Mr. Gilbert Clark reports

MERIDIAN COMMENCES CABACAL'S PFS & ADVANCES SANTA HELENA RESOURCE DELINEATION IN EXPANSION OF THE CABACAL BELT'S HUB AND SPOKE STRATEGY

Meridian Mining U.K. Societas has released its strategy to further advance multiple prospects within the Cabacal volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) belt as part of a hub and spoke strategy to maximize value for shareholders. The Cabacal project's current engineering and drill programs will be upgraded to complete a prefeasibility study (PFS) on an expanded production case, to delineate higher certainty of the core asset value.

Due to the continued success of drilling at the Santa Helena mine, the company has decided to advance the historical mine toward a resource estimate to maximize its optionality within the broader VMS belt. Santa Helena has the potential to be the first step toward the hub and spoke strategy envisaged for the development of the wider Cabacal belt's growth potential.

The Ccompany further announces that it has discovered a rich layer of gold-copper-silver and zinc VMS mineralization projecting below the main VMS mine horizon at Santa Helena, grading 11 metres at 5.2 grams per tonne gold equivalent (CD-360) and 6.8 m at 3.3 g/t AuEq (CD-416). Further extensions of the VMS mine horizon have been intersected in CD-420 and CD-431, up to 510 m to the east of the historical resource envelope. Further assay results from Cabacal and Santa Helena are pending.

Highlights reported today:

• Cabacal's work programs upgraded to produce a prefeasibility study in 2024 leading to higher project certainty;
• Santa Helena's robust growth in resource potential to be advanced toward first resource in 2024;
• Santa Helena's drilling intercepts new Au-Cu-Ag- and Zn-rich VMS lens located below mine sequence:
  • CD-360: 11 m at 5.2 g/t AuEq (0.9 g/t Au, 2.2 per cent Cu, 22.1 g/t Ag and 3.5 per cent Zn) from 30 m;
  • CD-416: 16 6 m at 2.1 g/t AuEq (0.7 g/t Au, 0.6 per cent Cu, 14.7 g/t Ag and 1.7 per cent Zn) from 41.4 m; including 6.8 m at 3.3 g/t AuEq (1.3 g/t Au, 1.1 per cent Cu, 23.3 g/t Ag and 1.9 per cent Zn) from 41.4 m.
• Santa Helena's prospective VMS mine sequence extended by 0.51 km to the east with multiple hits;
• Cabacal mine area continues to return robust results of Au-Cu and Ag mineralization:
  • CD-365: 50.5 m at one g/t AuEq (0.7 g/t Au, 0.3 per cent Cu and 1.1 g/t Ag) from 19.8 m.
• Cabacal purchase agreement amended to reflect changes in project timeline deliverables.

Gilbert Clark, chief executive officer, comments: "Two thousand twnety-four has started with an expansion of our strategy of developing satellite deposits spokes in the Cabacal belt to feed a central processing hub at Cabacal. By upgrading Cabacal's current PEA to a PFS standard and removing all inferred resources from future financial and mining modelling, we will achieve a higher certainty on its hard asset value, with only a modest increase in the data and studies required. In 2024, Santa Helena's programs will be firmly advancing towards its inaugural resource, with a strong focus on maximizing the potential for open-pittable resources, and exposing it to the optionality of the hub and spoke strategy proposed for the Cabacal VMS belt.

"Today's results from Santa Helena have outperformed our expectations with robust assays from infill drilling, with a half a kilometre extension of the mine horizon eastwards beyond its historical resource limits, and with the identification of a strong layer of Au-Cu-Ag and Zn mineralization that projects below the mine horizon. This new horizon presents a tremendous opportunity, as historical drilling has generally not been projected deep enough to effectively test this horizon. All combined, it illustrates both the near-mine and along-strike upside that remains.

"The Cabacal mine area continues to deliver robust zones of copper-gold and silver mineralization from shallow depths. We continue to see examples of gold only mineralization, separate to the copper-gold VMS envelope, which reinforces the importance of evaluating the potential of the greater Cabacal belt for large gold-only deposits related to the later-stage gold event.

"As Meridian sets out its well-supported development plans for 2024 and beyond, the focus is to create greater hard asset value as a near-term developer and operator of one of the most prospective copper-gold VMS belts in South America."

