Mr. John Florek reports

EMPEROR EXPANDING HIGH-GRADE ZONE POTENTIAL

Emperor Metals Inc. has provided an update on its 2026 exploration campaign at the Duquesne West gold project. The program comprised 20,479 metres of new drilling and approximately 7,884 m of targeted historical unsampled core, generating more than 28,000 m of combined drilling data to further refine and expand the resource model.

Chief executive officer John Florek commented: "The visible gold intersected in DQ26-55 is another encouraging indication that our geological model is successfully targeting high-grade mineralization. What makes this intercept particularly compelling is its location; approximately 30 metres up-dip from one of the highest-grade intercepts drilled to date and just 15 metres east from a historical high-grade hole. Together, these intersections reinforce the continuity of a robust high-grade system within our conceptual open-pit environment.

"Visible gold continues to provide strong evidence that the Duquesne West hydrothermal system was both robust and highly fertile, capable of concentrating significant gold mineralization over a broad area. This latest occurrence further supports our belief that opportunities remain to expand our resource both within the existing deposit footprint and along the largely untested plunge extensions identified by our regional structural and AI-assisted geological models.

"With the next nearest pierce point more than 70 metres up-dip/plunge away, this portion of the deposit remains sparsely drilled, providing substantial room to define additional high-grade mineralization through systematic exploration. As we continue drilling and await the final assay results from DQ26-55, we believe Duquesne West continues to demonstrate the potential to meaningfully grow the deposit while further validating our strategy of reimagining this historic gold system."

Exploration significance

Visible gold was intersected in a 20-metre zone of pyrite mineralization approximately 30 m up-dip, within the conceptual open-pit environment, from hole DQ26-20, which previously returned 15.0 m grading 61.0 g/t Au. The new intercept is also located approximately 15 m east from a historical Santa Fe drill hole that intersected 16.0 m grading 20.9 g/t Au, further reinforcing the continuity of this high-grade gold zone.

The nearest up-dip/plunge pierce point is more than 70 m away, highlighting the sparse historical drilling completed within this portion of the deposit. The limited drill density leaves considerable potential to further define and expand this emerging high-grade trend, which demonstrates both exceptional gold grades and significant mineralized thickness.

On a broader scale, Emperor's regional geological and structural models define a plunge trend that remains largely untested and unsampled at depth, representing a compelling exploration target with significant expansion potential.

The visible gold intersection was encountered at 398 m downhole (approximately 351 m vertical depth). Drill hole DQ26-55 was completed on an azimuth of 006 degrees with a negative-64-degree dip, reaching a total depth of 525 m. Final assay results are pending.

Emperor is advancing the Duquesne West project by targeting high-grade gold mineralization hosted within and adjacent to broader envelopes of low-grade mineralization. The property currently hosts an inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 26.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.69 grams per tonne Au, containing 1.46 million ounces of gold (effective date July 9, 2025). The MRE sensitivity analysis demonstrates potential grade optimization scenarios for both higher-grade open-pit and underground conceptual models.

About the Duquesne West gold project

The Duquesne West gold project is located in the Abitibi greenstone belt, 32 kilometres northwest of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., within the historic Duparquet gold camp. The project hosts a recent inferred mineral resource (see press release dated July 9, 2025) and remains open for expansion.

Recent reinterpretation of the geological model, supported by AI and machine learning, highlights additional upside potential by identifying new gold trends and opportunities to expand mineralization along key structural corridors. Emperor holds the right to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the property, which comprises 38 claims covering approximately 1,389 hectares.

QP disclosure

The technical content pertaining to the Duquesne West project in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Labrecque, vice-president of Emperor (BSc, PGeol, OQLF), who is recognized as a qualified person under Canadian Institute of Mining guidelines and serves as a consultant to Emperor.

About Emperor Metals Inc.

Emperor Metals is a high-grade gold exploration and development junior mining company focused on Quebec's Southern Abitibi greenstone belt, leveraging artificial-intelligence-driven exploration techniques. Emperor is dedicated to unlocking the substantial resource potential of the Duquesne West gold project and the Lac Pelletier project (currently under purchase agreement) both situated in a proven mining district.

We seek Safe Harbor.