Ms. Erin Carswell reports

TESLA STEP-OUT INTERCEPT REVEALS GROWING EXPANSION POTENTIAL

Foran Mining Corp. has released additional assay results from the 2023 drilling program at the Tesla zone, part of the 100-per-cent-owned McIlvenna Bay complex in Saskatchewan. Results have significantly expanded the footprint of the Tesla zone with a 200-metre down-dip extension, intersecting thick zones of mineralization at depth. Assays continue to demonstrate the growing potential at Tesla, which remains open in all directions. The company currently plans to conduct the largest winter exploration program in its history in 2024 with seven drill rigs and up to 22,000 m of drilling.

Key highlights:

• A large stepout hole intersected Tesla mineralization approximately 200 m down dip and 120 m along strike of the nearest intersection. This hole (HG-23-01) returned multiple sulphide zones, including:
  • 4.5 m grading 2.69 per cent copper, 3.14 per cent zinc, 35.4 grams per tonne silver and 0.73 g/t gold (3.98 per cent copper equivalent);
  • 24.3 m grading 0.56 per cent Cu, 5.38 per cent Zn, 25.5 g/t Ag and 0.59 g/t Au (2.58 per cent CuEq), including 5.6 m grading 0.48 per cent Cu, 10.69 per cent Zn, 2.1 g/t Ag and 0.16 g/t Au (3.74 per cent CuEq).
• Up- and down-dip expansion wedge holes at Tesla continue to intersect multiple wide zones of mineralization as highlighted by TS-23-12w3, including:
  • 21.4 m grading 1 per cent Cu, 6.86 per cent Zn, 30.2 g/t Ag and 0.34 g/t Au (3.30 per cent CuEq), including 11.3 m grading 1.23 per cent Cu, 11.57 per cent Zn, 39.5 g/t Ag and 0.42 g/t Au (5.01 per cent CuEq).
• One scissor hole (TS-23-14w2) was drilled obliquely in the down-dip direction to add confidence to the interpreted geometry of Tesla mineralization. The hole successfully intercepted broad zones of mineralization which confirm the current interpretation. Highlights include:
  • 49.6 m grading 0.25 per cent Cu, 9.32 per cent Zn, 37 g/t Ag and pending g/t Au (3.19 per cent CuEq), including 17.6 m grading 0.27 per cent Cu, 13.84 per cent Zn, 7.1 g/t Ag and pending g/t Au (4.42 per cent CuEq).
• Additional drilling at the Bridge zone between the McIlvenna Bay deposit and Tesla continues to indicate additional growth potential, as highlighted by MB-23-289w2:
  • 26.1 m grading 1.67 per cent Cu, 1.60 per cent Zn, 25.2 g/t Ag and 0.004 g/t Au (2.12 per cent CuEq), including 2.4 m grading 4.65 per cent Cu, 4.57 per cent Zn, 54.9 g/t Ag and 0.01 g/t Au (5.86 per cent CuEq).
• The Tesla zone significantly expanded during the 2023 program and has now been defined by 19 drill hole intersections over an 870 m strike length (not including the Bridge zone) and at least 300 m in a down-dip direction, while it remains open in all directions for further expansion.
• A large, ice-based expansion drilling program is planned for Tesla and Bridge zones during winter 2024, encompassing up to 22,000 m of drilling with seven drill rigs employed to rapidly advance the definition of the zones.

Erin Carswell, Foran's vice-president, exploration, commented: "The potential size of Tesla now exceeds all our expectations, once again delivering extraordinary results, including a highly significant stepout intersection. Every Tesla hole drilled this year intersected the mineralized zone -- which remains open in all directions -- and recent drilling has confirmed multiple copper-zinc-silver-gold lenses in the northern part of the target. Notably, many of the holes drilled into Tesla this year have also recorded better grades than the adjacent McIlvenna Bay deposit -- a fact that emphasizes the potential future value of these discoveries for Foran as we work towards establishing our initial phase operation. In parallel, our confidence in the Bridge zone is also increasing with significant grades intercepted in our third mineralized hole. We look forward to further defining the scale and geometries of both Tesla and the Bridge zone during our expanded winter drilling program in 2024."

2023 summer-fall drilling program

Foran's 2023 summer-fall exploration program consisted of 13,654 m in 16 drill holes and wedges across Tesla, the Bridge zone and the company's highest-priority regional targets in the Hanson Lake area. Seven of these holes were designed to assess the continuation of the Tesla trend to the northwest, three holes comprised the initial test of the Bridge zone target area between the McIlvenna Bay deposit and Tesla, and a further six holes were drilled during Foran's helicopter-supported regional program on several targets in the Hanson Lake area.

