Mr. Charles Downie reports

EAGLE PLAINS AND AMERICAN EAGLE GOLD CORP EXECUTE OPTION AGREEMENT FOR THE HEARNE HILL SOUTH, JINX AND NAK NW COPPER-GOLD PROJECTS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. and American Eagle Gold Corp. have entered into an option agreement dated July 24, 2026, pursuant to which American Eagle has been granted the exclusive right to earn up to an 80-per-cent interest in the 4,656-hectare Hearne Hill South copper-gold porphyry project, along with two nearby properties (Jinx and Nak NW), all located approximately 70 kilometres northeast of Smithers. The northern boundary of the Hearne Hill South claims is approximately 4.5 kilometres from American Eagle's flagship Nak copper-gold porphyry project, where a 55,000-metre drill program is currently under way (see American Eagle's news release dated May 8, 2026).

Highlights:

• Three projects (6,690 hectares) optioned to a well-financedp artner with extensive Babine district experience;
• American Eagle has proven exploration success on the nearby Nak project and an established, collaborative relationship with the Lake Babine Nation;
• Including the American Eagle transaction, Eagle Plains currently has 18 projects under option or joint venture with nine different partners.

The option agreement includes 23 mineral claims and one claim application totalling 6,690 hectares, with the Eagle Plains claims representing approximately 72 per cent of American Eagle's 9,283-hectare district-scale land position in the Babine, one of the largest and most strategic land positions in the core of one of British Columbia's most active porphyry camps. The claims are owned 100 per cent by Eagle Plains, with no underlying royalties or encumbrances.

The properties are less than two kilometres from the Morrison and Hearne Hill deposits, highlighting the significant regional and local potential to host copper-gold porphyry-type mineralization. The properties can be accessed by truck utilizing a network of forest service roads from Highway 118 at Topley Landing, which are primarily used to service the past-producing mines and active logging operations in the area.

Eagle Plains chief executive officer Charles Downie commented: "We are excited to partner with American Eagle to explore one of British Columbia's premier copper-gold porphyry districts. The Hearne Hill South project was identified by American Eagle as the most compelling untested opportunity in the Babine camp, with the right geology, supportive geophysics and virtually no drilling. American Eagle's stellar track record, including exploration success at the Nak, the ability to attract strategic investors like Teck, South32 and Eric Sprott, and a commitment to first nations and community relations, in conjunction with $50-million in cash in their treasury, make them the ideal partner to make new discoveries. Using a systematic, low-cost exploration approach to advance the Hearne Hill South project and attract American Eagle as a partner once again validates Eagle Plains' project generator model."

Transaction summary

To exercise the option, American Eagle must make a series of cash payments and share issuances to Eagle Plains and finance exploration expenditures on the project. These payments, share issuance and expenditures are separated into two phases, with the first option entitling the company to acquire a 60-per-cent interest in the project by paying $400,000, issuing an aggregate of 1.2 million common shares to Eagle Plains and financing $4.85-million in exploration expenditures on the project over a six-year term. Pursuant to the second phase of the option, the company may acquire an additional 20-per-cent interest in the project (for an 80-per-cent total interest) by notifying Eagle Plains of its intent to increase its interest to 80 per cent and making an additional one-time payment of $1-million cash, of which half may be paid in American Eagle shares valued at the 10-day VWAP (volume-weighted average price) at the time of notification. As part of the option agreement, American Eagle will reimburse Eagle Plains for the 2026 field program at Hearne Hill South.

If the first option or the second option is exercised, a 2-per-cent smelter return royalty will be granted to Eagle Plains over the entire property, 1 per cent of which may be repurchased for $2.5-million. Following the exercise of the first or second option by the company, Eagle Plains and American Eagle will form a joint venture, which will administer the continued exploration and operation of the project. American Eagle will serve as operator during the term of the agreement and TerraLogic Exploration Inc. will serve as geoscience consultant for all predrilling exploration.

The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

Geology of Hearne Hill South

Like the Nak, Duke and Morrison properties, Hearne Hill South lies within the Babine porphyry belt, which is underlain primarily by Upper Triassic Takla group and Lower Jurassic Hazelton group volcanic and sedimentary rocks that, along with younger volcano-sedimentary sequences such as that at Nak are cut by Cretaceous and Tertiary intrusions. In the Babine district, Eocene intrusions of the Babine igneous suite are the main drivers and common hosts for mineralization at Nak, Bell, Granisle and Morrison and thus remain the most prospective rocks in the search for porphyry copper-gold mineralization.

