Mr. Sam Ash reports

BUNKER HILL PROVIDES 2023 RECAP

Bunker Hill Mining Corp. has provided a recap on corporate and project activities during 2023, whilst unlocking future equity upside for all stakeholders.

Sam Ash, chief executive officer, said: "The execution of our Bunker 1.0 (1,800 tpd) restart project remains on time and budget, and is testament to the leadership and skill of the team. Two thousand twenty-four is shaping up to be an exciting year as we advance the project through constructing and into production."

Corporate

On June 26, 2023, Bunker Hill announced the closing of an upsized and improved $67-million financing package with Sprott Private Resource Streaming & Royalty Corp., including the $46-million multimetals stream and $21-million debt facility. This financing is expected to fully finance the project for restart.

Building on the successful refinancing efforts, Bunker Hill announced the receipt of final listing approval from the listing committee of the TSX Venture Exchange. The common stock of the company began trading on the TSX-V on Sept. 8, 2023, under the symbol BNKR. The company's common shares were delisted from the Canadian Stock Exchange at the close of business on Sept. 7, 2023.

On Dec. 14, 2023, Bunker Hill was awarded the ESG Developer/Explorer of the Year Award at Mines and Money's Resourcing Tomorrow Investment Conference in London on Nov. 30, 2023. The award not only recognizes the careful, thoughtful and imaginative work done by the whole Bunker Hill team but also the responsibility that is bestowed on all involved in the business of regenerating old mine sites to help derisk the American critical metals supply chain.

A fit for purpose base for mining operations

During the course of 2023, the Wardner operating yard, the base for Bunker Hill's future mining operations, underwent a significant transformation. This included the removal of the old, prefabricated concrete (10 feet by 10 feet) portal and its replacement with upsized steel arch sets (16 feet by 16 feet) supported with bespoke lagging. This enlarged Russell portal supports the planned 1,800-tonne-per-day operation with significant additional upside capacity and allows easy access/egress for the mine and its fleet of 20-plus-ton trucks and four-to-six-yard loaders. Whilst this work was under way, executed by GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance based out of Maryland, the Bunker Hill team also completed procurement of a new 300-horsepower Beckwith & Kuffel compressor and a seven-foot 400-horsepower mainline fan (and starter), both of which will be installed before the end of the year.

Additional activity in support of mining operations during this period included: the refurbishment of multiple electrical transformers by Industrial Support Service LLC; rehabilitation of the surface warehouse and workshop at Wardner; the rehabilitation and insertion of ladders into a 100-foot section of the Cherry raise that ensures the mine will have not one but two secondary escape-ways (or a tertiary escape-way option) when in operation; and a substantial increase in yard laydown area due to the tactical dumping of waste from the portal work.

Connection to mainline power

In parallel with the portal upgrade, Bunker Hill partnered with Avista Utilities and Wilson Construction Co. and connected the Wardner footprint with mainline power. This involves equipping the site with 1.85 megawatts of electricity, generated through the hydroelectric-dominated supply of the Pacific Northwest, at rates of below 6c per kilowatt-hour as the operation gets under way and below 5c per kwh as cumulative electrical usage ramps up and the operation falls into the highest-usage category. This is a significant milestone for Bunker Hill's operating cost base and for the first time gets the site away from exclusive reliance on diesel generators at Wardner.

Processing and tailings facilities

Engineering of the main process plant is advancing on track with deep pier establishment scheduled to commence in the next month as part of geotechnical stabilization and preparation of the land for the construction of the process plant itself. All main civil, structural and mechanical outputs were on track to be at IFC before year-end. Long-lead procurement has resulted in purchase orders having already been issued for the pre-engineered metal building (PEMB), ore silo, conveyors, ball mill starter motor, thickeners tanks and inching drive. Refurbishment of the Pend Oreille mill equipment, the source of the majority of mill components, was well under way at year-end.

The Bunker Hill team hosted an on-site visit by Ausenco, responsible for the design and engineering of the filtration plant and paste plant, during October. This visit identified the potential for some pre-existing structures in Wardner to be repurposed to help house the paste plant. Tierra Group International, which is leading on the dry stack design and engineering, the second part of Bunker Hill's dual tailings solution, issued preliminary designs for a life-of-mine facility on the Bunker Hill footprint. Further geotechnical work in support of these designs were completed during the last quarter of the year.

Recruiting

The team continued a careful upward recruiting trajectory and onboarded a maintenance planner, chief geologist and site controller. Additional mine engineering personnel are coming on board in early 2024. Further to a previous management update (Aug. 14, 2023), the new chief financial officer, Gerbrand van Heerden, started at the beginning of November.

Qualified person

Scott E. Wilson, CPG, president of RDA and a consultant to the company, is an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is acting as the qualified person for the company. He has reviewed and approved the technical information summarized in this news release.

The qualified person has verified the information disclosed herein, including the sampling, preparation, security and analytical procedures underlying such information, and is not aware of any significant risks and uncertainties that could be expected to affect the reliability or confidence in the information discussed herein.

About Bunker Hill Mining Corp.

Under new Idaho-based leadership, Bunker Hill Mining intends to sustainably restart and develop the Bunker Hill mine as the first step in consolidating a portfolio of North American mining assets with a focus on silver.

We seek Safe Harbor.