Mr. George Ogilvie reports

ARIZONA SONORAN UPDATES ON PFS WORKSTREAMS AT THE CACTUS PROJECT

Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. has provided an update on key workstreams associated with advancing the 2024 preliminary economic assessment (see the Aug. 7, 2024, press release and technical report) to prefeasibility study (PFS). The 2024 PEA envisages a low-capital-intensity open-pit operation producing over 116,000 short tons or 232 million pounds of copper cathodes annually for the first 20 years of the mine life through heap leach and solvent extraction electrowinning (SX/EW) processing of the oxides and enriched material. Activities in 2025 are set to derisk the Cactus project as the company moves through the technical studies and to an eventual construction decision after the definitive feasibility study next year.

Key workstreams:

• The PFS work and workstreams are on track for issuing in the second half of 2025;
• Engineering:
  • Hydrology -- vibrating wireline piezometers have been installed in eight drill holes; groundwater data are being collected to facilitate the continuing hydrologic model;
  • Geotechnical drilling is complete and test work and final analysis are pending;
  • Base-case mine planning well under way with varying opportunities to improve project economics;
  • Earthworks and trial excavation of the Cactus West pit using a surface continuous miner;
• Metallurgy -- completed columns to date indicate Parks/Salyer (including MainSpring) metallurgy positively correlates with 2024 PEA results; additional primary sulphide column testing using conventional heap leaching is continuing;
• Cactus West pit sampling -- samples from the pit lake to be taken in June; results to analyze the usage of pit lake solution within the PFS flow sheet;
• Drilling -- 65 per cent complete, with final results expected in July;
• Land use management -- Pinal County has selected Cactus's stockpiled alluvium for use as road construction material; in March, a total of 11,000 cubic yards of alluvium was moved offsite for use in road improvement and construction within the local community.

George Ogilvie, president, chief executive officer and a director of Arizona Sonoran, commented: "The prefeasibility workstreams continue on pace to deliver a mineral resource estimate update as well as PFS results and technical report in [the second half of 2025].

"We tested a Wirtgen SM280 surface miner in the Cactus West open pit earlier this year, both in the alluvium and Gila conglomerate, which represents approximately 65 per cent of all the material that will have to be moved over the 2024 PEA life of mine. The test results remain subject to ongoing analysis but we were impressed with the unit's productivity and final product size which could be helpful from a reclaim perspective."

He continued, "We believe the Cactus project remains one of only a few copper projects in the United States that can be built in relatively short order with a low capital intensity to produce copper cathode for direct sale to the domestic U.S. market, tariff-free."

Engineering

Engineering for the site is approximately 53 per cent complete with M3 Engineering as lead consultant, and approximately 70 per cent complete with respect to trade-off studies, hydrology and geotechnical programs with the intent to manage costs, dust and noise, vibrations, throughput, flow sheet efficiency, and a more consistent output and cash flow. Hydrology study work, managed by Clear Creek Associates, continues on schedule. Geotechnical study work by Call and Nicholas is continuing, with preliminary results indicating continuity is consistent with assumptions in the 2024 PEA. The Cactus project team and consultants are separately assessing various mine plans considering, among other things, impacts on project economics, opportunities to mitigate risks, optimizing the open-pit approach from the 2024 PEA open pit project and waste dump design to maximize current lands owned.

In February, the first material movement at the Cactus project began within the pit since closure in 1984. A trial was initiated within a southwestern pushback of the in situ Cactus West pit, with engineering provided by the Cactus project team. The trial focused on the potential usage of a surface miner in future operations at Cactus. Stripping of the alluvium managed by earthworks specialist Rango Mining exposed the Gila conglomerate after excavating five-to-20-foot (six-metre) benches, using a conventional hydraulic excavator and articulated-type trucks. In March, North American Mining and Wirtgen initiated a six-week test to trial a hard-rock surface miner, SM 280, within the Cactus West historic pit. The surface miner excavated two benches (20 feet (six metres) each) into the Gila conglomerate and demonstrated the potential of this method for future open-pit application. Over 20 key performance metrics were specified for evaluation of the test trial, including instantaneous throughput and operating costs per ton, and the preliminary results outperformed all modelling and performance expectations.

