Mr. Kevin Reid reports

ARIZONA EAGLE MINING CORP. ANNOUNCES COMMENCEMENT OF ENGINEERING STUDIES TO REOPEN MCCABE MINE FOR UNDERGROUND DRILLING

Arizona Eagle Mining Corp. has engaged Hancon Mining Division USA Corp., pursuant to a preconstruction engineering agreement dated Sept. 29, 2026, to complete engineering design work for the reopening of the past-producing McCabe mine to support underground drilling. The engineering agreement covers the initial engineering and assessment phase of the program only, and the balance of the work required to reopen the mine will be the subject of a separate agreement, as described below.

As announced on Aug. 25, 2026, the company completed its phase 1 surface drill program at the Eagle project, which extended the mineralized strike beyond the area covered by the historical estimate (as defined below) and intersected zinc-silver mineralization to the northeast of the McCabe mine. Upon completion of the phase 1 drill program, management began an investigation in order to understand the most efficient method to get back underground, in order to reduce the drilling cost, and to improve the targeting of the known gold and silver zones. It has been determined that accessing the underground by the ventilation raise is expected to be the most cost-effective means, with an indicative budget of approximately $3.7-million (U.S.), subject to the results of the initial engineering work described below. The company expects to be financed to complete this work.

Re-establishing the underground access will allow the company to benefit from the substantial infrastructure already in place (which management estimates would cost approximately $40-million (U.S.), and two years of work, to replace). The AZEM team interviewed multiple leading mining contractors to perform the work, and as a result of this review, Hancon Mining was determined to be the preferred partner for the re-establishment of underground access and drilling. Once access is available, the company expects to be able to drill approximately 5 per cent of the metres required to reach the same target from surface. The cost per metre drilled is also budgeted to be significantly lower by drilling from underground. The company believes that the drilling economics of the decision to go back underground are compelling.

This work is being advanced in parallel with the company's continuing surface exploration and target generation. As announced on Aug. 25, 2026, and Sept. 15, 2026, the company has commissioned a detailed SkyTEM airborne geophysical survey, which is expected to assist in delineating mineralization types and refining targets for a phase 2 drill program, and is compiling the results of that survey together with the results of the phase 1 drill program and of the surface sampling programs completed on the Eagle silver zone and the Esmeralda gold zone. The targets generated from that work are expected to inform the underground drill program to be undertaken once access to the workings has been re-established.

The McCabe mine has a historical estimate of approximately 880,000 ounces of gold at 11.7 grams per tonne (g/t) and five million ounces of silver at 69 g/t and was last in production during the 1980s. The McCabe mine was accessed until 1993 from the 14-foot-diameter Sooner Shaft, which is concrete-lined and reaches a depth of 1,620 feet (approximately 500 metres). There are also at least five kilometres of underground drifts. Underground drilling has the potential to significantly reduce costs relative to drilling the same targets from surface, while also shortening the timeline to define a resource and test new targets of mineralization.

Under the engineering agreement, Hancon will complete the initial engineering and assessment work required to define the balance of the program including:

• An on-site survey and the collection and testing of core samples of the concrete in the Sooner Shaft and the ventilation raise in order to confirm their condition;
• Dewatering and pump testing of the shaft to a depth of approximately 300 feet in order to confirm water handling and discharge rates;
• Detailed engineering design and procurement planning for the Alimak raise-climber system that would be used to access, rehabilitate and dewater the balance of the underground workings.

This work is expected to commence on or about Oct. 14, 2026. The total cost of the work under the engineering agreement is a maximum of $391,344 (U.S.), inclusive of the margin described under "engineering agreement and share consideration" below.

Following a comprehensive data review, site visit and desktop studies, Hancon has provided the company with an indicative budget proposal of approximately $3.7-million (U.S.) (payable in cash and shares as described below) for the work to be completed under the engineering agreement, as well as the balance of the program. This will include:

• The full dewatering of the mine;
• The rehabilitation of the ventilation raise;
• Installation and operation of the Alimak system that will allow initial movement of people and equipment into the working areas;
• Establishment of a timber manway and equipment chute compartments within the shaft to allow continued people and equipment access once the Alimak system has been removed;
• The development of underground access to the 830-foot level in order to bring the mine to drill-ready status at that depth.

This is anticipated to occur over approximately eight months and a phase 1 underground drill program is targeted for the third quarter of 2027 on completion of that work.

Kevin Reid, chief executive officer of Arizona Eagle, commented:

"We are extremely pleased to partner with Hancon Mining to reopen the McCabe mine for underground drilling and exploration. Hancon is one of North America's premier underground mining contractors and has built and operated many mines similar to McCabe for some of the world's largest mining companies.

"Getting underground at McCabe will allow us to drastically increase our drilling output while also reducing costs. Getting the drills underground and right up to the known historic mineralization can result in an up to 95-per-cent reduction in metres required, as compared to drilling the same targets from surface. It can also materially improve targeting. This is made possible by taking advantage of the extensive underground infrastructure put in place by previous operators. We estimate the replacement installation cost of the ventilation raise and the Sooner Shaft at the McCabe mine to be at least $40-million (U.S.).

