VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Copper Quest Exploration Inc. (CSE: CQX; OTCQB: IMIMF; FRA: 3MX) (“Copper Quest” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has commenced a 32.4 km² induced polarization (“IP”) geophysical survey on its 100% owned Stars Property (“Stars” or the “Property”). Stars is a porphyry copper-molybdenum (“Cu-Mo”) project covering 9,693 hectares (“ha”) in the Stikine region of British Columbia, situated approximately 60 km north of Imperial Metals Corporation’s (“Imperial Metals”) past producing Huckleberry Cu-Mo mine, 50 km north-northeast of Surge Copper Corp’s advanced stage Berg copper project, and 30 km north-northwest of Vizsla Copper Corp’s Poplar copper-gold project. Imperial Metals is exploring Huckleberry and its surrounding claims for additional Cu-Mo resources.

This very large IP survey represents the first time this geophysical technique has been applied across the full extent of the Stars Property, including over the Tana Zone discovery area and its along-strike extensions. Induced polarization is a proven method for detecting sulphide mineralization, the type of copper-bearing material found at Stars, at depth and at distance from known drill holes. By imaging the full 32.4 km² footprint of the magnetic anomaly, the Company aims to determine the true scale of the mineralized system in terms of strike length, width, and depth, and to identify potential new drill targets beyond the current Tana Zone.

Highlights of the Stars Property:

• Road accessible, 9,693 ha property in a top tier exploration and mining district, the Bulkley Porphyry Belt.
• A 230 X 180 metre (“m”) domain (the “Tana Zone”) of chalcopyrite-molybdenite-bornite quartz stockwork that has been intersected from surface to greater than 350 m depth. The zone is open in two directions as well as to depth. Drill Intersection highlights include:
  • 0.466% Cu over 195.07 m* in drill hole DD18SS004 from 23.47 m
  • 0.200% Cu over 396.67 m* in drill hole DD18SS010 from 29.37 m
  • 0.205% Cu over 207.27 m* in drill hole DD18SS015 from 163.98 m
• A highly prospective, approximately 5 X 2.5 kilometre (“km”), annular magnetic anomaly that is interpreted as an altered monzonite intrusion and surrounding hornfels (Figure 1).
• Numerous underexplored soil and induced polarization geophysical targets within the larger magnetic anomaly (Figure 1).
  

Brian Thurston, President & CEO of Copper Quest, commented: "Copper Quest controls 9,693 ha covering the Stars Property and prospective surrounding area with two complementary exploration upsides being an established zone of higher-grade mineralization that the Company can grow and define, and a much broader under-explored area with high potential for new discovery. This is a very large geophysical program that combined with the historic 9,016 m of drilling will help guide exploration to provide the best information to make new discoveries in this very large anomaly that has a footprint five times that of the Huckleberry Mine. Combined with the contiguous 5,389 ha Stellar Property, Copper Quest has assembled a dominant land position and created a unique opportunity that unlocks a district scale copper porphyry project in the Bulkley Porphyry Belt.Given the global movement towards AI, electrification, environmental concerns, infrastructure development, and the forecasted demand for copper, the combined properties make a very compelling exploration package."

The Stars Property

The 9,693 ha, road-accessible Stars Property is located in central British Columbia, 40 km southwest of Houston. It hosts porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization associated with a Bulkley Suite monzonite stock. The Bulkley Suite is linked to mineralization at Imperial Metals' past-producing Huckleberry mine, 60 km to the south, and other porphyry deposits in the region. Three drilling campaigns on the Stars Property, totaling 9,016 m, have identified a broad area of anomalous copper, and molybdenum within the monzonite stock. The most important drilling to date is at the Tana Zone (Figure 1), where the contact between the stock and surrounding volcanic rock contains chalcopyrite, molybdenite and bornite bearing quartz stockwork veining. Tana Zone drilling has defined an approximately 230 x 180 m domain with significant copper and molybdenum grades (Table 1).

Table 1: Highlights of Tana Zone Intersections*

Outside the Tana Zone, most drilling on the property encountered altered and anomalous mineralized monzonite within an approximately 1.8 x 1.0 km area marked by a broad magnetic low (Fig. 1). While there is potential for an undiscovered porphyry deposit within the monzonite intrusion, Copper Quest's future exploration will concentrate on specific IP targets along the contact zones. Several historical drill holes are believed to have approached this contact, with assays at their bottoms showing increased copper and molybdenite values (Table 2). Their drill logs also indicate an increase in quartz-chalcopyrite-molybdenite ± bornite veins with pink K-feldspar altered selvages, similar to those found in the Tana Zone.

Table 2: Drill intersections indicating grassroots exploration opportunities*

* True width of historical drill intersections referenced in this press release are unknown. Historical drill data in this release is derived from previous exploration activities conducted by other parties. While this data may provide insights into the mineralization potential on the property, it should not be relied upon as conclusive evidence of mineral potential or project viability.

Figure 1: Map of Exploration Targets on the Stars Property. Datum NAD83 UTM Zone 9. Historical drilling and exploration vectors on total-magnetic-intensity geophysical map.

