Mr. Brian Bosse reports

CUPANI ANNOUNCES CU-NI-PGE SULPHIDE DISCOVERY 1.3 KM SOUTHEAST OF HISTORICAL MINERALIZED ZONES

Cupani Metals Corp. has released the preliminary results for two of the six holes drilled as part of its 2026 phase 1 winter drill campaign. This 1,345-metres (m) phase 1 program was mainly focused on drilling wide-spaced holes to the southeast extension of the historical Blue Lake Ni-Cu-PGE (nickel, copper and platinum group element) deposits. The last two holes of the program hit Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization near the base of the ultramafic complex approximately 1.3 kilometres (km) southeast from the historical mineralized zones. These initial results provide confirmation that the mineralization continues to the southeast along the high-potential corridor, which remains open and untested for at least 16 kilometres.

Highlights:

• CUP26-06: 2.35 m at 1.74 per cent copper equivalent (CuEq) (0.98 per cent copper (Cu), 0.59 per cent nickel (Ni), 0.14 gram per tonne (g/t) platinum (Pt) and 0.62 g/t palladium (Pd));
• CUP26-05: 0.5 m at 1.32 per cent CuEq (0.45 per cent Cu, 0.56 per cent Ni, 0.14 g/t Pt and 0.76 g/t Pd).

CuEq equals (Cu per cent plus Ni per cent times 1.4845 plus Pt g/t times 0.4948 plus Pd g/t times 0.3802) times 0.8.

Prices on May 1: Cu at $8.05; Ni at $11.95; Pt at $2,731.36; Pd at $1,098.85.

Jacquelin Gauthier, Cupani's vice-president of exploration, offers the following comment: "This first Cupani drill program confirms that Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization extends southeastward beyond the historical mineralized zones. It provides compelling validation of our new geological interpretation, which identifies a subhorizontal, untested high-potential corridor stretching at least 16 kilometres from the known zones. The systematic drill testing of this corridor will be one of our key strategic priorities over the coming years."

Blue Lake 2026 winter drilling program

In mid March, the company announced the commencement of drilling on its 100-per-cent-owned Blue Lake project (March 18 news release). Four holes drilled on the southeast extension of the known mineralization hit massive to semi-massive sulphides at or near the base of the ultramafic complex, as described in news release of April 29, 2026. This Cupani phase 1 drilling program will be followed by a phase 2 during summer of 2026.

The main objective of the phase 1 drill program was to evaluate the possible existence of new mineralized zones to the southeast of the Blue Lake 2 zone along the high-potential corridor (see the Feb. 27, 2026, news release for description of high-potential corridor). The holes were planned to target a combination of surface geological features, magnetic, electromagnetic and/or gravity anomalies.

The Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization is primarily hosted in massive sulphides near or at the base of the ultramafic complex. Fieldwork last summer confirmed that this is either a flow with columnar jointing or a high-level subvolcanic sill emplaced mostly in massive-sulphide-bearing argillites. Above, and sometimes below the massive sulphides, the ultramafic rocks show decametric sections of disseminated, net textured and/or blebby sulphides containing pyrrhotite and local chalcopyrite.

CUP26-05: This hole was collared 1.4 km southeast of the Blue Lake No. 2 mineralized lenses. It was designed to test the possibility of new mineralization to the southeast of Blue Lake No. 2 along a high-magnetic ridge where historic holes were drilled, including hole No. 376, with 3.96 m of 1.09 per cent Cu and 0.46 per cent Ni, 620 m from CUP26-05. Hole CUP26-05 was collared into gabbro then a sulphide-rich sediment from 12.75 until 43.7 m. It enters the mineralized ultramafic unit from 43.7 m containing some massive sulphide veins then a pyroxenite and olivine pyroxenite with disseminated and blebby sulphides with sulphide veins and veinlets. The intrusion ends in pyroxenite at 160.4 m and enters a quartzite until the end of the hole at 178.5 m. Only results from 134 m to 154 m are reported in this news release; the others are pending.

CUP26-06: This hole was collared 1.3 km from the southeast edge of Blue Lake No. 2 lens and was designed to test the possibility of new Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization southeast of Blue Lake 2 along a different southeast-trending magnetic high, where only one historic hole was drilled (hole that seems to be too short as it did not reach the bottom of the ultramafic unit). CUP26-06 collared into a volcaniclastic sequence with sedimentary intervals, including some sulphide rich exhalites. It entered the mineralized ultramafic at 136.5 m and encountered sulphide mineralization as disseminations and blebby sulphides from 193.5 to 242.75 m. The massive sulphides show sharp contacts with a pyroxenite and contain mostly pyrrhotite with about 5 per cent chalcopyrite. The pyroxenite, between 244.5 and 258.8 m, contains disseminated and blebby sulphides ending at 258.8 m with a massive sulphide vein (0.3 m) then enters pyroclastics from 259.15 until 274.0 m and a quartzite until the end of the hole at 278 m. Only results from 234.5 m to 256.5 m are reported in this news release; the others are pending.

Discussion of equivalence methodology and Blue Lake No. 2

Cupani cites metal equivalence statistics according to National Instrument 43-101 by using an 80-per-cent recovery estimate considered conservative in the absence of recent metallurgy testing. Management considers metallurgy testing a priority for 2026 and 2027 to refine recovery estimates. This will likely precede an updated resource calculation and associated NI 43-101.

Analytical procedures and QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control)

All samples were sent to ALS Global in Val d'Or for preparation, crushing and final analysis at its Vancouver lab.

Out of the 803 samples sent to the lab for analysis, 763 results are still pending. This news release covers only those samples sent as a rush order to the lab.

The core samples and 80 QA/QC samples (9.96 per cent) were analyzed with the following procedures: PGM-ICP23 for platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and gold (Au), consisting of fire assay with ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy) finish and the multielement package ME-ICP61a, which includes 33 elements. This method consists of a four-acid digestion with ICP-AES finish. Overlimit values of copper (more than 10,000 parts per million (ppm)) and sulphur (more than 10 per cent) are automatically reanalyzed by the OG62 method with four-acid digestion.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical information in this news release was verified by Jacquelin Gauthier, PGeo, Cupani's vice-president of exploration, who is acting as the company's qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Cupani Metals Corp.

Cupani Metals provides shareholders with long-term capital growth exposure by investing in mineral exploration properties. The company is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CUPA and on OTCQB under the symbol CUPIF.

Cupani's 100-per-cent-owned Blue Lake copper-nickel-PGE project in Quebec covers 682 square km of exploration claims (260 square miles). During the 1980s, certain sections of Blue Lake project were explored by La Fosse Platinum. La Fosse drilled hundreds of exploration holes, excavated a 350 m (1,000-foot) adit, and conducted geochemical, geophysical and geologic surveys, and metallurgy testing. The surface projection of discovered mineralization, as well as historical drill locations, comprise an area less than 10 square km.

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