Significant drilling results presented here include assays for four additional holes at Tesla (TS-23-12w1, TS-23-12w3, TS-23-13w1 and TS-23-14w2) and the final Bridge hole completed during the summer (MB-23-289w2), together with results from one exploration drill hole (HG-23-01) which was designed to test an interpreted electromagnetic (EM) conductor (Higgs target) to the northeast of Tesla. Assays for the other regional drill holes completed during the program are pending and will be reported in a future news release once the results have been received and interpreted.

Tesla drilling

The 2023 land-based summer program utilized directional drilling technologies to successfully expand the known extent of the Tesla zone to over 870 m in strike length, while a series of wedged holes also provided up- and down-dip intersections into the mineralized horizons providing additional confirmation of the continuity of mineralization over a dip extent of at least 300 m, including the intersection in the Higgs target hole. To date, the Tesla zone has been intersected with 19 drill holes and wedges and the mineralized zone remains open both along strike and up/down dip. All holes drilled during 2023 intersected mineralization.

As detailed below, multiple intercepts of massive and semi-massive sulphide lenses and associated stringer and breccia zones were identified in recent drilling, potentially representing separate lenses. Several holes also intersected a generation of overprinting quartz plus/minus carbonate veins and related alteration zones that appear to be associated with elevated gold, silver and lead assays.

Note that during the summer-fall program, most Tesla holes were required to be drilled at slightly steeper angles in order to intersect the target from land near the edge of Hanson Lake. As a result, the true thickness of most intersections may be 80 to 85 per cent of that reported here; however, the robust nature of the mineralizing system has been confirmed through hole HG-23-01 which intersected a thick mineralized zone at a perpendicular angle. Hole TS-23-14w2 was drilled from the footwall as a scissor hole to confirm the dip continuity of the zones and therefore does not represent true thickness. Coming winter drilling at Tesla from the ice on Hanson Lake will allow drilling to be conducted at optimum angles as Foran continues to define the zone down dip and along strike.

Descriptions of new Tesla drill holes

HG-23-01 was originally drilled to test the Higgs modelled conductor plate identified near the north shore of McIlvenna Bay to the northeast of Tesla, with the hole drilled from the shore in a southwest orientation toward Tesla. HG-23-01 was planned as an initial test of the identified conductor and to provide access for a borehole electromagnetic survey to fine-tune the target for follow-up. During the drilling, an important stratigraphic marker horizon was identified which indicated proximity to the Tesla prospective horizon. The hole was further extended and intersected several significant zones of massive to semi-massive sulphides with associated stringer and/or breccia zones, including an interval of 24.3 m grading 5.4 per cent Zn and 0.6 per cent Cu. This intersection in HG-23-01 is located approximately 200 m down dip and 120 m along strike from TS-23-13w1. The stepout significantly expands the Tesla footprint and opens a large prospective area for further expansion with continued drilling. Several additional intervals of massive sulphide have been logged below the composited intervals provided herein for this drill hole. The results of the sampling of these zones are still pending from the assay lab and final assay results for HG-23-01 will be reported in a future news release.

TS-23-12w1 was drilled as a wedge starting at 600 m depth off the previously released pilot hole TS-23-12 (see Foran press release Oct. 5, 2023). Designed to obtain an additional up-dip intersection of the Tesla mineralization, TS-23-12w1 intersected massive and semi-massive sulphides and associated stringer zones approximately 90 m up dip from TS-23-12. The intersections in this location included particularly high-grade zinc (up to 14.6 per cent Zn over several metres), but over all, the mineralized zone was narrower than those from pilot hole TS-23-12. This may be reflective of some natural pinch and swell within the mineralized zones, or alternatively the hole may have intersected close to the margin of the conductor. Additional drilling in this area will be required to fully understand the overall geometry of the zones.

TS-23-12w3 was also wedged from the TS-23-12 pilot hole at 570 m depth and was oriented to the northwest to obtain an additional intersection along strike between previously released TS-23-12 and TS-23-13. TS-23-12w3 successfully intersected the target zones approximately 40 m along strike and 60 m up dip from TS-23-12, once again intersecting multiple lenses of massive and semi-massive sulphides and associated stringer zones occurring over 300 m of core length. These appear to correlate with the thick intervals of mineralization intersected in TS-23-12.

TS-23-13w1 was drilled as a wedge from 624 m depth off pilot hole TS-23-13 and was oriented to the northwest to extend the Tesla zone along strike. The hole intersected similar stratigraphy as TS-23-13 and successfully intersected several significant zones of massive and semi-massive sulphide with associated stringer-style mineralization approximately 42 m farther northwest along strike from the previously released mineralized intervals in TS-23-13. TS-23-13w1 represents the farthest north that drilling has been completed along the main Tesla horizon to date, and the fact that the lower massive sulphide/stringer zone was significantly thicker in this hole (19 m) compared with TS-23-13 may bode well for continued expansion of the zones.

