Mr. Troy Nazarewicz reports

FORTUNE MINERALS RECEIVES WATER LICENCE AND LAND USE PERMIT FOR THE NICO PROJECT ACCESS ROAD

Fortune Minerals Ltd. has received Wek'eezhil Land and Water Board (WLWB) approval for the Type A land use permit and Type B water licence needed to construct and operate the Nico project access road (NPAR). The NPAR will connect Fortune's planned Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories to the territorial highway system where it currently terminates at the community of Whati, 50 kilometres (km) south of the mine. The NPAR is needed for mine construction and operations and for trucking metal concentrates to Enterprise, NWT, for transfer to rail and delivery to the company's planned hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta for processing. Fortune and the Tlicho government are forming a joint venture to pursue financing opportunities to construct the NPAR, which could be extended to Gameti in the future to improve community access and delivery of services, reduce the cost of living, and promote economic opportunities in the central part of Tlicho territory (see news release dated April 29, 2026).

Fortune is pleased to report that it also successfully concluded its public hearings for renewal of the Nico mine land use permit and water licence on April 21 and April 22 in Whati. The company has responded to undertakings and information requests generated from the hearings, and will review the draft water licence expected to be received later this week. Closing arguments are due June 22 and June 29 for reviewers and Fortune, respectively, followed by the WLWB making its recommendation to the NWT Minister of Industry Tourism and Investment in July or August for approval. In the interim, Fortune is applying for a 60-day extension to the current water licence due to expire on July 22.

Fortune has also completed the baseline environmental studies for its property in Lamont county, Alberta, where it plans to construct the hydrometallurgical facility for processing Nico mine concentrates. Geotechnical, soils, wetland and wildlife surveys were completed and permitting will advance when Fortune receives additional engineering for the site needed to provide emissions and stack location data for a regional air quality model for its environmental impact assessment exemption application and operations permits. Environmental considerations are being incorporated into the design of the facility demonstrating that the company can mitigate potential impacts and reduce permitting delays.

Fortune's Nico project is an advanced development asset comprising a planned open-pit and underground mine and concentrator in the NWT and dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta's industrial heartland north of Edmonton, an existing petrochemical and critical minerals processing hub. Development of the Nico project would provide a North American vertically integrated supply of battery-grade cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots and oxide, and copper cement for the energy transition new technologies and defence with more than one million ounces of in situ gold as a highly liquid and countercyclical co-product.

The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Robin Goad, MSc, PGeo, president and chief executive officer of Fortune, and Alex Mezei, MSc, PEng, Fortune's chief metallurgist, who are qualified persons under National Instrument 43-101.

About Fortune Minerals Ltd.

Fortune is a Canadian mining and mineral processing company focused on developing the Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories and Alberta. Fortune also owns the satellite Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit located 25 kilometres north of the Nico deposit and is a potential future source of incremental feed to extend the life of the Nico concentrator.

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