METAL ENERGY PLANNING 2026 DRILLING ON ITS NIV PROJECT, TOODOGGONE DISTRICT, NORTH-CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA

Metal Energy Corp. has provided an update on its 2026 exploration program at its fully permitted NIV copper-gold-molybdenum project located in the Toodoggone district, British Columbia.

Highlights:

• NIV's initial drill program scheduled to begin in June;
• First phase between 4,000 and 8,000 metres of drilling;
• Multiple deposit-scale target areas outlined;
• Fully funded for 2026 with approximately $10-million cash;
• Centerra Gold and Teck Resources each own 9.9 per cent of Metal Energy.

NIV background

NIV covers 12,500 hectares of highly prospective ground, across two claim blocks, NIV and West NIV, within the prolific Toodoggone district of north-central British Columbia, approximately 32 kilometres south of Centerra Gold's Kemess mine complex. The project is largely underlain by the same Triassic-Jurassic geology that hosts nearby copper-gold porphyry deposits, including those held by Centerra, by Amarc Resources, and by TDG Gold. The NIV property displays strongly anomalous soil geochemistry (greater than 100 ppm (parts per million) copper, greater than 75 ppb (parts per billion) gold, greater than four ppm molybdenum) over broad areas along a five-kilometre-long trend that are coincident with similarly strongly anomalous geophysical responses (IP (induced polarization) chargeability and resistivity, airborne MT (magnetotellurics), which stretch to depths of several hundreds of metres or more. Such coincident anomalies are suggestive of the potential for a large-scale porphyry copper-gold system at depth, with scale to accommodate multiple porphyry centres. Neither the NIV nor West NIV property has been drill tested previously.

Initial drill program set for June

The initial drill program in planning for the NIV property will be designed to test multiple porphyry Cu-Au-Mo targets along the length of the NIV property's five km long trend of coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies. Each target will be tested by multiple drill holes. The initial drilling will likely consist of a total of between 4,000 and 8,000 metres.

Final drill site selection will be informed by continuing compilation and interpretation of all geological, geochemical and geophysical data. Geological ground-truthing and possible additional geophysics (ground AMT surveys; completion of the West NIV airborne geophysical survey) may be conducted to further refine drill sites concurrent with initiation of the drill program.

Metal Energy intends to mobilize drill crews in June, 2026, with contractors engaged and logistical planning well under way.

Fully capitalized and backed by majors

The company enters 2026 fully capitalized, with approximately $10-million in cash and with the backing of two major mining companies, Centerra Gold and Teck Resources (refer to Dec. 17, 2025, news release). Centerra and Teck each hold 9.9 per cent of Metal Energy's issued and outstanding common shares, and represent the technical and commercial validation of NIV's prospectivity -- these investments were made without a single drill hole having been cored at NIV.

About Metal Energy Corp.

Metal Energy is a critical metals exploration company focused on copper and gold assets in Canada.

Metal Energy's portfolio now includes three high-potential projects:

• NIV project (Cu-Au-Mo) -- Toodoggone district, British Columbia;
• Highland Valley project (Cu-Mo-Ag-Au-Re) -- British Columbia;
• Manibridge project (Ni-Cu-Co-PGE) -- Manitoba.

Qualified person statement

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Roy Greig, PhD, PGeo, an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

We seek Safe Harbor.