Drilling

The 130,000-foot (39,600-metre) infill drilling is on track for planned issuance of a mineral resource estimate (MRE) update and disclosure of PFS results in the second half of 2025. Drilling with three rigs at Parks/Salyer and one at Cactus West is 67 per cent complete, with 27 per cent of assays reported; all drilling is expected to be complete in June, with all results expected in this summer.

While many assay results from its infill drilling program at Parks/Salyer remain pending, the geology and assay results received to date are consistent with expectations. The company expects a high conversion rate of current inferred MRE to the indicated category, including the Parks/Salyer deposit's southern area.

Cactus West pit water sampling

A copper analysis of the Cactus West pit lake is planned to begin in June. Crow Industries has been engaged to extract samples for testing at ACZ Laboratories Inc. and Skyline Assayers & Laboratories. Testing will determine the level of copper in solution through ICP all-metal analysis. In addition to the metal content within the pit lake solution, the company will test for acidity.

Arizona Sonoran is conducting the work to determine the copper levels in the pit water and its pH levels. The Cactus pit is a terminal groundwater sink, meaning its contents do not infiltrate groundwater.

Metallurgy

Over all, 19 columns were initiated, as per the 2024 PEA recommendations. Initial results indicate recovery performance is on par or exceeds 2024 PEA test work based on improved cycles over 180 days and extrapolated over 210 days to account for three 180-day leach cycles. As reference, the 2024 PEA assumed 85-per-cent extraction from the enriched material and 92-per-cent extraction from the oxide material on a copper-soluble basis.

Completed columns

Based on the six enriched columns from the Parks/Salyer deposit (including MainSpring), the predicted average percentage of soluble copper extraction is 94.4 per cent at 210 days of leaching. The column results are assessed based on a heap efficiency factor, which is the relationship of column test results to operational results. A world-class operation would have a factor close to 100 per cent. An operation that uses best practice would be expected to have a factor of about 95 per cent, which, if applied to the initial six enriched column results, reduces the predicted extractable soluble copper for 210 days of leaching from 94.4 per cent to 89.7 per cent (as compared with the 85 per cent assumed in the 2024 PEA). There may be additional copper extracted from the heap beyond the three leach cycles if best practices are applied throughout the loading and operations processes. This additional copper extraction is not part of the Cactus project copper extraction model.

The six composite samples from Parks/Salyer (including MainSpring) were tested at two labs (the Base Met and McClelland labs). The operating conditions for the tests were: crush to P80 of 19 millimetres (three-quarters inch), column height of 6.2 metres (20 feet), raffinate-free acid of five grams per litre and irrigation rate of six litres per hour per square metre (0.0024 gallon per minute per square foot).

Continuing columns

An additional seven enriched composites and four primary composites for column tests also continue in progress at Base Met and McClelland labs.

Metallurgical work remains continuing. A flotation option for copper sulphide recovery remains under evaluation as a possible future optimization of the base case mine plan beyond year 20.

Qualified person statements

Technical aspects of this news release relating to geology, drilling and resource have been reviewed and verified by Allan Schappert, CPG No. 11758, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The metallurgy information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Laurie Tahija, a senior metallurgist, with over 40 years of mineral processing experience. She is a qualified person within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is independent of the company. Ms. Tahija is satisfied that the metallurgical testing procedures and associated assay methods used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies. She has reviewed, approved and verified the metallurgical information disclosed in this news release, including preliminary, analytical and test data underlying the technical information.

About Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc.

Arizona Sonoran is a copper exploration and development company with a 100-per-cent interest in the brownfield Cactus project. The project, on privately held land, contains a large-scale porphyry copper resource and a recent 2024 PEA proposes a generational open-pit copper mine with robust economic returns. Cactus is a lower-risk copper developer benefiting from a state-led permitting process; in-place infrastructure, highways and rail lines at its doorstep; and on-site permitted water access. The company's objective is to develop Cactus and become a mid-tier copper producer with low operating costs that could generate robust returns and provide a long-term sustainable and responsible operation for the community, investors and all stakeholders. The company is led by an executive management team and board that have a long-standing record of successful project delivery in North America complemented by global capital markets expertise.

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