Cabacal prefeasibility study and near-term incorporation of the Santa Helena deposit

The company has reviewed the growing database of the Cabacal deposit and the greater Cabacal VMS belt and has decided to expand the general project data programs to produce a PFS for the Cabacal mine. The PFS mine schedule and financial model will be focused on an initial throughput of 2.5 million tonnes per annum then expanded to reach a maximum throughput of 4.5 million tonnes using project cash flow in year four. The larger throughput has been proposed and applied for via the preliminary licence application. This positions the Cabacal mine as a central processing hub for the long-term development of the Cabacal VMS belt. Meridian has already engaged with Brazilian and international engineering groups on the PFS that will be completed to a cost estimate classification of AACE 4. They will be reporting their estimations for the completion of the PFS schedule shortly. To accommodate the collation of the general project data for the PFS, the company has agreed with the Cabacal vendors to modify the Cabacal purchase agreement's schedule so that the subsequent feasibility study is completed by Sept. 30, 2025, with no additional financial consideration required.

Given Santa Helena's strong historical drill results, their continuing confirmation and the recent successes in expanding the resource potential, the company has been given a strong boost for creating potentially the next open-pittable resource, that will leverage off the optionality of the proposed Cabacal belt's development strategy. The company has reviewed Santa Helena's historical technical and operational reports and held discussions with the previous mill operating personnel. From this, the planned metallurgical studies for the Santa Helena mineralization have historical operational knowledge and technical data inputs, to guide the test work from the outset.

Santa Helena drill program update

Santa Helena is a Cu-Au-Ag and Zn VMS deposit located approximately nine km to the southeast of the Cabacal mine. It has over 10,000 metres of historical drilling and is the most advanced of a series of exploration targets along the Cabacal mine corridor. The company commenced initial drilling in August, 2023, as part of a verification program, to validate the historical data in line with National Instrument 43-101 requirements, and to initiate scout drilling for resource extensions defined by geophysics and coincident geochemical anomalies. The company's compilation of historical drill data indicated that many past holes were not completely sampled, that reconciliation of surveyed drilled positions and mine workings (and records) indicated that the high-grade massive sulphide mineralization was only partially mined, and that extensions of near-surface mineralization to the east were also not integrated into the historical resource calculations. The company has concluded that this historical resource area is considered open, and based on new and historical data defined an exploration target of 3.2 Mt to 7.2 Mt at three to 3.2 g/t AuEq. The company has completed 30 holes for 1,730 m to date. Initial results from holes drilled along the main trend for resource verification and resource extension were very positive. The latest results have continued to define mineralization up dip and south of the historical resource limits, and in the eastern sector of the deposit and its extensions into the projection of the associated geophysical and geochemical anomaly, yielding a number of significant results.

Drilling continued to test strike extensions east and west from the areas where Meridian had previously had success in testing a gold-in-soil anomaly, over a position shown on historical BP mapping as a barren postmineralization gabbro. The extension of a geophysical chargeability anomaly over this area, coupled with the soil anomaly, led Meridian to believe that mineralization extended into this area, beyond the limits of the historical resource envelope. Meridian's initial drilling has confirmed this position as an upward projection of the VMS mineralized horizon (CD-336, CD-340, CD-349, CD-351, CD-359).

New results from this area have been returned from holes CD-360 and CD-416, collared approximately 60 m and 100 m east-southeast of CD-359 (36.6 m at 1.3 g/t AuEq from 13 m). Although a gold-in-soil anomaly was not evident in these newly collared positions, both holes intersected near-surface mineralization, masked by a shallow veneer of transported colluvial overburden. CD-360's upper intersection of 16.4 m at 0.9 g/t AuEq from six m commenced with a shallow gold zone (three m at 2.8 g/t Au from six m), in the projected up-dip position from the historical resource envelope. CD-360 drilled through a band of gabbro and intersected a second zone of high-grade mineralization, returning 11 m at 5.2 g/t AuEq from 30 m, including: 2.4 m at 21.9g/t AuEq from 37 m, with the richest sulphide band being approximately 50 m south of, and at the same elevation as, the underground mining galleries. CD-416 intersected the predicted mineralization up dip from the historical resource, with an interval of 13.2 m at 2.1 g/t AuEq from 11 m. CD-416 was then deepened below the barren gabbro sill and encountered a separate zone of 16.6 m at 2.1 g/t AuEq from 41.4 m. Further drilling will be undertaken to trace this newly defined mineralized position along and across strike.

CD-411 (22.5 m at 1.9 g/t AuEq from 11 m), a stepout hole, a farther 50 m west-northwest of previously reported CD-351 (11.7 m at two g/t AuEq from 27 m), intercepted strong mineralization that remains open.

