Mr. Tony Giardini reports

TRILOGY METALS ANNOUNCES COMMENCEMENT OF 2026 SUMMER FIELD PROGRAM AT THE UPPER KOBUK MINERAL PROJECTS IN ALASKA

Trilogy Metals Inc. has successfully mobilized field crews to site and seasonal field operations are officially under way for the 2026 summer exploration program at the Upper Kobuk mineral projects (UKMP) in northwestern Alaska's Ambler mining district.

Highlights:

• Fully financed program centred on advancing the high-grade Arctic copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver project toward construction decision;
• Target assessments for drilling along 100-kilometre VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) belt to underpin district-wide exploration planning for 2027;
• Bornite camp upgrades to set the stage for accelerated exploration and development in 2027;
• Ron Rimelman appointed president of Ambler Metals LLC to lead the joint venture through permitting and development.

The UKMP asset portfolio, which encompasses approximately 190,929 hectares and hosts both the high-grade Arctic polymetallic deposit and the Bornite copper-cobalt deposit, is being advanced by Ambler Metals. Ambler Metals is a 50/50 joint venture operating company equally owned by Trilogy and South32 Ltd. Arctic is one of the highest-grade, undeveloped open-pittable copper deposits in the world, with an estimated average grade of approximately 5 per cent copper equivalent, bolstered by material precious metals byproduct credits.

The previously announced 2026 Ambler Metals field program is designed to execute critical technical, environmental and exploration milestones required to prepare the Arctic project for future development decisions.

Tony Giardini, president and chief executive officer of Trilogy, commented: "We are thrilled to have crews back in the field and drill rigs turning on the ground at the Upper Kobuk mineral projects. Following two seasons of reduced activity, this robust, fully funded field program marks a significant inflection point for our joint venture. Coming on the heels of our permit submissions and the inclusion of the high-grade Arctic copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver project on the FAST-41 permitting dashboard, this program builds on positive momentum as we generate the engineering, environmental and technical data we need to progress toward a construction decision and prepare the broader district for an aggressive exploration push in the years ahead. I want to thank the Ambler Metals team, our partners at South32 and Nana Regional Corp., and the local communities, whose continued collaboration makes this work possible."

Ambler Metals field program now under way

With the 2026 field season now starting, Ambler Metals has moved from planning into the execution of a fully financed program that is expected to encompass approximately 40 drill holes intended to firm up final engineering plans for the development of the Arctic mine. Alongside the drilling, the season's priorities include re-establishing the exploration camp at Bornite -- a stepping stone toward ramping up district-wide exploration and development in 2027 -- and initiating drill-target assessments that will form the basis for future regional exploration along the UKMP mineral belt (which hosts Arctic, Bornite, and numerous other polymetallic mineral deposits and prospects).

The Arctic drill campaign targets a minimum of approximately 5,400 metres, concentrated at the proposed Arctic mine's waste rock storage facilities and tailings footprint areas -- to inform mine design, infrastructure placement and support the permitting process. A number of these holes are planned to be deepened to probe exploration targets at greater depth along the prospective Arctic mineral horizon. Situated within three to four kilometres (two to 2.5 miles) of the Arctic deposit, those targets encompass airborne electromagnetic (VTEM (versatile time-domain EM) and ZTEM(Z-tipper EM)) anomalies that may be associated with VMS mineralization.

The 2026 drill program is being carried out using two diamond drill rigs. This year's favourable snow conditions support the planned start of drilling at the Arctic project on June 15, and drilling is expected to continue into September, with the campaign efficiently sequenced to combine geotechnical and hydrogeological holes supporting mine design and permitting, with deeper exploration stepouts along the Arctic mineral horizon.

Work at the Bornite camp will be directed primarily at readying the site for an intensified pace of exploration and development of the UKMP in the coming years. Bornite, a carbonate-hosted copper-cobalt deposit located approximately 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Arctic, is projected to yield 1.9 billion pounds of copper over a 17-year mine life and has the potential to extend copper mining in the district to more than 30 years.

Rounding out the season, the field program will carry out regional exploration aimed at advancing known mineral occurrences and targets across the UKMP, with the goal of readying targets for drilling in 2027. The belt hosts approximately 30 known, historic VMS occurrences and electromagnetic anomalies that are expected to anchor future regional exploration campaigns spanning the 100-kilometre-long (60-mile-long) VMS belt.

Mr. Rimelman appointed president of Ambler Metals

Trilogy Metals is also pleased to announce that Ambler Metals has appointed Mr. Rimelman as president of Ambler Metals to lead the joint venture management team during the permitting of the Arctic project. Mr. Rimelman, previously Ambler Metals' senior director, permitting, has been instrumental in the Arctic mine permit submission process and will now lead the Ambler Metals team through receipt of final mine permits and a future construction decision while progressing exploration and development across the broader UKMP.

Mr. Rimelman brings more than 40 years of experience in environmental review and permitting of natural resource projects across North America. He most recently served as vice-president of environment, health, safety and sustainability at Novagold Resources, where he led the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and federal and state permitting for the Donlin gold project and was involved in environmental planning for the Ambler mining district between 2011 and 2013, prior to its divestment from Novagold. Earlier, in a consulting capacity, he co-led the third party environmental impact statement (EIS) for the expansion of Alaska's Red Dog mine, directed two NEPA reviews and Clean Water Act permitting for the Kensington mine, and contributed to the EIS for the tailings expansion at the Greens Creek mine. His permitting experience spans projects in Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Michigan, British Columbia and Australia. A past president of the American Exploration and Mining Association and chair of its environmental committee for nine years, Mr. Rimelman has been a prominent national advocate for advancing U.S. critical mineral mining. He holds a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Qualified persons

Richard Gosse, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, for Trilogy Metals, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standard of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K. Mr. Gosse has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the disclosure contained herein.

About Trilogy Metals Inc.

Trilogy Metals is a metal exploration and development company holding a 50-per-cent interest in Ambler Metals, which has a 100-per-cent interest in the Upper Kobuk mineral projects (UKMP) in northwestern Alaska. On Dec. 19, 2019, South32 Ltd., a globally diversified mining and metals company, exercised its option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy Metals. The UKMP is located within the Ambler mining district, which is one of the richest and most prospective known copper-dominant districts in the world. It hosts polymetallic VMS deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver and carbonate replacement deposits, which have been found to host high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district -- the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within a land package that spans approximately 190,929 hectares. Ambler Metals has an agreement with Nana Regional Corp. Inc., an Alaska native corporation, that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler mining district in co-operation with local communities. Trilogy Metals' vision is to develop the Ambler mining district into a premier North American copper producer while protecting and respecting subsistence livelihoods.

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