Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - October 27, 2026) - Emperor Metals Inc. (CSE: AUOZ) (OTCQB: EMAUF) (FSE: 9NH) ("Emperor") is pleased to announce the resumption of diamond drilling at its Duquesne West Gold Project in Quebec's Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt.

CEO John Florek commented: "This pause was a strategic decision, not a slowdown in exploration. Rather than simply waiting for laboratory results, our team used the opportunity to integrate every available dataset into an AI-assisted geological model that provides a more complete understanding of the Duquesne West gold system. By allowing the data to drive our decisions before drilling resumed, we believe we have significantly improved our ability to efficiently target mineralization while maximizing the value of every drill metre."

Drilling resumes following a planned operational pause that enabled Emperor's geological team to incorporate a substantial volume of newly received assay results into its growing geological database and complete an updated AI-assisted three-dimensional geological model. The pause also coincided with the completion of the local moose hunting season, allowing exploration activities to resume while respecting local land-use considerations.

By integrating historical drilling, the 2026 drill campaign, structural interpretations, lithological information, alteration, geochemistry, and other geological datasets into advanced artificial intelligence and machine-learning workflows, Emperor has refined its understanding of the geometry and continuity of the Duquesne West gold system. The updated model is being used to prioritize and optimize drill targets before additional metres are committed.

Emperor remains fully funded and expects to provide additional assay results and exploration updates as drilling progresses.

AI-Enhanced Targeting Improves Exploration Efficiency

Rather than immediately continuing drilling after each batch of assays was received, Emperor elected to temporarily pause drilling to allow the technical team to complete a comprehensive interpretation of all available geological information.

Using AI-assisted modelling together with conventional geological interpretation, Emperor evaluated millions of potential geological relationships within its expanding database to better define mineralized trends, structural controls, and prospective extensions of known gold zones. The resulting model provides increased confidence in drill-hole placement while helping maximize the effectiveness of exploration expenditures.

The next phase of drilling will focus on:

• Expanding known mineralized zones along strike and at depth;

• Testing AI-generated exploration targets beyond currently defined mineralization;

• Further evaluating shallow mineralization with potential relevance to future open-pit development;

• Refining the geological model through additional drilling and data collection; and

• Providing information to support future Mineral Resource Estimate updates and preliminary economic evaluations.

The 2026 exploration efforts have demonstrated significant potential for resource expansion both within and along strike of the conceptual open pit. This includes the discovery of previously unrecognized low-grade bulk tonnage zones, as well as high-grade gold lenses containing visible gold in our conceptual open pit boundaries.

Key highlights from the 2023 and 2024 and 2025/2026 drilling programs are presented in Table 1 and 2.

About the Duquesne West Gold Project

The Duquesne West Gold Property is located 32 km northwest of the city of Rouyn-Noranda and 10 km east of the town of Duparquet. The property lies within the historic Duparquet gold mining camp in the southern portion of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in the Superior Province.

Emperor is targeting a multi-million-ounce gold resource at Duquesne West through a combination of conceptual open-pit and underground mining scenarios. The Property currently hosts an updated inferred MRE of 26.9 million tonnes (Mt) containing 1.46 million ounces (Moz) of gold at an average grade of 1.69 g/t Au (See Press Release dated July 9, 2025, available on SEDAR+). The sensitivity table in the MRE shows various grade scenarios for a higher-grade open pit for an underground mining scenario.

Under an Option Agreement, Emperor agreed to acquire a one hundred percent (100%) interest in a mineral claim package comprising 38 claims covering approximately 1,389 ha, located in the Duparquet Township of Quebec (the "Duquesne West Property") from Duparquet Assets Ltd., a 50% owned subsidiary of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSX: GMX). For further information on the Duquesne West Property and Option Agreement, see Emperor's press release dated October 12, 2022, available on SEDAR+.

A reinterpretation of the existing geological model was created using AI and Machine Learning. This model shows the opportunity for additional discovery of ounces by revealing gold trends unknown to previous workers and the potential to expand the resource along significant gold-endowed structural zones.

QP Disclosure

The technical content pertaining to the Duquesne West Project in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Labrecque, Vice President of Emperor (B.Sc., P.Geol., OQLF), who is recognized as a Qualified Person under CIM guidelines and serves as a consultant to Emperor.

About Emperor Metals Inc.

Emperor Metals Inc. is a high-grade gold exploration and development junior mining company focused on Quebec's Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt, leveraging AI-driven exploration techniques. Emperor is dedicated to unlocking the substantial resource potential of the Duquesne West Gold Project and the Lac Pelletier Project (currently under purchase agreement) both situated in this Tier 1 mining district.

Emperor is led by a dynamic group of resource sector professionals who have a strong record of success in evaluating and advancing mining projects from exploration through to production, attracting capital and overcoming adversity to deliver shareholder value. For more information, please refer to SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), under Emperor's profile.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

s/ "John Florek"

John Florek, M.Sc., P.Geol
President, CEO and Director
Emperor Metals Inc.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not approved nor disapproved the content of this press release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to Emperor and there is no assurance that the actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates," "believes," "targets," "estimates," "plans," "expects," "may," "will," "could" or "would."

Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While Emperor considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. Emperor does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/321082