Mr. Thomas Ullrich reports

ASTON BAY AND AMERICAN WEST METALS ANNOUNCE EMERGING CAMP-SCALE OPPORTUNITY AT THE STORM COPPER PROJECT, CANADA

Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. has released the latest assay results from the Storm copper project on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The program was conducted by American West Metals Ltd., which is the operator of the project.

"Once again, Storm is delivering impressive results with high-grade, near-surface copper mineralization and confirmation of a new discovery," stated Thomas Ullrich, chief executive officer of Aston Bay. "The new, thick, high-grade zones at Lightning Ridge point to the discovery potential at Storm and highlight the potential for discovery to add significant volumes of potentially economic near-surface copper mineralization at Storm.

"Combined with the confirmation of copper mineralization from new drilling at the 2200N zone, the Storm project is demonstrating the potential for a camp-scale copper discovery and mining opportunity."

Drilling results continue to expand the large-scale, sediment-hosted copper system at Storm -- a system that outcrops at the surface and has also been confirmed at a depth of 300 metres by diamond drilling in 2023.

The extensive, near-surface, high-grade copper and deeper copper occurrences are interpreted to have been formed by the same fluids and mineralization processes. The confirmation to date of high-grade copper over an area of more than 15 square kilometres, together with more than 80 kilometres of underexplored prospective stratigraphy including high-priority gravity targets, underscores the regional, multikilometre-scale potential of this copper system.

Resource drilling and exploration drilling in 2023 have been successful in confirming the continuity of the near-surface deposits over a significant lateral extent. The near-surface deposits are being assessed for their potential to support a potential low-cost, fast-tracked, open-pit mining operation with very low capital expenditure and low operating costs.

Preliminary testwork on mineralization from the near-surface copper zones has already produced a potential direct shipping product with grades up to 53 per cent copper. Studies for a potential mining operation at Storm are under way, including resource modelling and estimation, beneficiation testwork, environmental assessment and operation logistics.

Lightning Ridge copper prospect

Exploration drilling of high-priority electromagnetic (EM) anomalies and key geological features during 2023 has further expanded the footprint of the near-surface, high-grade copper mineralization at Storm.

The recent Lightning Ridge and Thunder discoveries (see Sept. 26, 2023, Aston Bay press release) continue to highlight the effectiveness of EM as a targeting tool and the correlation of EM anomalies with semi-massive and massive copper sulphides.

Drill hole SR23-52 details

Exploration reverse circulation (RC) drill hole SR23-52 was drilled to a depth of 119 m and completed in a largely untested area of significant outcropping chalcocite (see an attached table). The drill hole was designed to test an airborne VTEM (versatile time-domain electromagnetic) target in an area with a single, shallow historical drill hole (ST97-06 2.6 m at 6.83 per cent Cu from 35.4 m), midway between the high-grade 2750N and 2200N zones.

The VTEM target was successfully tested and resulted in the intersection of two main zones of high-grade copper mineralization for a combined interval thickness of 30.4 m (see an attached table; true width is expected to be 60 per cent of stated length). The copper sulphide mineralization consists of dense breccia and vein-hosted chalcocite.

The Lightning Ridge area is located to the south of the 2750N zone and across a large east-west gully. Outcropping massive chalcocite is visible on the steep slope near the gully ridge line and in boulders at the base of the scree slope. Its proximity to the gully and the style of mineralization are strongly suggestive that the mineralization is fault-related and steeply dipping, as is seen at the high-grade 2750N and 2200N zones.

Five significant, fault-related copper prospects have now been identified 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. Further exploration will look to explore deeper and along strike of the vast fault network in the area. Approximately 10 km of prospective structures have been identified in the southern graben area alone.

2200N zone -- expanding the near-surface copper footprint

The 2200N zone is located in the southern Storm graben area and is located approximately 600 m to the south of the 2750N zone. The area is characterized by extensive outcropping copper gossans over several hundred metres of strike.

The high-grade 2200N zone is interpreted to have a similar genesis to the 2750N, 3500N, Thunder and Lightning Ridge copper zones. All of these copper-mineralized areas are structurally controlled and located along the major faults of the large graben system, which is an important metal and fluid source for the mineralization.

Drill hole details

Drill holes SR23-24, SR23-25, SR23-26, SR23-27, SR23-49, SR23-50 and SR23-51 have been successfully completed within the 2200N zone during 2023. These drill holes were the first to be drilled into the 2200N zone by American West and were planned to infill key areas and examine the copper zone to test the orientation of the mineralization and major faults in the area. All drill holes have intersected copper sulphides.

Drilling has defined a series of discrete, fault-related, high-grade copper sulphide zones within a broad matrix of minor veining and brecciation. The mineralized package is interpreted to be subvertical in nature and offset in places by faulting. The copper mineralization is chalcocite dominant with extensive exposure at surface. The mineralization is open at depth and east-west along strike.

Historical drill holes at the 2200N zone include 6.4 m at 7.38 per cent Cu from surface and 22.35 m at 1.56 per cent Cu from 22.9 m down hole (ST97-03), and 5.1 m at 11.8 per cent Cu from surface (ST97-02).

Most of the drill holes completed at the 2200N zone during 2023 were designed to develop a better understanding of the geometry and controls of the copper mineralization. This strategy led to a range of different drill hole orientations and with multiple drill holes using the same drill collar locations.

Drill holes SR23-24 and SR23-36 were completed to the north of the main 2200N zone and were planned to test the potential for parallel lenses to the north of the east-west-orientated fault system. The drill holes intersected minor veinlets of fracture-controlled copper sulphides and require follow-up drilling.

Drilling at the 2200N zone has now defined near-surface, high-grade copper mineralization over an east-west strike of 450 m. Follow-up drilling will be designed to infill and explore for mineralization along strike and at depth.

Attached tables summarize the significant intersections in drilling. Intersections are expressed as down-hole widths and are interpreted to be approximately 50 per cent to 100 per cent of true width. A cut-off grade of 0.2 per cent copper is used to define a significant intersection and is based on copper mineralogy, mineralization habit, and expected beneficiation and processing performance.

Planned program:

• Assays for the remaining drill holes for the 2023 program are still pending and will be received over the coming weeks.
• Assays for rock and gossan samples from the Tempest area are also pending and due over the coming weeks.
• Ore sorting, beneficiation and process optimization studies on a range of mineralization types from the 2750N and 4100N zones are in progress.
• 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 commenced.

Quality assurance/quality control protocols

The analytical work reported 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 Holdings, American West Metals and the qualified person. Drill core samples were subject to crushing at a minimum of 70 per cent passing two millimetres, followed by pulverizing a 250-gram split to 85 per cent passing 75 micrometres. 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 Holdings and American West Metals followed industry-standard procedures for the work carried out on the Storm project, incorporating a quality assurance/quality control program. Blank, duplicate and standard samples were inserted into the sample sequence and sent to the laboratory for analysis. No significant quality assurance/quality control issues were detected during review of the data. Aston Bay Holdings and American West Metals 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, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, 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 chief executive officer Thomas 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 lead-zinc-silver 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 and its joint venture partner, American West Metals, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tornado Metals Ltd., have agreed to form a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture and enter into a joint venture agreement in respect of the Storm property, which hosts the Storm copper project and the Seal zinc deposit. 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 funding 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 Storm property will be converted into a 2-per-cent net smelter return royalty if its interest is diluted to below 10 per cent.

We seek Safe Harbor.