Mr. Thomas Ullrich reports

ASTON BAY AND AMERICAN WEST METALS CONFIRM DISCOVERY OF SEDIMENT HOSTED COPPER SYSTEM AT DEPTH AND 76M OF 2% CU FROM 32M AT THUNDER FROM THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, CANADA

Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. has released assay results that confirm the discovery of a sediment-hosted copper system at depth, as well as high-grade results from one of the new near-surface discoveries at the Storm copper project on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The drill holes were part of a program conducted by American West Metals Ltd. (as defined below) as operator of the project pursuant to the option agreement (as defined below).

"I am pleased to report the exploration diamond drill holes have confirmed the presence of the sediment-hosted copper sulphide mineralization at depth at Storm," stated Thomas Ullrich, chief executive officer of Aston Bay. "The assays confirm the presence of copper, locally over wide intervals up to 24 metres thick, in widely spaced drill holes that suggest lateral extent and continuity. With values up to 2.7 per cent copper, these results point to the size and grade potential of this deeper mineralization. Mineralogical zonation at Storm suggests the intercepts are on the periphery of the system and provide a vector toward anticipated higher copper grade within this large copper mineralized system.

"Every deep exploration drill hole has intersected sulphide mineralization as predicted by both the geological and geophysical models. We clearly have a powerful exploration tool kit for discovery at Storm. Kilometre-scale geophysical anomalies in highly prospective stratigraphy remain untested, and planning has already begun for a major drill program in 2024 to determine the extents of the system and target grade and size.

"In addition to the deep discovery, the near-surface Thunder prospect has yielded high grades up to 49.6 per cent copper. Just discovered this season, Thunder highlights the resource potential in the near surface, with grades rarely seen in open pit mining opportunities."

High-grade potential of sediment-hosted copper system confirmed

Diamond exploration drill holes ST23-01, ST23-02 and ST23-03 were part of four holes completed during the 2023 season to confirm the sediment-hosted copper model, with each of the holes designed to test different geophysical and structural targets. The drill holes are widely spaced between 600 metres and two kilometres apart. Results from the fourth hole, ST23-04, are pending.

Significantly, all drill holes have intersected copper sulphide mineralization up to 24 m thick at the same stratigraphic level, with grades up to 2.7 per cent Cu (ST23-02) indicating the potential of the system to host high-grade mineralization. The copper mineralization and geology within the drill holes are highly similar and suggest that the stratigraphy of the deeper mineralized system is laterally very extensive.

The Storm area shows clear geological similarities to many of the world's major sediment-hosted copper systems, including the deposits of the Kalahari copper belt (Botswana) and central African copper belt (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia). These copper deposits typically have metre-scale thicknesses and kilometre-scale strikes of the ore zones.

Drill hole ST23-01 details

In addition to intersecting the sediment-hosted system at depth, ST23-01 has intersected strong copper intervals within the near-surface 4100N zone with assays returning:

• 7.2 m* at 2.2 per cent Cu from 58.1 m, including:
  • 0.9 m* at 12.8 per cent Cu from 58.1 m;
    • 1.9 m* at 1 per cent Cu, 0.8 per cent zinc from 75.6 m;
    • 6.8 m* at 1.2 per cent Cu from 80.7 m.

ST23-01 was drilled to a downhole depth of 416 m and intersected two main zones of copper mineralization. The drill hole was designed to test the northern extent of the high-grade 4100N zone, and to test the large gravity anomaly at depth, below the near-surface copper mineralization.

The first zone of copper mineralization encountered within ST23-01 is located near surface within the 4100N zone and consists of 16.9 m of very strong breccia and fracture-hosted chalcocite and minor chalcopyrite over three major intervals from 58.1 m down hole. This mineralization is typical of the near-surface copper mineralization at the 4100N zone and indicates that the mineralization remains open to the north.

The deeper zone of mineralization was intersected at 332 m down hole, is 15 m thick, and consists of mosaic breccia and replacement-style chalcopyrite cement. Assays up to 0.48 per cent Cu (at 342 m down hole) confirm the presence of chalcopyrite. Sphalerite (up to 0.6 per cent Zn) is present within the lower part of the sequence.

Mineralization at Storm is clearly zoned, with a core of chalcocite mineralization grading into zones bornite plus or minus covellite, then chalcopyrite, pyrite, and into an outer sphalerite plus or minus galena zone, reflecting progressive reduction of the metal-bearing fluids by interaction with hydrocarbons in the permeable zones of the rock.

Importantly, the deeper mineralization encountered in ST23-01 suggests this drill hole intercepted the outer chalcopyrite/pyrite/sphalerite zone of the sediment-hosted system.

Drill hole ST23-02 details

Drill hole ST23-02 was drilled to a downhole depth of 602 m and assays have confirmed that it intersected a 24 m thick zone of copper mineralization from 346 m down hole.