Mineralization in the area occurs in two principal forms: (1) stockwork porphyry copper-gold-silver-molybdenum mineralization associated with biotite-feldspar porphyry (BFP) intrusions, which are typical of many mineralized occurrences in the Babine district; and (2) closely associated and commonly higher-grade copper-gold breccia pipes of the type which form the core of the Hearne Hill porphyry deposit, which lies immediately southeast of Morrison. The BFP intrusions and, to varying degrees, their stratified wall rocks, host chalcopyrite, pyrite, bornite and minor molybdenite in quartz veins and veinlets, fracture fills and disseminations, with potassic alteration (biotite, magnetite and potassium feldspar) associated with the best grades. These styles of mineralization are directly analogous to those identified in core logging by American Eagle's geologists at Nak.

Hearne Hill South and Jinx: work to date and work going forward

Eagle Plains has completed substantial first-pass work at Hearne Hill South, including a 2025 field program. This work included a 286-line-kilometre, high-resolution airborne magnetic survey, more than 32 line kilometres of closely spaced soil geochemical sampling and prospecting that returned copper-mineralized rock samples. These early results indicate that the property hosts underexplored geophysical and geochemical anomalies consistent with the porphyry copper exploration model, yet it has seen no modern drilling. Farther south, the Jinx claim group represents a very compelling early-stage porphyry target. First-pass surface work has identified gold-in-till with grain morphology that suggests a proximal bedrock source, along with a float sample that returned copper and gold values at porphyry tenors. Targeted geophysical surveying and systematic traverses to identify outcrop and complete additional surface sampling will aim to advance this claim group to drill-ready status.

American Eagle's 2026-2027 program will include compilation of existing exploration data, coupled with 3-D inversion analysis of the property-wide magnetic data integrated with the company's district-scale data sets from Nak. These programs will lead to fieldwork including infill soil geochemistry, prospecting, geological mapping and ground geophysical surveying across priority anomalies, with the aim of defining drill targets.

First nations, community and strategic support

The American Eagle land package lies within the traditional territory of the Lake Babine Nation (LBN), where American Eagle has operated at Nak since 2022 under an exploration agreement that has since been expanded and updated three times, providing for respectful engagement, co-operative planning and mutual benefit. The company's established relationships with the LBN, provincial authorities, local contractors, and the communities of Smithers, Houston and Burns Lake represent a competitive advantage, and American Eagle looks forward to engaging with the LBN on exploration plans across the expanded position. The expansion of its land position was undertaken with the knowledge and support of the Lake Babine Nation and the company's strategic investors and is consistent with the collaborative approach the company and the LBN have taken since 2022.

Management cautions that historical results were collected and reported by past operators and have not been verified nor confirmed by a qualified person but form a basis for continuing work on the subject properties. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land, including the Morrison, Bell and Granisle deposits, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the subject properties.

Qualified person

Charles C. Downie, PGeo, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and a director of Eagle Plains, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.

About Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.

Based in Cranbrook, B.C., Eagle Plains is a well-financed, prolific project generator that continues to conduct research, acquire and explore mineral projects throughout Western Canada, with a focus on critical metals integral to an increasingly electrified, decarbonized economy.

The company was formed in 1992 and is the fourth-oldest listed issuer on the TSX-V (and the only one of these four that has not seen a rollback or restructuring of its shares). Eagle Plains has continued to deliver shareholder value over the years and, through numerous spinouts, has transferred over $115-million in value directly to its shareholders, with Copper Canyon Resources and Taiga Gold Corp. being notable examples. Eagle Plains' latest spinout, Eagle Royalties Ltd., was listed on May 24, 2023, and, on Oct. 30, 2025, Eagle Royalties shareholders overwhelmingly approved a three-cornered amalgamation that resulted in a reverse takeover of Eagle Royalties by Summit Royalty Corp. The resulting issuer is named Summit Royalties Ltd. and trades under the symbol SUM on the TSX-V with a market capitalization of over $100-million.

On Oct. 2, 2024, Eagle Plains announced the formation of a separate division within the company that will give Eagle Plains shareholders direct exposure to strategic opportunities in Canadian green energy transition. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Eagle Plains, Osprey Power Inc. will focus on identifying and advancing innovative and diverse clean energy project portfolios in target markets throughout Canada, with an initial focus on Western Canada.

Eagle Plains' core business is acquiring grassroots critical and precious metal exploration properties. The company is committed to steadily enhancing shareholder value by advancing its diverse portfolio of projects toward discovery through collaborative partnerships and development of a highly experienced technical team.

Expenditures from 2010 to 2025 on Eagle Plains-related projects exceed $41-million, the majority of which was financed by third party partners. This exploration work resulted in approximately 50,000 metres of diamond drilling and extensive ground-based exploration work facilitating the advancement of numerous projects at various stages of development.

Throughout the exploration process, Eagle Plains' mission is to help maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities while building lasting relationships through honest and respectful business practices.

We seek Safe Harbor.