Mr. Elmer Stewart reports

COPPER FOX REPORTS PROGRESS ON VAN DYKE'S UPDATED PEA AND ESTABLISHING PERMANENT FACILITY IN MIAMI, ARIZONA

Copper Fox Metals Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary Desert Fox Van Dyke Co., has provided a progress report on completion of the updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on its 100-per-cent-owned Van Dyke in situ copper recovery (ISCR) project. Copper Fox is focused on leveraging existing infrastructure and community support with a more environmentally friendly approach to advance the past-producing Van Dyke copper mine to the prefeasibility study (PFS) stage with the objective of restarting copper production from this historic mine in the Globe-Miami mining district in Gila county, Arizona.

Highlights:

• Several key study components substantially defined;
• The project plan uses a two-phase underground development approach;
• Approximately 4,900 metres of underground development;
• Roadheader for excavation is expected to improve safety and ground stability;
• The leach schedule prioritizes higher-grade panels early;
• Surface infrastructure location established;
• Groundwater flow model completed, additional modelling in progress;
• Progressing acquisition of permanent office, core storage and sampling facility.

Elmer B. Stewart, president and chief executive officer of Copper Fox, stated: "Completion of these front-end activities enables the PEA team to move toward finalizing key operating and cost components for the updated PEA. Trade-off studies focused on improving operational efficiency have been completed for each phase of the project and are being used to optimize the projected pre- and post-tax economic models using updated copper prices."

Overview

The technical studies completed since 2021 resulted in several significant changes to the planned development of the Van Dyke deposit, including mechanical (roadheader) excavation of the underground workings.

Van Dyke deposit

The mineralization occurs in fractures, breccia, quartz veins and along cleavage planes primarily in the Pinal schist and to a lesser extent in porphyritic dike and intrusive breccias related to the Schultz granite. The deposit is covered by a leach cap and a thick layer of Gila conglomerate.

The updated PEA is focused on the oxide and transitional zones, the two zones of economic interest in the Van Dyke deposit. The deposit exhibits four mineralogical domains that occur in order of depth: leach cap (mixed clay, limonite, hematite and jarosite) underlain by the oxide zone (malachite, chrysocolla, azurite, cuprite and tenorite); beneath the oxide zone, there exists a weakly developed transitional zone (mainly chalcocite with sparse malachite, azurite and chrysocolla) that transitions at depth into local zones of poorly defined hypogene chalcopyrite-pyrite-molybdenite mineralization (that is, the sulphide zone).

Underground development

A two-phase approach totalling approximately 4,900 m of underground development in the Gila conglomerate is planned. The use of a roadheader is expected to eliminate the noxious gases typically associated with traditional drill and blast excavation techniques and maintain the geotechnical mechanical integrity of the Gila conglomerate. Additional ground support to maintain geotechnical strength of the underground workings consists of two layers of shotcrete and Swellex rock bolts.

Phase I (years 1 to 6) calls for excavating in the Gila conglomerate a (5.8-metre-by-5.8-metre) 1,712-metre decline to a level that is approximately 50 m above the Gila/leach cap contact followed by excavation of the 5.8-metre-by-5.8-metre phase I drift and 6.2-metre-by-5.8-metre galleries totalling approximately 2,800 m to accommodate installation of an egress/ventilation raise and phase I well field for leaching the deposit located below the underground workings. Phase I covers a higher-grade portion of the deposit and is expected to increase copper production in the early years of mine life and accelerate capital cost recovery.

Phase II (years 7 to 17) development totalling approximately 1,310 m accesses a lower-grade portion of the deposit. The phase II drift and galleries will be completed prior to installation of the well field for leaching purposes.

Infrastructure

The preliminary general layout of the site infrastructure includes early installation of a dropdown power substation from an existing nearby high-voltage line, establishing a mine dry, workshop and office to facilitate establishing the portal and excavation of the decline, drifts and galleries. Other infrastructure requirements that would be subject to permit conditions include tankage for retention and neutralization/treatment of discharge water from excavation activities. It is estimated that, during excavation activities, water requirements would be in the order of plus or minus 10,000 gallons per day.

Installation of the SX-EW (solvent extraction/electrowinning) facilities and phase I water treatment facilities are planned later in the project development schedule. Phase II expansion of the water treatment facility is planned three to four years after the start of leaching operations.

Leach plan

The proposed leach schedule contemplates a two-phase approach, allowing early access to the higher-grade portions of the deposit.

Phase I (years 1 to 6) focuses on production from the higher-grade portions and phase II (years 7 to 17) focuses on the lower-grade portion of the deposit. The leaching plan contemplates commencing leaching operations in Panel P1-1 continuing to P1-6 followed by Panel P2-4 (higher-grade mineralization) progressing to outward to P2-1. P2-5 through P2-7 covering a lower-grade portion of the deposit are scheduled toward the end of mine life. Leaching of each panel is expected to take five years, followed by one year of rinsing, subject to copper content of the rinse solution and permitting requirements.

Groundwater flow model

The phase I numerical groundwater flow model has been constructed and successfully calibrated. Model calibration utilized both steady-state and transient methods to simulate the dynamic groundwater regimes in the project area. The groundwater flow model for the project significantly expands the understanding of the hydrogeologic characteristics and regional hydrogeological controls. The rigorous calibration applied to the model demonstrates the veracity of the model for future simulations in sufficient detail to better understand the hydrology of the Van Dyke deposit area. In addition to predictive modelling of the Van Dyke deposit, the model is expected to identify gaps in the hydrological/water monitoring grid coverage and evaluate hydrologic interaction between the Pinal schist, the Van Dyke resource and the Gila conglomerate.

Purchase of facility

Copper Fox has entered discussions to purchase its current office and core storage facility located in Miami, Ariz. The purchase price is $290,000 (U.S.). The facility comprises an office, core preparation facility, an outbuilding and approximately 0.86 acre of land. The purchase is expected to close in September, 2026, subject to normal closing conditions and adjustments.

Qualified person

Elmer B. Stewart, MSc, PGeol, president and chief executive officer of Copper Fox, is the company's non-independent, nominated qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and has reviewed and approves the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release.

About Copper Fox Metals Inc.

Copper Fox is a Canadian resource company focused on copper development and exploration in the United States and Canada. Copper Fox and its subsidiaries own 100 per cent of the Van Dyke ISCR project, a development-stage, potential near-term, mid-size copper mine in Arizona, and a 25-per-cent interest in the Schaft Creek joint venture with Teck Resources Ltd. (75-per-cent interest and operator), which hosts the Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle. In addition, Copper Fox owns 100 per cent of the resource-stage Eaglehead polymetallic porphyry copper project in northwestern British Columbia and the Sombrero Butte and Mineral Mountain advanced-exploration-stage porphyry copper projects, located in the prolific Laramide-age copper province in Arizona.

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