Mr. Chris Tate reports

CORE NICKEL CORP. ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF CFO

Core Nickel Corp. has appointed Carmelo Marrelli as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company, effective today, following the resignation of Harry Chan as the company's CFO.

Mr. Marrelli is the principal of Marrelli Support Services Inc., a Toronto firm that has delivered accounting and regulatory compliance services to listed companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, the Canadian Securities Exchange and other exchanges, as well as non-listed companies, for over 30 years. In addition, Mr. Marrelli beneficially controls DSA Corporate Services LP, a firm that provides corporate secretarial and regulatory filing services and Marrelli Trust Company Ltd., a provincially registered trust company, offering transfer agent services.

Chris Tate, president and chief executive officer of Core Nickel, commented: "On behalf of the board I would like to thank Harry for his hard work and dedication as the founding CFO of the company, and wish him the best in his future endeavours. Mr. Chan is leaving the company in the capable hands of Mr. Marrelli, who will help guide Core Nickel through the reverse takeover process with Arizona Copper and Gold Ltd."

The company is in the process of completing a proposed transaction with Arizona Copper and Gold Ltd. (ACG), which, subject to receipt of all required approvals, including approval of the TSX-V, court approval for the proposed plan of arrangement and requisite shareholder approval, will result in the reverse takeover of the company by shareholders of ACG. Details of the proposed transaction can be found in the joint news release of ACG and Core Nickel dated Nov. 24, 2025.

Upon completion of the proposed transaction, the company, which is expected to be renamed Arizona Eagle Mining Corp., will own 100 per cent of ACG's Eagle project, which includes the past-producing McCabe gold mine and surrounding claims in mining friendly Yavapai county, Arizona. The McCabe gold mine boasts a historic estimate of 878,000 ounces of gold at 11.7 grams per tonne (g/t) with five million ounces of silver at 69 grams per tonne. The deposit is located within 240 acres of private land and is open for expansion in all directions.

ACG has staked an additional 5,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mining claims surrounding the McCabe gold mine. A phase 1 drill program is expected to begin at the Eagle project in the first quarter of 2026, with the proposed transaction anticipated to close in the same time frame.

About Core Nickel Corp.

Core Nickel is a junior nickel exploration company that controls 100 per cent of five projects in the Thompson nickel belt, a prolific nickel district located in Northern Manitoba, Canada. Core Nickel has been focused on the discovery of economic magmatic nickel-sulphide deposits. The Mel deposit, is situated just 25 kilometres northwest of the Thompson Mill.

Qualified person

The technical information in respect of ACG and the Eagle project in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Clyde L. Smith, PhD. Dr. Smith is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release. Mr. Smith is non-independent of ACG and is independent of the company.

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