Qualified Person

Brian Thurston, P.Geo., the Company’s President, CEO and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

About Copper

Copper is an essential industrial metal at the heart of the global energy transition and modern infrastructure. It plays a critical role in electrification, renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, data centers, and smart technologies. With global demand rising and new supply challenged by declining grades, complex permitting, and underinvestment, the copper market faces persistent deficits and growing geopolitical scrutiny. Recent U.S. policy announcements, including import tariffs and initiatives to secure domestic and allied supply chains, underscore copper’s strategic importance and the need for resilient, localized resource exploration, development, production and processing capacity.

About Copper Quest Exploration Inc.

The Company's land holdings comprise 8 projects that span over 46,000 hectares in great mining jurisdictions of Canada and the USA. Copper Quest is committed to building shareholder value through acquisitions, discovery-driven exploration, and responsible development of its North American portfolio of assets. The Company’s common shares are principally listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the symbol “CQX”. For more information on Copper Quest, please visit the Company’s website at www.copper.quest.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the past-producing Alpine Gold Mine located approximately 20 kilometers northeast of the City of Nelson British Columbia, spanning 4,611.49 hectares with a 2018 National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects historical inferred resource of 268,000 tonnes, estimated using a cut-off grade of 5.0 g/t Au and an average grade of 16.52 g/t Au, that represents an inferred resource of 142,000 oz of gold*(*McCuaig & Giroux, March 6, 2018, NI43-101 Technical Report for the Alpine Property, BC, Canada. Further drilling is necessary by the Company to upgrade/verify the estimate. The QP has not done sufficient work to make the resource current and the Company is not treating the estimate as current.). Apart from the Alpine Mine itself the property hosts 4 other less explored significant vein systems including the past-producing King Solomon vein workings, the Black Prince and the Cold Blow veins system, and the Gold Crown vein system. *The Company has not yet completed sufficient work to verify the 2018 historic inferred resource results.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the road accessible Stars Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Property, spanning 9,693 hectares in central British Columbia’s Bulkley Porphyry Belt with Tana Zone discovery drill intersection highlights of 0.466% Cu over 195.07m in drill hole DD18SS004 from 23.47m, 0.200% Cu over 396.67m in drill hole DD18SS010 from 29.37m, and 0.205% Cu over 207.27m in drill hole DD18SS015 from 163.98m. This highly prospective, approximately 5X2.5-kilometer annular magnetic anomaly is interpreted to represent an altered monzonite intrusion and surrounding hornfels.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the road accessible Kitimat Copper-Gold Property, spanning 2,954 hectares within the Skeena Mining Division of northwestern British Columbia located northwest of the deep-water port community of Kitimat, British Columbia. The property benefits from exceptional infrastructure, being within 10 km of tidewater, 1.5 km of rail, and 6 km of high-voltage hydroelectric transmission lines. Exploration on the Kitimat property dates to the late 1960s, with the most significant historical work conducted by Decade Resources Ltd. (2010), which completed 16 diamond drill holes totaling 4,437.5 meters in the Jeannette Cu-Au Zone, and drill intersection highlights of 0.54% Cu and 1.03 g/t Au over 117.07 m in Hole J-7 from 1.52 m, 0.55% Cu and 1.00 g/t Au over 103.65m in Hole J-1 from 9.15 m, 0.45% Cu and 0.80 g/t Au over 107.01m in Hole J-2 from 6.10 m, and 0.33% Cu and 0.41 g/t Au over 112.20m in Hole J-8 from 11.89 m.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the past-producing, road accessible AuxerGold Mine, spanning 1,087 hectares located in Bonner County, Idaho, USA. This orogenic gold opportunity is positioned along one of the region’s most significant structural corridors located within the prolific Hope Fault system. Historical exploration has demonstrated exceptional gold grades, with the 1936 Platts report documenting up to 21.0 g/t Au in surface samples and underground workings showing consistent mineralization over 4.3-meter widths averaging 9.42 g/t Au at an 18-meter depth.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Nekash Copper-Gold Project, a porphyry exploration opportunity located in Lemhi County, Idaho, USA, along the prolific Idaho-Montana porphyry copper belt that hosts world-class systems such as Butte and CUMO. The project is fully road-accessible via maintained U.S. highways and forest service roads and consists of 70 unpatented federal lode claims covering 585 hectares.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the road accessible Stellar Property, spanning 5,389-hectares in British Columbia’s Bulkley Porphyry Belt contiguous to the Stars Property.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Thane Project located in the Quesnel Terrane of Northern British Columbia spanning over 20,658 hectares with 10 priority targets identified demonstrating significant copper and precious metal mineralization potential.

Copper Quest has an earn-in option of up to 80% and joint-venture agreement on the road accessible Rip Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Project, spanning 4,700-hectares located in the Bulkley Porphyry Belt in central British Columbia.

On behalf of the Board of Copper Quest Exploration Inc.

Brian Thurston, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Tel: 778-949-1829

For further information contact:

Investor Relations
investors@copperquestexploration.com

https://x.com/CSECQX
https://ca.linkedin.com/company/copper-quest

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, including without limitation, future operations and activities of Copper Quest, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”, “possible”, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, risks associated with possible accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of exploration results, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company's exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release, and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9af78b4b-5b68-4dd6-a0c3-3a6ad7af2465

Figure 1

Map of Exploration Targets on the Stars Property. Datum NAD83 UTM Zone 9. Historical drilling and exploration vectors on total-magnetic-intensity geophysical map

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