Mr. Brian Howlett reports

COPPER ROAD BEN NEVIS VOLCANIC COMPLEX PROJECT 2026 EXPLORATION PROGRAM UPDATE

Copper Road Resources Inc. has provided an update its continuing and planned 2026 exploration work program over its Ben Nevis Volcanic Complex (BNVC) project, located in the Kirkland Lake-Larder Lake area of Northeastern Ontario.

Brian Howlett, chief executive officer of Copper Road, commented: "We are very pleased to begin our work program on the BNVC project. Given its proximity to the Noranda mining camp with over a century of mining history, this project has some encouraging exploration opportunities. Copper Road is well funded to initiate its 2026 exploration program, including $1,084,900 raised via a financing closed on Dec. 31, 2025, and current holdings of 1.78 million shares of Sterling Metals Corp. with a market valuation of $3-million as of February, 2026."

The consolidated claim package consists of 174 mining claim cells covering 10,693 hectares, including 13 contiguous mining rights only patents for an additional 210 hectares to the operational project area. The reader is referred to Copper Road's Dec. 8, 2025, press release announcing the signing of four separate option agreements. The project area includes parts of Ben Nevis, Clifford, Elliott, Arnold and Katrine townships.

2026 exploration program outline:

• Phase I: data interpretations and property compilation:
  • 3-D inversion of the Mobile MT (magnetotelluric) data, interpretation and recommendations;
  • Property-scale geological-geophysical compilations into a GIS (geographic information service) database;
  • 1982 OGS (Ontario Geological Survey) reconnaissance till sampling program interpretation;
  • Initiate aboriginal consultation -- exploration agreement;
  • Exploration plans and permit filings.
• Phase II: initiate fieldwork activities based on areas of interest (AOIs) outlined from the Mobile MT interpretation and recommendations and geological-geophysical compilations, combined with lidar data:
  • Property-scale lidar survey;
  • Geological mapping, prospecting and sampling;
  • Stripping, geological mapping and sampling;
  • Focused ground geophysical surveying.
• Phase III: maiden diamond drill program on property:
  • Expecting an initial drill program of up to 6,000 metres.

Exploration update

Copper Road has received the final data from Expert Geophysics on the recently flown 1,215-line-kilometre (109-square-kilometre area) state-of-the-art Mobile MT over the consolidated project holdings. This survey represents the first all-encompassing electromagnetic (EM) and magnetic data airborne data collection mandate over consolidated BNVC project since 1990.

A geophysical consulting group has been retained to process and complete 3-D inversion modelling of the Mobile MT data collected by Expert Geophysics. The objective is to generate a 3-D conductivity model that can be used to interpret prospective structures, formations, alteration and mineralization, following an adequate quality control data verification stage. The deliverables will be a 3-D voxel conductivity model and a report covering the work, including applied quality control.

In addition, the company has retained a consulting geophysicist to complete an interpretation of the Mobile MT data and 3-D inversion models. The objective of this mandate is to identify targets for detailed ground geological and geophysical follow-up to outline additional diamond drill targets for testing in the maiden drill program on the BNVC project.

Property background: metallogenic ore deposit model and the exploration discovery potential rationale -- why the Ben Nevis Volcanic Complex (BNVC)

The BNVC is located within the upper Blake River Group (BRG). It is the youngest volcanic sequence within the metal-endowed Abitibi greenstone belt. Of all the Archean sequences in the Abitibi greenstone belt, the BRG contains the most abundant concentration of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits.

Approximately half of the total VMS tonnage of the Abitibi greenstone belt is hosted in the BRG, and about 90 per cent of the total copper-zinc-silver-gold in the belt is found in the BRG. The Noranda VMS mining district is located approximately 40 kilometres to the east of the BNVC in Quebec and hosts 23 distinct VMS deposits. The Doyon-Bousquet-Laronde camp, farther to the east, hosts 11 VMS deposits within the Upper BRG rocks.

The Ben Nevis Volcanic Complex has the potential to host two separate styles of economic mineralization:

1. Gold-rich copper-zinc-silver-gold VMS mineralization -- eastern sector of property: presence of VMS-style alteration and mineralization indicating that a synvolcanic hydrothermal system existed (that is, Canagau shaft); these characteristics are comparable with those in the in the Noranda and Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde mining camps, located to the east within the same BRG assemblage of rocks;
2. Archean Porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum mineralized system -- western sector of property: historical documented mineral occurrences (that is, Croxall breccia) are related to the Clifford stock in Clifford township; the described geological setting and mineralogical attributes suggest a similar analogy to that of the Cote Lake gold deposits currently in production.

Underpinning the geology of the project area is a domal anticlinal package of mafic and felsic volcanic rocks wrapped around the Clifford stock. Northeastern and northwestern synvolcanic structures are excellent targets for Noranda-type VMS deposits. The layered mafic-rhyolitic volcanic package reflects a flow dome complex that hosts the Doyon-Bousquet LaRonde gold-rich VMS deposits.

Highlights of previous exploration work:

• Patents include the Canagau mine shaft sunk to minus 100 metres with three levels aggregating 284 metres of crosscuts; sampling from the 68-metre level in 1927 returned 0.52 per cent copper, 11.48 per cent zinc, 7.84 per cent lead, 112 grams per tonne gold and 151 grams per tonne silver.
• At the Croxall breccia, Hollinger Mines (1964) drilling returned 85.8 g/t Au over 1.52 m.
• Mineta Resources (1988) returned values of 114 g/t Au over 1.22 m and 0.373 g/t Au over 41.6 m at Croxall.
• Wallbridge Mining 2003 drilling at Canagau intersected 2.07 g/t Au and 2.19 per cent Zn over 10.3 m.
• Wallbridge Mining 2004 drilling at the Clifford copper-molybdenum-gold surface anomaly intersected 55.3 m averaging 0.12 per cent Cu, 0.05 g/t Au and 0.26 g/t Ag. For some reason, molybdenum was not assayed for.

In addition, this is the first time that the entire BNVC project has been consolidated into a single claim package. As result, this will allow Copper Road to complete a systematic exploration program over the entire belt of prospective rocks, with the objective of identifying and defining targets in previously documented mineral occurrences and within newly discovered mineralized zones over the large land package.

Copper Road's senior geological consultant, Michael Rosatelli, commented: "The Ben Nevis Volcanic Complex offers tremendous potential for the discovery of economic mineralization within a consolidated claim package that has seen limited systematic historical exploration work. Previous exploration work has highlighted the potential for Cu-Zn-Ag-Au mineralization related to a VMS system with direct analogies to those of the world-class Noranda-Laronde mining camps located in the well-endowed, metal-rich Blake River group. Furthermore, prior investigations have outlined a prospective Archean porphyry Cu-Au-Mo mineralized centre has been identified along the western sector of the property. A fully integrated, property-scale exploration has been designed to evaluate these mineralized trends, refine structural and lithostratigraphic controls, and to incorporate advanced geophysical data sets to delineate high-priority drill targets for the maiden 2026 diamond drilling campaign."

Qualified person

Michael P. Rosatelli, MSc, PGeo, the senior geological consultant for the company, is a qualified person, in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this news release.

We seek Safe Harbor.