Mr. David Watkinson reports

AMERIWEST TO ADVANCE ITS BORNITE COPPER PROJECT BY RE-LOGGING AND RE-ASSAYING HISTORICAL DRILL

Ameriwest Critical Metals Inc. has made a key exploration advancement at its 100-per-cent-owned Bornite copper-gold-silver property in Oregon. The company has transported approximately 30 pallets of preserved historical drill core from the Bornite project to a secure storage facility in Reno, Nev., operated by APEX Geoscience Ltd., where a systematic core relogging program has commenced.

Key highlights:

• Approximately 41,702 feet of historical drill core from Bornite have been secured and approximately 30 pallets have been relocated to Apex's Reno facility for systematic relogging.
• Ameriwest plans to selectively reassay geologically significant intervals using a full-spectrum, multielement assay approach, expanding beyond the historical copper, gold and silver assays to better characterize the mineralized system.
• Relogging will refine the existing 3-D geological model and identify geologically significant intervals for modern multielement assaying and QC/QA-(quality control/quality assurance)-compliant sample selection.
• APEX has prioritized key historical drill holes, including CC03, CC09, CC15, CC16, CC17, CC26 and CC29, for initial relogging to strengthen geological interpretation and support future resource definition work.
• The preserved core and historical data sets accelerate Ameriwest's path to a National Instrument 43-101-compliant modern resource estimate while reducing early stage drilling costs and timelines.

Historical records indicate that approximately 41,702 feet of drilling was completed at Bornite. The core was preserved by prior owners of the property and was acquired by Ameriwest as part of its November, 2025, acquisition of Bornite. The company has now moved the core from a secure storage facility at the Liberty mine near Tonopah to APEX's Reno facility. Ameriwest plans to prepare selected geologically significant intersections of the core for multielement assaying as part of its continuing program to modernize the historical Bornite geological database, strengthen the geological model and support future drill planning.

"The fact that historical geological data, metallurgical data, drill core and other information has been preserved at Bornite gives us a tremendous head start in advancing exploration at the property and completing a modern resource estimate," stated David Watkinson, the chief executive officer of Ameriwest. "Rather than redrilling and repeating decades of exploration work, we can now methodically relog and selectively reassay the existing core using current quality assurance and quality control standards. That gives us a cost-effective, time-efficient path to help validate the historical geological database at Bornite, refine our 3-D geological model, and design a focused confirmatory drill program."

On April 20, 2026, Ameriwest announced that APEX had completed a 3-D geological model of the Bornite deposit using historical data acquired by the company. The relogging and reassaying of the core will directly support and refine this model, with the goal of creating a current resource that meets National Instrument 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. APEX has identified priority historical drill holes for relogging to strengthen geological interpretation and support future mineral resource definition work, including holes CC03, CC09, CC15, CC16, CC17, CC26 and CC29. With the physical core now relocated to Reno, APEX's team can complete detailed geological logging, verify lithology and mineralization, collect structural data, photograph the core, and select geologically significant intervals for modern multielement analysis.

About the Bornite property

The Bornite property is located approximately 50 miles east of Salem, Ore., and hosts a copper-gold-silver mineralized breccia pipe. Mineralization is associated with a roughly cylindrical, vertically oriented, cigar-shaped pipe measuring approximately 450 feet in diameter and extending from surface to approximately 1,000 feet depth, where it remains open. Copper minerals, principally bornite and chalcopyrite, occur within the breccia matrix, with three main mineralized domains identified: a high-grade shell, a lower-grade interior zone and sheeted veins on the outside of the high-grade shell. Ameriwest's focus is on the development of a current mineral resource associated with the Bornite pipe.

Breccia pipes typically occur in clusters, and Ameriwest has identified additional pipes representing exploration opportunities. Potential exists to expand the Bornite pipe at depth, identify and explore additional pipes on the Bornite claim block, and explore for a copper porphyry feeder system at depth. Note that no current mineral resources or reserves have been identified on the property.

For additional information on the Bornite property, including project background and technical information, please visit the company's Bornite project page.

Stock option grants

The company also announces that it has granted an aggregate of 1,525,000 incentive stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants. Each option vests immediately and is exercisable into one common share of Ameriwest at a price of 40 cents per share for a period of five years from the date of grant. The options are subject to the terms of the company's stock option plan and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Qualified person statement

David Watkinson, PEng, a non-independent qualified person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Watkinson is the CEO and a director of Ameriwest.

About Ameriwest Critical Metals Inc.

Ameriwest is an exploration company focused on identifying and advancing strategic critical mineral projects for exploration and resource development. The company is currently advancing its Bornite copper-gold-silver property in Oregon, its Xeno rare-earth property in British Columbia and its Thompson Valley lithium clay property in Arizona. Ameriwest also owns a lithium clay property in Clayton Valley, Nev., and is in the process of optioning its Railroad Valley lithium brine property in Nevada to Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

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