Yerington, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2026) - Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (CSE: LEO) (OTCQB: LCGMF) ("Lion CG" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Samuel Engineering, Inc. ("Samuel") as lead consultant for the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") of its flagship Yerington Copper Project in Nevada, USA, and NEXUS Environmental Consultants Inc. ("NEXUS") as lead consultant for permitting and environmental management.

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These appointments represent a key step in advancing Yerington into the DFS and permitting phase following the successful completion of the Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS") and the commencement of Nuton-funded Stage 3 activities under Lion CG's earn-in agreement with Nuton LLC ("Nuton"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto.

Samuel Engineering - Lead DFS Consultant

Samuel Engineering is a globally recognized engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction firm with extensive experience delivering feasibility-level studies and large-scale copper projects in North America. As lead DFS consultant, Samuel will coordinate all technical disciplines, including mine planning, processing, infrastructure, capital and operating cost estimation, scheduling, and execution strategy.

Samuel brings deep experience in advanced-stage copper development and strong familiarity with Nevada's mining, construction, and regulatory environment, supporting Lion CG's objective of delivering a robust, execution-ready DFS.

Nexus Environmental Consultants - Lead Permitting Consultant

Nexus Environmental Consultants has been appointed as Lion CG's lead permitting and environmental consultant for the Yerington Project. Nexus will manage environmental baseline programs, permitting strategy, regulatory submissions, and agency coordination at both the state and federal levels.

Nexus brings significant experience navigating U.S. permitting frameworks, including NEPA, BLM processes, and Nevada-specific regulatory requirements. Lion CG intends to progress the Yerington Project toward inclusion under the FAST-41 permitting framework, which is designed to enhance transparency, coordination, and schedule certainty for major infrastructure and critical minerals projects in the United States.

Nuton Stage 3 Alignment

The DFS and permitting work led by Samuel Engineering and Nexus Environmental Consultants is directly aligned with Stage 3 of the Nuton partnership, under which Nuton has committed to fund up to US$31 million to advance definitive feasibility, permitting, and technical development activities at Yerington.

This integrated approach ensures that technical design, permitting strategy, and execution planning progress in parallel, while maintaining alignment with Nuton's proprietary heap leach technology and long-term development objectives.

Strategic Importance

The Yerington Copper Project is one of the largest undeveloped copper assets in the United States and is strategically located in Nevada, a top-tier mining jurisdiction with established infrastructure, workforce availability, and regulatory certainty.

The Project is expected to play an important role in supporting future U.S. domestic copper cathode supply, which is increasingly critical for electrification, renewable energy, artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centers, electric vehicles, and broader national supply-chain security.

John Banning, Chief Executive Officer of Lion CG, commented:

"Appointing Samuel Engineering and Nexus Environmental Consultants positions Lion CG to advance Yerington through DFS and permitting in a disciplined, integrated manner. Both firms bring best-in-class project management, technical and regulatory expertise, deep U.S. copper experience, and a strong track record of execution.

"Importantly, this work is fully aligned with Nuton's Stage 3 funding commitment and our intention to progress the project toward FAST-41, reinforcing transparency, schedule discipline, and enhancing development certainty for one of the most significant domestic copper cathode projects in the United States."

About Lion Copper and Gold Corp.

Lion CG is a junior mining company advancing its Yerington, MacArthur and Bear projects in Lyon County, Nevada through an earn-in agreement with Nuton. The Project focuses on accelerating production from its long-life, low-strip-ratio, brownfield-advantaged Yerington Copper Project utilizing modern processing technologies.

About Nuton

Nuton is an innovative venture that aims to help grow Rio Tinto's copper business. At the core of Nuton is a portfolio of proprietary copper leaching related technologies and capability that offers the potential to economically unlock copper from primary sulfide resources through leaching, achieving market-leading recovery rates and contributing to an increase in copper production at new and ongoing operations.

One of the key differentiators of Nuton is the ambition to produce the world's lowest footprint copper while having at least one Positive Impact at each deployment site across five pillars: water, energy, land, materials and society.

John Banning
Chief Executive Officer
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements relate to future events or performance and reflect the Company's current expectations or beliefs regarding future events. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study, permitting, engineering and technical work programs; the potential timing and pathway to commercial copper cathode production; the potential deployment of Nuton® Technology at the Yerington Copper Project; the possible creation of an investment vehicle and the respective ownership interests upon completion of Stage 3; the Company's expectations regarding project derisking, strategic milestones, and ongoing collaboration with Nuton; and the Yerington Project's ability to contribute to domestic copper supply and respond to increasing market demand. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date of this news release, are inherently subject to significant operational, technical, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: that the Feasibility Study and permitting process will be completed on the anticipated schedule; that Nuton™ Technology will operate as intended at scale; that required regulatory approvals will be obtained; that financing will be available on reasonable terms; and that market conditions for copper will remain favourable. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: risks related to mineral exploration and development, permitting delays, changes in regulatory frameworks, cost escalation, inability to secure financing, technical challenges associated with deployment of new extraction technologies, commodity price fluctuations, community relations, supply chain constraints, and other customary risks in the mining and technology sectors. There can be no assurance that Stage 3 will be completed as contemplated, or at all, that the Parties will proceed to establish an investment Vehicle upon completion of Stage 3, that the Yerington Project will reach commercial production, or that Nuton® Technology will provide intended benefits at scale. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release.

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