Aston Bay and American West Metals Intersect Copper Mineralization Outside of Proposed Pit Designs at the Storm Project, Nunavut, Canada

Assays up to 27.3% copper highlight potential for resource expansion

Highlights:

Cyclone drilling discovers more high-grade copper: Assays confirm that the latest diamond drilling at the Cyclone Deposit has intersected thick, high-grade, near-surface copper intervals outside of the current pit designs, including:

• Drill hole PFS-002:

  • 12.1metres ("m") @ 5.6% copper ("Cu"), 21 grams/tonne ("g/t") silver ("Ag") from 70m, including,

    • 3.8m @ 8.1% Cu, 31g/t Ag from 72.7m downhole, including,

      • 0.5m @ 27.3% Cu, 80g/t Ag from 76m downhole, and

      • 2.3m @ 4.6% Cu, 21.8g/t Ag from 78.1m downhole

• Drill hole PFS-001:

  • 18.2m @ 1.1% Cu, 11g/t Ag from 30m downhole, including,

    • 7.1m @ 2.2% Cu,12g/t Ag from 33.4m downhole, and,

      • 7.5m @ 0.5% Cu, 3.8g/t Ag from 81m downhole, outside of the current pit design, including

        • 2.2m @ 1.1% Cu, 7.9g/t Ag from 86.3m downhole

Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling results support resource upgrade and expansion: Assays from the resource drilling around and within the Cyclone, Chinook, Thunder, and Cirrus Deposits continue to intersect thick copper intervals with positive implications for resource expansion at Storm.

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / October 20, 2025 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on exploration activities at the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or the "Project") on Somerset Island, Nunavut. American West Metals Limited ("American West"), the Project operator, is conducting the exploration program. Aston Bay and American West have formed a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture with respect to the Storm Project property, with Aston Bay maintaining a free carried interest until a decision to mine is made upon completion of a bankable feasibility study.

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Bay,commented:

"We are very encouraged by these new intercepts of near-surface copper mineralization at Storm. In addition to high-grade intervals within the current resource envelope, geotechnical drilling has intercepted thick, high-grade intervals up to 27.3% copper within the proposed pit walls, extending beyond the limits of the current resource. These results strongly support the potential for significant resource expansion at Storm.

Additional assays remain pending and permitting activities are advancing as the Project moves rapidly toward a resource update and Pre-Feasibility Study in early 2026. With these near-term development plans in the works, we anticipate that Storm Project will receive recognition from Canadian government agencies charged with advancing domestic supply chains for critical minerals."

Figure 1: Diamond drilling at the Cyclone Deposit, Storm Project, Nunavut.

COPPER INTERSECTIONS OUTSIDE OF CURRENT PROPOSED CYCLONE PIT

Assay results from the first two geotechnical/resource diamond drill holes at the Cyclone Deposit have been received and highlight the resource upgrade and expansion potential of the current proposed open pit design.

The assays confirm thick and high-grade intersections of copper close to the surface outside of the proposed pit design, as well as within other key areas within the current resource envelope. The drilling was designed for geotechnical purposes (testing the open pit wall designs) and to test the margins of the deposit. The deposit remains open to the north and north-west.

Drill hole PFS-001 details

PFS-001 was drilled to a depth of 152m on the southern margin of the Cyclone Deposit (Figures 2, 6 & 7).

The drill hole intersected two broad zones of sulphide mineralization (see Table 1). The upper zone from 30-48m (Figure 3) is similar to that intersected in SR24-070 and extends the mineralization 16m south within the designed pit. The lower zone of mineralization is located from 81-86m and outside of the current pit design (Figure 2).

The drill hole is interpreted to have intersected one of a series of faults that bound the central graben to the north and offset the stratigraphy downward to the south. Two styles of mineralization are present within PFS-001: stratabound at a depth of approximately 83m and intermittent fault-hosted at a downhole depth of 92m. The copper sulphide mineralization is hosted within a thick sequence of fractured and brecciated dolomudstones of the Allen Bay Formation.

Figure 2: Schematic NE-SW geological section (+/-25m) through PFS-002. Significant copper mineralization has been intersected outside of the current open-pit design.

Figure 3: Dense breccia and semi-massive visual chalcocite (dark grey mineral) in drill hole PFS-001 (33.4-40.5m downhole). This interval assayed at an average grade of 2.2% Cu, 12g/t Ag.

Table 1: Summary of significant drill intersections in PFS-001 using a 0.3% Cu cut-off grade. The intersections are expressed as downhole widths and are interpreted to be close to true widths.

Drill hole PFS-002 details

PFS-002 was drilled to a depth of 176m on the northern margin of the Cyclone Deposit (Figures 5, 6 & 7).

The drill hole has intersected a broad zone of copper mineralization (see Table 2), including semi-massive chalcocite (Figure 4) between 70-82.1m downhole at an average grade of 5.6% Cu. The copper sulphide mineralization is hosted within a thick sequence of fractured dolomudstones of the Allen Bay Formation. The mineralized interval consists of stratabound veinlets and breccias and is zoned, like the rest of the Cyclone Deposit, with a core of chalcocite surrounded by lesser pyrite.

The copper mineralization in PFS-002 is located approximately 70m to the north of the current pit design. Follow-up drilling further to the north-east also intersected mineralization within the same horizon (9.1m @ 0.6% Cu, 3.7g/t Ag in SR25-017 - Figure 5). The mineralized horizon remains open to the north and along the entire northern margin of the deposit, highlighting the growth potential of the existing resource.

Figure 4: Dense semi-massive and breccia visual chalcocite (dark grey mineral) from PFS-002 (72.7-76.5m downhole). This interval assayed at an average grade of 8.3% Cu, 31g/t Ag.

Figure 5: Schematic NE-SW geological section (+/-25m) through PFS-002. Significant copper mineralization has been intersected outside of the current open-pit design.

Table 2: Summary of significant drill intersections in PFS-001 using a 0.3% Cu cut-off grade. The intersections are expressed as downhole widths and are interpreted to be close to true widths.

Figure 6: Drill hole locations from the 2025 geotechnical and resource drilling program included in this report, overlaying deposit MRE outlines and existing drilling, overlying aerial photography.

Figure 7: Drill hole locations at Cyclone from the 2025 geotechnical and resource drilling program included in this report, overlaying MRE and pit outlines, existing drilling, and aerial photography. (Figure 3 and 5 section lines are indicated by light shaded areas).

THICK COPPER INTERSECTIONS FROM RC DRILLING

Assay results from the additional Reverse Circulation (RC) resource drilling at the Corona, Thunder, Chinook, and Cyclone Deposits have been received and continue to highlight the strong continuity and resource upgrade potential of these deposits (Figure 6, 7 & 8).

Thick intersections of copper close to the surface have been confirmed in key areas within and outside of the current resource envelopes (drill holes SR25-011, -015, -016, -017, -019, and -020). The drilling was designed to upgrade the existing inferred category resources and to potentially expand the current open-pit designs. Importantly, several of these intervals have higher grades than the current resource estimate (MRE), confirming confidence in the continuity and quality of the current resources.

Figure 8: Drill hole locations in the southern areas from the 2025 resource drilling program included in this report, overlaying MRE and pit outlines, existing drilling, and aerial photography.