"We are fully funded to reaccess the underground workings and begin a phase 1 underground drill program."

The indicative budget proposal is preliminary and remains subject to the results of the initial engineering work to be completed under the engineering agreement. The scope, budget and timing of the balance of the program will be confirmed on completion of that engineering work. The balance of the program is not covered by the engineering agreement and will be the subject of a separate agreement, which the company expects to enter into following completion of the initial engineering work, subject to the approval of the company's board of directors, and to announce in a subsequent news release. There can be no assurance that the company will enter into that agreement or that the final cost of the balance of the program will not differ materially from the indicative budget proposal.

Engineering agreement and share consideration

Under the engineering agreement, Hancon will be reimbursed in cash for the actual cost of the engineering design work, without markup, to a maximum of $326,120 (U.S.). Hancon's profit on that work will be a further 20 per cent of those verified costs, being up to $65,224 (U.S.) (the margin). The company intends to satisfy the margin in common shares of the company in order to preserve cash for the exploration and development of the Eagle project, and may elect to pay all or any part of the margin in cash.

No common shares will be issued in satisfaction of the margin until the engineering design work has been completed and the related costs verified in accordance with the engineering agreement. Pursuant to the engineering agreement, the margin will be converted into Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada daily exchange rate and divided by the deemed price per common share to determine the number of common shares to be issued. The deemed price will be the greater of the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of the common shares and the discounted market price (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) at that time. The common shares are expected to be issued upon completion of the engineering design work under the engineering agreement, in the first quarter of 2027.

Hancon is at arm's length to the company. Issuance of the common shares is subject to the acceptance of the TSX-V and to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance.

Shaft and vent raise

In August, 2026, the company accessed the Sooner Shaft and, in early September, reopened it for the first time since 1993. The purpose of the work was to collect water samples from the shaft, which is currently flooded, in order to confirm that it is of suitable quality for discharge and pump testing. The work also allowed a preliminary examination of the shaft concrete and steel, which appear to be in very good condition. A camera was lowered down the shaft, encountered the water table at 140 feet and reached the shaft bottom at a depth of 1,620 feet (500 metres) without encountering any obstructions.

In early September, the company also located and reopened the McCabe mine ventilation raise, approximately 1,300 feet (400 metres) south of the Sooner Shaft. The raise was reopened, water was sampled and a camera was lowered to a depth of 430 feet. The concrete appears to be in excellent condition, and no obstructions were encountered when lowering the camera probe.

On Sept. 16, 2026, the company hosted a site visit for Hancon's team of highly experienced engineers, who inspected both the Sooner Shaft and the ventilation raise at the McCabe mine.

Mine dewatering

The company has been in contact with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and has identified a number of locations that would allow for discharge pumping (dewatering of the shaft and mine) without any additional permitting requirements. Water testing has been completed and confirmed that the water quality is suitable for discharge and pump testing.

Eagle project overview

Arizona Eagle holds a 100-per-cent interest in the Eagle project located in Yavapai county, Arizona. The Eagle project is anchored by the past-producing gold and silver McCabe mine, situated on 348 acres of private land. Stan West Mining historically invested more than $35-million (U.S.) (approximately $110-million (Canadian) in today's dollars) to drill and develop the mine. In 1984, Stan West Mining published the historical estimate of approximately 880,000 ounces of gold grading 11.7 g/t and five million ounces of silver grading 69 g/t, defined to a maximum depth of approximately 440 metres and open in all directions.

Over the past two years, Arizona Eagle has expanded its total land position to 4,169 acres through staking and acquisitions surrounding the McCabe mine, including the acquisition of three high-grade past-producing silver mines that consolidate the Eagle silver zone. During this time, the company completed exploration programs focused on geological mapping, surface sampling, helicopter-borne VTEM surveys and ground-based induced polarization surveys that identified multiple parallel mineralized structures not historically drill-tested.

About Arizona Eagle Mining Corp.

Arizona Eagle is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. Arizona Eagle's principal asset is the Eagle project, a 4,169-acre property comprising patented and unpatented claims located near the town of Prescott Valley in Yavapai county, Arizona. The Eagle project is centred on the past-producing McCabe mine, a high-grade gold-silver deposit, and includes multiple parallel structures hosting past-producing mines that remain largely untested by modern drilling. While Arizona Eagle's primary focus will be on the exploration and development of the Eagle project, it will continue to own its legacy land portfolio in the Thompson nickel belt of Northern Manitoba.

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Clyde Smith, PhD, vice-president, exploration, of the company, who is a qualified person as defined under NI 43-101. Mr. Smith has also reviewed and approved the disclosure in this news release regarding the historical estimate; he has not, however, performed the work necessary to verify or upgrade the historical estimate as current mineral resources or current mineral reserves.

We seek Safe Harbor.