Highlights

• Awalé closes approximately $19 million strategic financing with Predictive Discovery and Fortuna Mining.
• Predictive Discovery becomes third strategic shareholder, joining Fortuna Mining and Newmont.
• Over $35 million in cash, together with Newmont continuing to fund the Odienné Joint Venture.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 28, 2026) - Awalé Resources Limited (TSXV: ARIC) (OTCQX: AWLRF) (FSE: 2F60) ("Awalé" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement with Predictive Discovery Limited (ASX: PDI) (TSX: PDI) ("PDI"), together with the subscription by Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE: FSM) (TSX: FVI) ("Fortuna") pursuant to the exercise of its participation right (collectively, the "Offering"). Proceeds from the Offering will be primarily used to advance exploration activities across the Company's 100%-owned properties at the Odienné Project ("Odienné" or the "Project") in Côte d'Ivoire.

"Following completion of the Offering, Awalé holds over $35 million in cash giving us the financial strength to aggressively advance exploration across our 100%-owned properties, while Newmont continues to fund the Odienné Joint Venture. With three leading mining companies as strategic shareholders and one of the most active drill programs in West Africa, Awalé is well positioned to unlock the full potential of the Odienné district. These investments are a strong endorsement of our team, our exploration strategy, and the potential of the Project," said Andrew Chubb, President and CEO of Awalé Resources.

Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued an aggregate of 22,337,664 common shares at $0.85 per share for total gross proceeds of $18,987,000 consisting of:

• 16,642,352 common shares to PDI for gross proceeds of $14,146,000, representing approximately 11.8% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares.
• 5,695,312 common shares to Fortuna for gross proceeds of $4,841,000, resulting in Fortuna owning a total of 20,732,905 common shares, representing approximately 14.7% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares.

Immediately following closing of the PDI and Fortuna subscriptions, the Company has 141,334,595 common shares issued and outstanding.

The Company has entered into an investor rights agreement (the "PDI Investor Rights Agreement") with PDI, pursuant to which PDI has been granted a participation right to maintain its pro-rata ownership in connection with future equity financings and will have the other rights described in the Company's July 14, 2026 news release and set forth in the PDI Investor Rights Agreement. A copy of the PDI Investor Rights Agreement will be filed by the Company as a material agreement and will be made available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile.

No warrants are being issued in connection with the Offering. The Company has agreed to pay a cash commission of $424,380, equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the PDI subscription to an arm's length finder. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day following the date hereof in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. The completion of the Offering remains subject to final TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") acceptance.

Current shareholder of Awalé, Newmont Ventures Limited ("Newmont"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newmont Corporation, has the right to participate, on equal terms, in equity issuances of the Company so as to maintain its pro-rata ownership in the Company. A subsequent news release will be issued should Newmont exercise its participation rights. In the event Newmont chooses to exercise its right to participate in full, the Company may issue up to an additional 14,761,167 common shares at a price of $0.85 per Share for gross proceeds of up to $12,546,992 (or such lesser amount as may be elected by Newmont under their participation rights). There is no assurance that Newmont will participate in the Offering or maintain or increase its current equity ownership in the Company as permitted under its participation rights.

For the purposes of the Offering, U.S. dollar amounts have been converted to Canadian dollars using an exchange rate of US$1.00 = C$1.4114.

Related Party Disclosure

Fortuna is a shareholder holding more than 10% of the Company's common shares. Accordingly, Fortuna's participation in the Offering constitutes a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - ‎Protection of ‎Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Fortuna's participation in the Offering is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of 61-101. The Company is exempt from the formal valuation requirement pursuant to section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 as the Company does not have securities listed on a specified stock exchange and is exempt from the minority shareholder approval requirement pursuant to section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction is less than 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements.

About Awalé Resources

Awalé Resources is a diligent and systematic mineral exploration company focused on discovering large-scale gold and gold-copper deposits in Côte d'Ivoire. The Company's flagship Odienné Project now hosts an initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate^[1] of 1.71 million ounces gold equivalent across the BBM, Charger, and Empire deposits (32.4 Mt at 1.33 g/t Au and 0.33% Cu), providing a strong foundation for ongoing growth and future economic studies.

The Odienné Project covers 2,346 km² across seven permits, including 797 km² held under the Awalé-Newmont Joint Venture. Awalé manages exploration activities across the joint venture area, with funding currently provided by Newmont Ventures Limited under the Exploration Agreement signed in May 2022.

In addition to the current resource base defined on the joint venture ground, Awalé controls a substantial 100%-owned land position across the broader Odienné district, where multiple untested and early-stage targets provide additional potential discovery upside. Across the Project, Awalé has identified multiple gold and copper-gold systems and continues to build a pipeline of targets with potential to support further discoveries and resource growth.

With a skilled and experienced technical team, together with support from three strategic shareholders, Awalé is advancing exploration in an underexplored and pro-mining jurisdiction with clear potential for district-scale discoveries.

The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca. For further information on the Company, please visit our website at www.awaleresources.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plan, propose, potential, postulate, target, continue, advance and similar expressions, or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding receipt of TSXV final acceptance for the Offering, the use of proceeds from the Offering, the Company's presence in Côte d'Ivoire and ability to achieve results, creation of value for Company shareholders, achievements under the Newmont exploration agreement, advancement and expansion of the Odienné Project, the potential size, scale and quality of the mineral resource estimate at BBM, Charger and Empire, the conversion or upgrading of inferred mineral resources, timing and results of future drilling programs, resource expansion potential at BBM, Charger and Empire, and exploration and discovery potential at Fremen and other targets, the potential for additional discoveries, expectations regarding the timing and completion of a preliminary economic assessment and advancement toward pre-feasibility studies, timing for receipt of assay results, commencement and continuation of operations, and the potential development of the Odienné Project. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, failure to receive TSXV final acceptance for the Offering, the results of exploration and drilling programs, the interpretation of exploration and mineral resource results, changes in mineral resource estimates, the ability to convert inferred mineral resources to indicated mineral resources, the ability to complete future economic studies, fluctuations in commodity prices, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, delays in obtaining required regulatory, governmental, environmental or other project approvals, availability of financing, and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, including those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis and other continuous disclosure documents filed under the Company's profile at SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including, without limitation, that all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals will be received as and when expected, that financing will be available on reasonable terms, and that exploration, development and study activities will proceed as currently planned. Although the Company believes the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

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 release.

¹ The full Initial Mineral Resource Estimate news release dated May 19, 2026, including detailed assumptions and methodology, is available at www.awaleresources.com and SEDAR+ www.sedarplus.ca.

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