Finally, at the end of the program, TS-23-14w2 was drilled to the northeast from the footwall side of the Tesla zone, in an opposite orientation to the majority of the Tesla drill holes, to provide additional geometric constraints on the orientation of the mineralization. This hole intersected mineralization over a long core length, which is consistent with drilling obliquely in the dip direction of the mineralized zone. The results for TS-23-14w2 are in line with Foran's current structural interpretation of a northeast-dipping package of mineralized rocks and illustrate the continuity of mineralization down dip. The hole intersected multiple wide zones of massive to semi-massive sulphide mineralization with associated stringer and breccia zones interpreted to represent the second Tesla lens, including 49.5 m grading 9.32 per cent Zn (Au assays are still pending from this interval) and a copper-rich zone grading 2.12 per cent Cu over a 4.5 m core length.

Bridge zone drilling

One additional drill hole was completed in the Bridge zone area prior to the end of the summer-fall program. Hole MB-23-289w2 was wedged from pilot hole MB-23-289 and intersected the mineralization approximately 170 m above MS-23-289 and 70 m laterally from MB-23-287, where it returned a wide (26.1 m) interval of massive and semi-massive sulphides with associated underlying stringer and/or breccia zones. The interval was notable for occurrences of higher-grade copper within (such as 2.4 m at 4.65 per cent Cu). So far, the mineralization in the Bridge zone appears to correlate with the ore lenses from the McIlvenna Bay deposit.

In addition, MB-23-289w2 intersected several zones of strong shearing and veining higher up in the hole with locally pervasive hematite alteration, which may be related to the deformation that accommodated the folding in the area. In some cases, these alteration and shear zones contain anomalous copper mineralization, including one interval that graded 0.94 per cent copper over 13.3 m. This style of mineralization has been identified in several other holes drilled in the down-plunge portion of the McIlvenna Bay deposit, but further drilling is required to fully understand its significance.

Over all, the initial drill testing of the Bridge zone during 2023 confirmed multiple copper- and/or zinc-rich horizons that correlate with known zones in the deposit and highlight the significant potential of this 300 m wide window. The results from this drilling, including detailed geological logging, geochemistry from Truscan analysis and structural data from oriented core, indicate a close link between Tesla and the McIlvenna Bay deposit and continue to suggest that a fold may connect the two areas. Additional drilling is being planned for 2024 to continue to build the company's understanding of this zone.

Winter drill program

Planning is currently under way for the largest winter drilling program in the company's history. During this program, drilling will be carried out from the ice, with seven drill rigs focused on continued expansion and increased definition of the Tesla zone. This is nearly double the rigs allocated to Tesla during the winter of 2023 and reflects Foran's confidence in Tesla's growth potential.

In particular, the success of HG-23-01 in intersecting the Tesla mineralization in such a large stepout hole opens a wide area under Hanson Lake for potential expansion of the Tesla zone. Potential mineralization continuity across this zone is supported by a borehole EM survey conducted on HG-23-01 at the end of the summer program, which generated a significant conductor plate and suggests that mineralization continues along strike to the northwest and southeast, up dip toward the upper parts of Tesla, and farther down dip from the intersection. Foran expects that drilling from the lake ice this winter will allow it to better define this mineralization and refine the geometry of the mineralizing system, as well as allowing for expansion of the zone in the down-dip direction which is difficult to access from land.

The program is planned to include up to 22,000 m of drilling, utilizing seven drill rigs to allow for rapid advancement of the drilling while the ice access is available. The program is expected to start in early January once the lake is sufficiently frozen to support equipment and run until April, subject to favourable ice conditions. Preparations are currently under way to build additional ice on the lake in advance of the program.

Quality assurance and quality control

Drilling was completed using NQ-size diamond drill core and core was logged by employees of the company. During the logging process, mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and given unique sample numbers. Sampled intervals were sawn in half using a diamond blade saw. One-half of the sawn core was placed in a plastic bag with the sample tag and sealed, while the second half was returned to the core box for storage on site. Sample assays are performed by the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Geoanalytical Laboratory in Saskatoon, Sask. SRC is a Canadian accredited laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) and independent of Foran. Analysis for Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn is performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy after total multiacid digestion. Au analysis is completed by fire assay with ICP-OES finish. A complete suite of QA/QC reference materials (standards, blanks and duplicates) is included in each batch of samples processed by the laboratory. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data.

Qualified person

Roger March, PGeo, senior geoscientist for Foran, is the qualified person for all technical information herein and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.

The company's head office is located at 409 Granville St., suite 904, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6C 1T2. Common shares of the company are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol FOM.

About Foran Mining Corp.

Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and development company, committed to supporting a greener future, empowering communities and creating circular economies which create value for all its stakeholders, while also safeguarding the environment. The McIlvenna Bay project is located entirely within the documented traditional territory of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. The company also owns the Bigstone project, a resource-development-stage deposit located 25 kilometres southwest of its McIlvenna Bay project.

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