Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 22, 2026) - GoldQuest Mining Corp. (TSXV: GQC) (OTCQX: GDQMF) ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Wafforn to the Company's board of directors (the "Board").

Mr. Wafforn is a professional mining engineer with more than 40 years of technical, operational and project development experience in the mining industry. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President, Technical Services & Process Optimization at Pan American Silver, where he held progressively senior roles over more than 20 years. During his tenure, Mr. Wafforn had executive responsibility for mine engineering, geotechnical engineering, metallurgy, mineral resource management and critical facilities across Pan American's global operations. He also led the preliminary economic assessment for the US$1.9 billion La Colorada Skarn expansion project in Mexico and participated in the evaluation and integration of numerous acquisitions, including Aquiline Resources, Minefinders, Tahoe Resources, Yamana Gold and MAG Silver.

Prior to joining Pan American, Mr. Wafforn held senior mine engineering and operational roles with Barrick Gold and Homestake Mining, including as Mine Superintendent at the Eskay Creek and David Bell mines. He currently serves on the board of directors of New Pacific Metals and as a Senior Technical Advisor to Pan American Silver.

Mr. Wafforn holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining (Honours) from the Camborne School of Mines in England and is a Professional Engineer registered with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia.

Frank Balint, Chairman of GoldQuest, commented:

"We are delighted to welcome Martin to the Board. His extensive experience in mine engineering, project development and operations will bring valuable technical and practical expertise as we continue to advance Romero responsibly. We look forward to his contribution to GoldQuest."

Stock Options Grant

The Company also announces that it has granted an aggregate of 1,100,000 stock options (the "Options") to purchase common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") to certain directors and officers of the Company.

The Options expire on September 16, 2031 and vest as to one-third on the date of grant, one-third on the six-month anniversary of the date of grant and one-third on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant. The Options may be exercised at a price of $0.75 per Common Share, representing the closing market price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on the trading day prior to the date of grant.

The granting of options forms part of the Company's long-term incentive framework designed to retain key talent and align leadership, technical teams and advisors with long-term value creation for all stakeholders.

The Options were granted pursuant to the Company's Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan.

Cancellation of Stock Options

The Company also announces that its Board has approved the cancellation of 40,000 Options previously granted to a former employee of the Company in error. The cancelled options were granted under the Company's Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan and were cancelled by the Board in accordance with the terms of such plan.

About GoldQuest

GoldQuest Mining Corp. is a Canadian exploration and development company with strong participation from Dominican investors, focused on the responsible exploration and development of its gold and copper projects in the Dominican Republic.

Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.goldquestcorp.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of GoldQuest Mining Corp.,

"Luis Santana"

Director & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward‐looking statements:

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward‐looking information that involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward‐looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future vesting of the Options, the anticipated benefits of Mr. Wafforn's appointment and his expected contribution to the Company, and the Company's plans to continue advancing the Romero Project responsibly. In certain cases, forward‐looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "potential", "likelihood", "appears", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "at least", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

Forward‐looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward‐looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to uncertainties inherent in drill results and the estimation of mineral resources; commodity prices; changes in general economic conditions; market sentiment; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to raise funds through equity financings; risks inherent in mineral exploration; risks related to operations in foreign countries; future prices of metals; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward‐looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward‐looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, do not place undue reliance on forward‐looking statements. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward‐looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. Forward‐looking statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable, including expectations regarding mineral exploration and development costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties.

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