The assay results have confirmed the presence of chalcocite and highlight the potential for the deeper stratigraphic horizon to host economic copper mineralization. This is a significant milestone for the project and confirms the large sediment-hosted copper system potential.

The mineralized interval is variably brecciated and fractured with chalcocite as the dominant copper sulphide mineral. The lower section of the interval contains very strong mineralization in a number of narrow bands with grades up to 2.7 per cent Cu (356.5 m down hole). Sphalerite (zinc sulphide) occurs with chalcocite in the lower part of the mineralized sequence with grades of 1.7 per cent Zn (also at 356.5 m down hole).

The presence of chalcocite suggests that drill hole ST23-02 is potentially vectoring to the higher-grade portions of the copper system.

High grades confirmed at Thunder

Drill hole ST23-03 details

ST23-03 was drilled to a downhole depth of 396 m and intersected two main zones of copper sulphide mineralization. The drill hole was designed to test a near-surface MLEM (moving-loop electromagnetic) conductor approximately one km to the west of the high-grade copper 2750N zone, and the edge of a moderately dense gravity anomaly close to the southern graben fault.

The upper zone of copper mineralization encountered within ST23-03 is a 48.6 m thick interval of strong breccia and vein-style copper sulphides grading 3 per cent Cu, with broad zones of semi-massive to massive sulphide from 34.4 m down hole. The massive sulphides are dominantly chalcocite, with bornite and chalcopyrite, and represent a significant new discovery of the near-surface mineralization. An 11.4 m zone of less dense copper sulphide veining is located at the base of the mineralized zone. The entire mineralized interval is 76 m at 2 per cent Cu from 32.4 m down hole.

The thickness and intensity of the mineralization at Thunder -- and the Lightning Ridge, 2750N and 2200N zones to the east -- suggest that this high-grade mineralization and structural setting may be directly related to their proximity to the southern graben fault. These faults are interpreted to be the primary source of plumbing for both the near-surface and deeper copper mineralization.

Five significant, fault-related and widely spaced copper prospects have now been confirmed by drilling in the southern graben area. All of these discoveries are located at, or close to, surface and have only been tested to a depth of approximately 100 vertical metres.

Over 10 km of prospective structures have been identified in the southern graben area alone, highlighting the exploration potential along strike, and at depth below the known copper mineralization. The storm graben faults can be also traced for over six km southeast into the Tornado and Blizzard prospect areas, where there is widespread copper geochemical anomalism at surface.

The Thunder discovery continues to highlight the effectiveness of EM as a targeting tool and the correlation with strong copper sulphides. Other high-priority EM targets have been tested during this drilling program with assay results pending.

The lower zone of mineralization was intersected at 272.7 m down hole and is interpreted to correlate with the sediment-hosted copper mineralization intersected in drill holes ST22-10, ST23-01 and ST23-02. The two m mineralized interval consists of broad fractures and dense anastomosing veins of chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite with grades up to 1.84 per cent Cu (between 272.7 m and 273.15 m).

The copper sulphides are hosted within a sequence of organic-rich and vuggy dolomudstones that are visually very similar to ST22-10, ST23-01 and ST23-02. Despite the relatively narrow intervals, the high copper grades are further evidence of the potential of the deeper mineralization to host potentially economic accumulations of copper sulphides.

Planned program:

• Assays for the remaining drill holes for the 2023 program are still pending and will continue to be received over the coming weeks.
• Assays for rock and gossan samples from the Tempest area are pending and also due over the coming weeks.
• The ore sorting, beneficiation and process optimization studies continue on a range of mineralization types from the 2750N and 4100N zones.
• Resource modelling and estimation work for the Storm project are continuing.
• A report on the Storm project summer environmental program is being compiled.
• Logistics and exploration planning for the 2024 exploration program have begun.

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 110 m* at 2.45 per cent Cu from surface and 56.3 m* at 3.07 per cent Cu from 12.2 m) as well as the Seal zinc deposit (intersections including 14.4 m* at 10.58 per cent Zn, 28.7 grams per tonne silver from 51.8 m and 22.3 m* at 23 per cent Zn, 5.1 g/t Ag from 101.5 m). Additionally, there are numerous underexplored and undrilled targets within the 120-kilometre strike length of the mineralized trend, including the Tornado copper prospect where 10 grab samples yielded greater than 1 per cent Cu up to 32 per cent Cu in gossans. The Nunavut property is now the subject of an 80/20 unincorporated joint venture with American West (see "agreement with American West" below for more details).

Storm discovery and historical work

High-grade copper mineralization was discovered at Storm in the mid-1990s by Cominco geologists conducting regional zinc exploration around its then-producing Polaris lead-zinc mine. A massive chalcocite boulder found in a tributary of the Aston River in 1996 was traced to impressive surface exposures of broken chalcocite mineralization for hundreds of metres of surface strike length at what became named the 2750N, 2200N and 3500N zones. Subsequent seasons of prospecting, geophysics and over 9,000 m of drilling into the early 2000s confirmed a significant amount of copper mineralization below the surface exposures as well as making the blind discovery of the 4100N zone, a large area of copper mineralization with no surface exposure.

