VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Midnight Sun Mining Corp. (TSXV: MMA / OTCQX: MDNGF) (“Midnight Sun” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Earn-In and Operating Agreement (the “Earn-In Agreement”) with Mulundu Holdings Limited regarding the 62 square kilometre Mulundu Licence (“Mulundu”), which is embedded within the Company’s Solwezi Project in Zambia. Recent geophysical interpretation indicates that the Dumbwa Trend may extend northwest from Midnight Sun’s existing licence area onto the Mulundu Licence. The Company intends to integrate Mulundu into its ongoing Dumbwa exploration program, with initial work focused on extending geophysical and geochemical datasets across the licence and identifying targets for drill testing.

Midnight Sun’s President & CEO, Al Fabbro, states: “Our recent geophysical work at Dumbwa has demonstrated a remarkable correlation with the known mineralized trend and, importantly, has informed a reinterpretation of the system as it continues north. The data suggests Dumbwa shifts to the northwest as it approaches the northern extent of the geochemical anomaly, potentially carrying the trend beyond our existing licence boundary and onto the neighbouring Mulundu Licence. When we recognized this, securing Mulundu became a clear priority. The acquisition of this licence has the potential to meaningfully expand our land-package and the footprint of Dumbwa.”

Terms of the Earn-In Agreement

The Earn-In Agreement consists of four stages:

Stage 1: Within one week of the date of the Earn-In Agreement, Midnight Sun will pay USD$25,000 to Mulundu Holdings Limited.

Stage 2: Midnight Sun will prepare and submit the required environmental documentation and obtain the applicable clearance from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency.

Stage 3: Within 24 months following completion of Stage 2, Midnight Sun may earn a 51% interest in the Mulundu Licence by sole-funding CAD$750,000 in exploration and development expenditures.

Stage 4: Following completion of Stage 3, Midnight Sun will have the right, but not the obligation, to earn an additional 29% interest, for an aggregate 80% interest in the Mulundu Licence, by sole-funding an additional CAD$3,000,000 in exploration and development expenditures within 36 months.

Once Midnight Sun has earned-in and completed sole-funding, the parties will form a joint venture entity to hold the Mulundu Licence. Each party will have the obligation to fund their proportionate interest, or face dilution as a result of a failure to participate. A party diluted to less than a 10% interest will have their interest converted to a 2% net smelter royalty (“NSR”). Midnight Sun may, at any time thereafter, elect to purchase the NSR upon payment of CAD$1 million to the holder of the NSR.

Qualified Person: Darin Labrenz, P.Geo., a consulting geologist for the Company and Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical data and contents of this release.

About Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun is rapidly advancing the Solwezi Copper Project, with a focus on our flagship Dumbwa copper deposit. The Project is located near the town of Solwezi in the heart of the Zambia–Congo Copperbelt, the world’s second-largest copper-producing region. This prolific mining district is renowned for hosting multiple major copper deposits, and benefits from excellent infrastructure, an established mining workforce, and a long history of successful production.

The Solwezi Copper Project is surrounded by producing copper mines, including the geologically similar Lumwana mine just west of our project and First Quantum’s Kansanshi mine - Africa’s largest integrated metallurgical processing facility, approximately six kilometres east of the company’s property boundary. This highly favourable location highlights the district-scale potential of Midnight Sun’s land package.

The Dumbwa copper deposit underlays a robust 20-kilometre copper-in-soil anomaly, and ongoing drilling has demonstrated strong geological similarities to the nearby Lumwana mine, underscoring the potential scale of this new copper system.

Led by an experienced geological team with a proven track record of major discoveries in the Zambia–Congo Copperbelt and globally, Midnight Sun’s goal is to delineate Zambia’s next generational copper deposit.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF MIDNIGHT SUN MINING CORP.

Al Fabbro
President & CEO

For Further Information Contact:
Adrian O’Brien
Director of Marketing and Communications
Tel: +1 604 809 6890
Em: adrian@midnightsunmining.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that are based on expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections as at the date of this news release. There is no guarantee of the Company completing any stage of the Earn-In Agreement, and, as such, any information in this news release regarding the timing of earn-in stages; expenditure amounts or work-product; the respective ownership interests of the Company in the licence; and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be “forward looking statements”. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (which may, but not always, include phrases such as “anticipates”, “plans”, “scheduled”, “believed” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements and are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the timing and ability to obtain the approval of relevant regulatory bodies, if at all; risks relating to property interests; risks related to access to the project; risks inherent in mineral exploration, including the fact that any particular phase of exploration may be unsuccessful; geo-political risks; the global economic climate; metal prices; environmental risks; political risks; and community and non-governmental actions. Neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/97907397-19a2-423b-8c0a-2df7c26a80ef

Midnight Sun Mining

Dumbwa and Mulunda License Locations

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