Mr. Thomas Ullrich reports

ASTON BAY ANNOUNCES DRILLING AND EXPLORATION SET TO COMMENCE AT STORM COPPER PROJECT, NUNAVUT

Drilling and geophysical activities are set to commence at the beginning of April at Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.'s Storm copper project on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. This will be the second drilling program for American West Metals Ltd., which is the project operator, since entering an option agreement with Aston Bay in March, 2021.

Highlights:

• Up to 10,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling planned for the 2023 field season;
• RC drilling of near-surface high-grade copper targets is scheduled to commence shortly at the 4100N zone focused on resource definition;
• Historical drilling at the 4100N zone has intersected large volumes of high-grade copper, including:
  • 15 metres of 3.88 per cent copper from 72.4 metres (ST99-47);
  • 27.2 metres of 1.9 per cent copper from 78.8 metres (ST00-62);
  • 5.8 metres of 3.6 per cent copper from 38.6 metres (ST99-53);
• Resource drilling at the 2750N and 2200N zones will follow the 4100N program and is designed to target extensive, previously identified high-grade copper mineralization;
• Moving-loop electromagnetics (MLEM) will be completed to assist targeting for the resource definition drilling and identify new targets;
• Diamond drilling and ground gravity survey planned to follow up the major 2022 discovery of stratabound sedimentary copper sulphides at depth.

"We are excited to have our exploration partners American West Metals embark on this significant exploration program this season," stated Thomas Ullrich, chief executive officer of Aston Bay.

"The initial phase of drilling will utilize an RC drill rig to assist in defining maiden resources within the 4100N, 2750N and 2200N zones, where near-surface high-grade copper mineralization has been demonstrated in historic core drilling. The RC rig will allow for rapid and cost-effective drilling, and we are pleased to see this type of drilling used for the first time at Storm. We believe the drilling will confirm a significant copper resource with the potential to support a low-cost ore sorting operation at Storm.

"The surface geophysical work will be used to refine drill targeting for both the resource definition and core diamond drilling for discovery in new areas. We are very excited to follow up on the breakthrough 2022 discovery of sedimentary copper mineralization, where we may have intersected the margin of a potentially large stratiform sedimentary-hosted copper system, just one of several similar targets indicated by the historical geophysics."

The 2023 exploration program will initially aim to drill out maiden copper resources at the 4100N, 2750N and 2200N zones and test key exploration targets. Surface electromagnetics will be used to highlight enriched zones of mineralization and to refine targets ahead of the resource drilling.

Exploration will also commence to follow up a major stratiform sedimentary copper system within the Storm project area that was identified over the course of the 2022 field season. This program will consist of ground gravity, electromagnetic geophysics and diamond drilling.

Approximately 10,000 metres of drilling are planned for 2023.

Resource definition and expansion

Four main zones of mineralization have been identified to date. Drilling during 2022 has highlighted the continuity of the copper-rich zones, and the near-surface mineralization remains a focus for resource drilling due to its high grades, shallow nature and potential to provide a significant resource base as the basis for an initial low-cost, open-pit mining operation.

The areas of immediate interest are the 2750N, 2200N and 4100N zones. Over 30 drill holes are initially planned, with hole depths between 50 metres and 150 metres due to the shallow nature of mineralization.

Moving-loop electromagnetics (MLEM) will be used follow up on 11 shallow, high-priority EM conductors that were identified by the fixed-loop electromagnetic (FLEM) survey completed by the company during the 2021 field season. Some of these anomalies are coincident with outcropping high-grade copper occurrences and remain untested.

It is anticipated that EM will outline the zones with stronger, more massive mineralization to assist in prioritizing the resource definition drilling.

Exploring the emerging sedimentary copper system

The recent discovery in drill hole ST22-10 (see September 28, 2022 news release) suggests that known near-surface copper prospects at Storm may be related to a large, potentially stratiform sediment hosted style copper system at depth.

The interpretation of the geochemical and geological data from ST22-10 indicates that the hole has intersected the margins of a mineralized system. This interpretation is supported by a series of large, coincident electromagnetic (EM), induced polarization (IP) and gravity anomalies (Figure 4).

The near-surface copper occurrences at Storm are located above, or proximal to the large geophysical anomalies. This observation highlights the potential association between the two types of mineralization.

New high-resolution geophysical surveys will involve a closely spaced ground gravity survey and moving loop EM surveys. The surveys will cover known prospects to better define the existing Falcon airborne gravity and EM targets, and extend into new, previously untested areas with the aim of expanding the prospective footprint of copper mineralization.

New areas for exploration include the Blizzard, Tornado and Tempest Prospects. The Tempest Prospect is located approximately 40 kilometres south of the Storm deposits, and it contains a large (>250m long) copper gossan exposed at surface with assays up to 32% Cu in selective rock grab samples (Figure 5). Its location and distance from Storm highlight the extensive nature of the prospective copper mineralization within the Project area.

Diamond drilling will be used to test the high-priority exploration targets, and is expected to commence after the completion of the resource drilling.

About the Storm Copper and Seal Zinc-Silver Projects, Nunavut

The Nunavut property consists of 173 contiguous mining claims covering an area of approximately 219,257 hectares on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. The Storm Project comprises both the Storm Copper Project, a high-grade sediment hosted copper discovery (intersections including 110m* @ 2.45% Cu from surface and 56.3m* @ 3.07% Cu from 12.2m) as well as the Seal Zinc Deposit (intersections including 14.4m* @ 10.58% Zn, 28.7g/t Ag from 51.8m and 22.3m* @ 23% Zn, 5.1g/t Ag from 101.5m). Additionally, there are numerous underexplored targets within the 120-kilometre strike length of the mineralized trend, including the Tornado copper prospect where 10 grab samples yielded >1% Cu up to 32% Cu in gossans.

*Stated drill hole intersections are all core length, and true width is expected to be 60% to 95% of core length.

Qualified Person

Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Aston Bay Holdings

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for high-grade copper and gold deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona. The Company is currently exploring the high-grade Buckingham Gold Vein in central Virginia and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands with high-grade copper potential in the area.

The Company is 100% owner of the Storm Project property, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit and has been optioned to American West Metals Limited.

We seek Safe Harbor.