a drill. The program is planned to include more than 6,000 metres across 12 holes, spread along the length of the NIV porphyry system. A porphyry system is a large volume of rock where metal-bearing fluids have circulated through cracks, and can host large-scale copper and gold deposits.

Exploration of the property has continued for more than ten years, following limited historical work dating back to the 1960s and staking of the claims in 2010. Modern geochemical and geophysical surveys have been applied to the property intermittently since staking.

CEO Charlie Greig said:

"We are excited to finally drill-test NIV. It's been over ten years since Metal Energy's Technical Advisor, Alex Walcott, and I first started exploring this ground, and everything we've learned since has only deepened our conviction that NIV is one of the most compelling untested porphyry copper-gold targets in British Columbia. We're grateful that our shareholders, including our strategic partners, Centerra Gold and Teck, have recognized that potential and provided the capital to do this properly. This will be a thorough and methodical drill test of a 5-kilometre system that has waited more than a decade for the drilling it deserves."

First Hole Collared at High-Priority Northern Target Within 5 km District-Scale Anomaly

The first drill hole has been collared, or started, at a high-priority target in the northern part of the property. This target sits within a soil geochemical anomaly, meaning an area where soil sample testing found elevated levels of gold, copper, silver and molybdenum, extending 5 kilometres and up to several hundred metres wide.

The anomaly overlies rock showing widespread alteration, a feature typically associated with porphyry copper-gold systems. Below surface, induced polarization chargeability highs, a geophysical measurement that can indicate sulphide minerals, occur along the length of the anomaly, together with magnetic data aligned with mapped intrusive rocks.

A hole drilled by another company roughly 2 kilometres east of the property in 2021 returned 81.6 metres grading 0.41 percent copper, 0.20 grams per tonne gold and 0.9 grams per tonne silver from surface. NIV lies within the same geological trend as Centerra Gold's Kemess mine complex, located 32 kilometres to the north.

Strategic Shareholder Support From Centerra Gold and Teck Resources, With $9 Million Cash Position

Metal Energy holds approximately $9 million in cash. Centerra Gold, which operates the nearby Kemess mine complex, and Teck Resources, a diversified Canadian miner, each hold a 9.9 percent interest in the company.

The board has approved stock options over 2,215,000 shares to directors, officers and consultants, of which 1,350,000 were granted to directors and officers.

The options carry an exercise price of CAD $0.76 per share, a five year term, and vest one year from the date of grant.

Milestones and Next Steps

The 12-hole, 6,000 metre program at NIV is now underway, beginning with the collared hole at the northern target. Assay results, which confirm the grade and width of any mineralisation intersected, are expected as drilling and laboratory analysis progress.

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