Following the merger of Cominco with Teck in 2001 and the closure of the Polaris mine, the Storm claims were allowed to lapse in 2007. Commander Resources staked the property in 2008 and flew a helicopter-borne VTEM (versatile, time-domain electromagnetic) survey in 2011 but conducted no additional drilling. Aston Bay subsequently entered into an earn-in agreement with Commander and consolidated 100-per-cent ownership in 2015. Commander retains a 0.875-per-cent gross overriding royalty in the area of the original Storm claims.

In 2016, Aston Bay entered into an earn-in agreement with BHP, which conducted a 2,000-station soil sampling program and drilled 1,951 m of core in 12 diamond drill holes, yielding up to 16 m* at 3.1 per cent Cu. BHP exited the agreement in 2017 and retains no residual interest in the project. Aston Bay conducted a property-wide airborne gravity gradiometry survey in 2017 and drilled 2,913 m in nine core holes in the Storm area in 2018, yielding a best intercept of 1.5 m* at 4.39 per cent Cu and 20.5 m* at 0.56 per cent Cu.

Agreement with American West

As previously disclosed, Aston Bay entered into an option agreement dated March 9, 2021, with American West and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tornado Metals Ltd., pursuant to which American West was granted an option to earn an 80-per-cent undivided interest in the project by spending a minimum of $10-million on qualifying exploration expenditures. The parties amended and restated the option agreement as of Feb. 27, 2023, to facilitate American West potentially financing the expenditures through flow-through shares but did not change the commercial agreement between the parties.

The expenditures were completed during the 2023 drilling program and American West exercised the option in accordance with the terms of the option agreement, as amended. American West and Aston Bay will form an 80/20 unincorporated joint venture and enter into a joint venture agreement. Under such agreement, Aston Bay shall have a free carried interest until American West has made a decision to mine upon completion of a bankable feasibility study, meaning American West will be solely responsible for financing the joint venture until such decision is made. After such decision is made, Aston Bay will be diluted in the event it does not elect to contribute its proportionate share and its interest in the project will be converted into a 2-per-cent net smelter return royalty if its interest is diluted to below 10 per cent.

Recent work

American West completed a fixed-loop electromagnetic (FLEM) ground geophysical survey in 2021 that yielded several new subsurface conductive anomalies. A total of 1,534 m were drilled in 10 diamond drill holes in the 2022 season, yielding several impressive near-surface intercepts, including 41 m* at 4.1 per cent Cu as well as 68 m of sulphide mineralization associated with a deeper conductive anomaly.

In April, 2022, results of beneficiation studies demonstrated that a mineralized intercept grading 4 per cent Cu from the 4100N area could be upgraded to a 54 per cent Cu direct ship product using standard sorting technology. Further beneficiation studies are continuing.

In April, 2023, American West embarked on a spring delineation drilling program using a helicopter-portable reverse circulation drill rig as well as conducting gravity and moving-loop electromagnetic (MLEM) ground geophysical programs. Results from the programs are in process and are released as they come available.

The summer 2023 program planned further delineation drilling of the near-surface high-grade copper zones to advance them toward maiden resource estimates by late 2023 or early 2024. Diamond drilling is planned to test new high-priority gravity targets and environmental baseline studies will be initiated.

*Stated drill hole intersections are all core length, and true width is expected to be 60 per cent to 100 per cent of core length.

Quality assurance/quality control protocols

The analytical work reported on herein was performed by ALS Global, Vancouver, Canada. ALS is an ISO-IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited geoanalytical laboratory and is independent of Aston Bay, American West and the qualified person. Drill core samples were subject to crushing at a minimum of 70 per cent passing two millimetres, followed by pulverizing of a 250-gram split to 85 per cent passing 75 microns. Samples were subject to 33-element geochemistry by four-acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) to determine concentrations of copper, silver, lead, zinc and other elements (ALS Method ME-ICP61a). Overlimit values for copper (greater than 10 per cent) were analyzed via four-acid digestion and ICP-AES (ALS method Cu-OG62).

Aston Bay and American West followed industry-standard procedures for the work carried out on the Storm project, incorporating a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program. Blank, duplicate and standard samples were inserted into the sample sequence and sent to the laboratory for analysis. No significant QA/QC issues were detected during review of the data. Aston Bay and American West are not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.

Qualified person

Michael Dufresne, MSc, PGeol, PGeo, 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 Ltd.

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for high-grade copper and gold deposits in Virginia, United States, and Nunavut, Canada. The company is led by CEO Mr. Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the company's adviser, 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-per-cent owner of the Storm project property, which hosts the Storm copper project and the Seal zinc deposit and has been optioned to American West.

We seek Safe Harbor.