Metal Energy Sets October Start for Highland Valley Copper Drilling

• A multi-year, area-based drill permit was granted in July 2026, authorising up to 50 drill sites, 11.7 kilometres of new exploration trail and 80 line-kilometres of geophysical surveying.
• The initial programme will test 2,000 metres across six priority porphyry copper targets, beginning in October 2026 and running for approximately 35 days.
• The project covers 240 square kilometres within the same geological belt that hosts the Highland Valley Copper mine, Canada's largest copper operation.
• More than 55,000 metres of historical drilling across 402 holes underpins two defined mineralised zones, though the ground has not been drill tested in six years.
• Metal Energy issued shares valued at C$2,000,000 to Fox Tungsten Inc. to complete milestone payments tied to the project's acquisition, confirming full ownership.

Metal Energy Corp. (TSXV: MERG) (OTCQB: MEEEF) is a Canada-based exploration company focused on copper and gold projects. Its flagship asset is the NIV project in British Columbia's Toodoggone district, a fully permitted, drill-ready copper-gold-molybdenum property where a 6,000 metre programme, the first drilling carried out there, began in late June 2026. Highland Valley is the company's second permitted, drill-ready project, alongside the Manibridge nickel-copper-cobalt project in Manitoba, in which Metal Energy holds an 85% interest. Two major mining companies each hold a 9.9% strategic stake in Metal Energy, and the company reports a balance sheet of more than $9 million, fully funding its 2026 exploration plans.

October 2026 Initial 2,000-Metre Drill Programme Planned Across Six Priority Porphyry Targets at Highland Valley Copper Project

Highland Valley reached drill-ready status in July 2026, when Metal Energy received a multi-year, area-based permit under the Mines Act. The permit covers up to 50 drill sites, along with the trail and geophysical survey access needed to support work beyond a single campaign. Six targets have since been selected from nearly two years of geological, geochemical and geophysical work, much of it carried out by the company's geophysical contractor, P.E. Walcott & Associates Ltd. These are porphyry targets, meaning they relate to large, disseminated copper systems hosted within intrusive rock, the same style of deposit mined at the neighbouring Highland Valley Copper mine.

Drilling is scheduled to start in October 2026, once Metal Energy's current 6,000 metre programme at its NIV project in northern British Columbia is complete. The Highland Valley programme is expected to run for about 35 days at an estimated cost of roughly C$800,000.

CEO C.J. "Charlie" Greig said:

"Highland Valley is now permitted and ready to drill. We hold 240 square kilometres within the same intrusive complex that hosts the Highland Valley Copper mine, Canada's largest copper operation. Two years of geophysical, geochemical and permitting work have delivered a well defined set of six priority targets, and we intend to begin testing them in October. The scale of the land package, the quality of the target inventory and the experience of our technical team give us considerable confidence as we undertake the first recent drill test of this ground."

Two Mineralised Zones Defined by 55,000 Metres of Historical Drilling Providing Strong Geological Foundation for First Drill Test in Six Years

Highland Valley carries an extensive historical data set. Previous operators, including Asarco, Cominco and Hudbay, drilled more than 55,000 metres across 402 holes on the property. That work identified two mineralised zones. Zone 1 extends over roughly 1,200 metres of strike length and contains copper, silver and molybdenum, and remains open at depth, meaning drilling has not yet reached its lower limit. Zone 2 is smaller but higher grade, carrying copper, gold, silver, molybdenum and rhenium, a metal used in high-temperature alloys, with notable gold enrichment.

The property has not been drill tested in six years. Metal Energy's own work includes a 1,000 sample soil survey paired with ground AMT, a geophysical technique that measures underground electrical properties to help locate buried mineralisation, along with an airborne magnetic survey. Together, these outlined several targets beyond the two known zones, including the untested Billy Lake target, where a large resistive zone lines up with a copper soil anomaly, as well as the Chataway, LeRoy Lake, Mystery and Sho targets.

The Highland Valley Copper mine was recently sanctioned for a life extension through to 2046. To the north of Metal Energy's ground, Getty Copper has reported a drill intercept of 342 metres grading 0.50% copper, including a higher-grade section of 108 metres at 0.70% copper, on a property unrelated to Metal Energy. Results on neighbouring properties are not indicative of what Highland Valley may host.

Milestone Payments Completed to Fox Tungsten Confirming 100% Ownership of Highland Valley

Metal Energy issued 2,358,797 common shares to Fox Tungsten Inc., formerly Happy Creek Minerals Inc., to satisfy the first two milestone payments under the agreement through which Metal Energy acquired Highland Valley, dated November 7, 2024. The shares were valued at C$2,000,000 in total, priced at C$0.85 each, based on the 30 day volume weighted average price of Metal Energy's shares, a method of pricing share consideration over a trading period rather than on a single day.

No finder's fees were paid on the transaction. The shares are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from issuance, standard under Canadian securities law. The TSX Venture Exchange has accepted the issuance, and the company's board approved the arrangement when the Highland Valley acquisition first closed, so no further approvals are required.

With these payments completed, Metal Energy holds Highland Valley without conditions tied to the original acquisition agreement.

Milestones and Next Steps

Metal Energy has two drill-ready copper projects in British Columbia. Its 6,000 metre programme at NIV is under way, and the 2,000 metre initial programme at Highland Valley is scheduled to begin in October, testing six porphyry copper targets. Milestone share payments to Fox Tungsten have been completed, confirming Metal Energy's full ownership of the Highland Valley project ahead of drilling.

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