Mr. Brian Thurston reports

COPPER QUEST CLOSES $1,927,000 PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Copper Quest Exploration Inc., further to its news release dated Dec. 1, 2025, has issued an aggregate of 10,142,104 flow-through (FT) shares of the company at a price of 19 cents per FT share for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,927,000 in connection with its previously announced fully subscribed non-brokered private placement.

Each FT share constitutes a flow-through share within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and the gross proceeds of the private placement will be used by the company for exploration and related programs, which qualify as Canadian exploration expenses and flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures, as such terms are defined in the tax act, in connection with Copper Quest's projects in British Columbia.

Brian Thurston, president and chief executive officer of Copper Quest, commented: "The team has spent the last 12 months building Copper Quest to be a standout junior explorer holding seven quality projects, including the recent acquisitions of Stars, Stellar, Nekash, and pending Kitimat and Alpine. It is now time for the company to grow shareholder value through advancing these properties through work on the ground and drilling. These funds will allow us advance multiple properties in 2026 while we continue vetting quality partners to help advance the rest."

In connection with the private placement, the company paid cash finders' fees totalling $130,199.98 and issued 685,261 finders' warrants, each entitling the holder thereof to acquire one non-flow-through common share at an exercise price of 19 cents. The finders' warrants will expire on Dec. 5, 2027.

All securities issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a statutory four-month hold period expiring April 6, 2026.

To accommodate increased interest in the private placement, the company also announces that it may further issue up to 255,264 FT shares under the same terms as above stated, no later than Dec. 15, 2025. All securities to be issued thereunder will be subject to a statutory hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws of four months and one day from the date of issuance.

Related party participation in the private placement

Jason Nickel, director of the company, participated in private placement by purchasing 50,000 FT shares for $9,500. The participation by Mr. Nickel, as an insider of the company, constitutes a related party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the FT shares purchased by Mr. Nickel, nor the consideration for the FT shares paid by Mr. Nickel, exceeded 25 per cent of the company's market capitalization. The company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the private placement, which the company deems reasonable in the circumstances as the details of insider participation in the private placement were not settled until shortly prior to closing the private placement and the company wished to complete the private placement in an expeditious manner.

About copper

Copper is an essential industrial metal at the heart of the global energy transition and modern infrastructure. It plays a critical role in electrification, renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, data centres and smart technologies. With global demand rising and new supply challenged by declining grades, complex permitting and underinvestment, the copper market faces persistent deficits and growing geopolitical scrutiny. Recent U.S. policy announcements, including import tariffs and initiatives to secure domestic and allied supply chains, underscore copper's strategic importance and the need for resilient, localized resource exploration, development, production and processing capacity.

About Copper Quest Exploration Inc.

Copper Quest is focused on building shareholder value through project acquisition, and exploration and development of its North American critical mineral portfolio of assets. The company's land package currently comprises five projects that span over 40,000-plus hectares in great mining jurisdictions, as well as the Kitimat Cu-Au (copper-gold) project and the past-producing Alpine gold mine that are both pending acquisition following due diligence.

Copper Quest has a 100-per-cent interest in the Stars property, a porphyry copper-molybdenum discovery, covering 9,693 hectares in central British Columbia's Bulkley porphyry belt. Contiguous to the Stars property, Copper Quest has a 100-per-cent interest in the 5,389-hectare Stellar property. The company also has an earn-in option up to 80 per cent and joint venture agreement on the 4,700-hectare porphyry copper-molybdenum Rip project, also in the Bulkley porphyry belt.

Copper Quest has a 100-per-cent interest in the Nekash copper-gold project, a porphyry exploration opportunity located in Lemhi county, Idaho, along the prolific Idaho-Montana porphyry copper belt that hosts world-class systems such as Butte and Cumo. The project is fully road-accessible via maintained U.S. highways and forest service roads and currently consists of 70 unpatented federal lode claims covering 585 hectares.

Copper Quest has a 100-per-cent interest in the Thane project, located in the Quesnel terrane of Northern British Columbia, which spans over 20,658 hectares with 10 high-priority targets identified demonstrating significant copper and precious metal mineralization potential.

Copper Quest's leadership and advisory teams are senior mining industry executives who have a wealth of technical and capital markets experience, and a strong record of discovering, financing, developing and operating mining projects on a global scale. Copper Quest is committed to sustainable and responsible business activities in line with industry best practices, supportive of all stakeholders, including the local communities in which it operates. The company's common shares are principally listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the symbol CQX.

We seek Safe Harbor.