Initial drilling has been undertaken in the eastern up-dip sector of Santa Helena outside of its historical resource envelope. Initial results have included CD-402 (17 m at 0.4 g/t AuEq from three m) and CD-403 (16.5 m at 0.7 g/t AuEq from 1.7 m). CD-407 was abandoned after intersecting the old workings and will be redrilled in the future. CD-368, drilled closer to but outside the resource margin, intersected 23.5 m at 0.9 g/t AuEq from 10.1 m, including 5.5 m at 2.2 g/t AuEq from 13.6 m.

Promisingly, early drill tests stepping out significantly to the east of the Santa Helena show potential for definition of additional resources. CD-420, drilled 250 m east-southeast of the margin of the historical resource, returned 26.9 m at 1.4 g/t AuEq from surface. Approximately 260 m farther east-southeast again (510 m from the edge of the historical resource) hole CD-431 encountered a sulphide assemblage of sphalerite-pyrite-chalcopyrite-galena from 42.7 to 43.6 m for which assays are pending. Defining the continuity of sulphide mineralization in this position is very encouraging for the prospectivity of the geophysical chargeability anomaly which extends over a two km strike beyond the limits of the historical resource.

Cabacal drill program update

Drilling in the Cabacal mine area continues to deliver robust zones of copper-gold and silver mineralization from shallow depths. The company continues to see examples in the drilling of gold only mineralization (CD-365: 6.2 m at 2.5 g/t Au from 37.5 m), separate to and outside of the copper envelope.

In cases, this gold only mineralization can be in chloritic alteration intervals with little sulphide content, which may have a subtle geophysical response. This reinforces the exploration potential for the Cabacal belt to host large gold-only deposits related to the late-stage gold event, in addition to targets for gold-base metal mineralization associated with the earlier VMS event.

The company has accumulated a critical mass of drill core to undertake a pilot plant metallurgical test, incorporating sample intervals from the main mine area and the CNWE as part of the program transitioning to a PFS, which will also generate a Cu-Au-Ag concentrate sample for marketing purposes.

The focus of drilling in early 2024 will be directed toward the inferred to unclassified areas of the resource, some of which have been difficult to access with conventional drilling due to topographic constraints. Equipment has been sourced ahead of the shutdown period to facilitate the drilling of low-angle holes to access these areas, which will be used on recommencement of the program from the last week of January.

About Meridian Mining U.K. Societas

Meridian Mining is focused on:

• The development and exploration of the advanced-stage Cabacal VMS gold-copper project;
• Regional-scale exploration of the Cabacal VMS belt;
• Exploration in the Jauru and Araputanga greenstone belts (the above all located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil).

Technical notes

Samples have been analysed at SGS laboratory in Belo Horizonte. Samples are dried, crushed with 75 per cent passing less than three millimetres, split to give a mass of 250 to 300 grams, pulverized with 95 per cent passing 150 mesh. Gold analyses are conducted by FAA505 (fire assay of a 50-gram charge), and base metal analysis by methods ICP40B and ICP40B_S (four-acid digest with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy finish). Visible gold intervals are sampled by metallic screen fire assay method MET150-FAASCR. Samples are held in the company's secure facilities until dispatched and delivered by staff and commercial couriers to the laboratory. Pulps and coarse rejects are retained and returned to the company for storage. The company submits a range of quality control samples, including blanks and gold and polymetallic standards supplied by Rocklabs, ITAK and OREAS, supplementing laboratory quality control procedures. Approximately 5 per cent of archived samples are sent for umpire laboratory analysis, including any lots exhibiting quality assurance/quality control outliers after discussion with the laboratory. In BP Minerals sampling, gold was analyzed historically by fire assay and base metals by three-acid digest and ICP finish at the Nomos laboratory in Rio de Janeiro. Silver was analyzed by aqua regia digest with an atomic absorption finish. True width is considered to be 80 to 90 per cent of intersection width. Assay figures and intervals are rounded to one decimal place.

The gradient array induced polarization survey was conducted using the company's in-house team, utilizing its GDD GRx8-16c receiver and 5000W-2400-15A transmitter. Data are processed by the company's independent consultancy Core Geophysics. Geophysical and geochemical exploration targets are preliminary in nature and not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit.

Qualified person

Erich Marques, BSc, MAIG, chief geologist of Meridian Mining and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and verified the technical information in this news release.

We seek Safe Harbor.