Mr. Gilbert Clark reports

MERIDIAN ANNOUNCES FULLY SUBSCRIBED CAD 10M NON-BROKERED PRIVATE PLACEMENT FINANCING & OUTLINES 2025 PROGRAMS

Meridian Mining U.K. Societas has released its expanded plans for 2025 and has discussed a strategic non-brokered private placement of $10-million, fully subscribed by a single European investor increasing its stake to 12.1 per cent, as the company continues toward its goal of being Brazil's next copper-gold producer.

Highlights:

• Meridian Mining plans transformational 2025 as an emerging Brazilian copper gold developer:
  • Driven by its flagship Cabacal Au-Cu-Ag (gold-copper-silver) VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) mine development and expansion programs;
  • Resource growth from the Santa Helena infill and expansion program;
  • Belt scale exploration program along 50-kilometre Cabacal VMS belt.
• $10-million fully subscribed non-brokered financing at 39 cents:
  • Subscribed by a single sophisticated European investor;
  • Proceeds to be used to advance Cabacal PFS completion, initiation of the subsequent feasibility study, expanded drill program at Santa Helena and regional exploration.

Gilbert Clark, chief executive officer, comments: "Meridian is now set for a potentially transformational 2025, led by its flagship project, the advanced Cabacal Au-Cu-Ag project. We are grateful for the considerable support from our European investor. On closing of the private placement, Meridian will have an enhanced working capital position well beyond the completion of Cabacal's prefeasibility study (PFS), and with an expected positive report, will be substantially financed to initiate the subsequent feasibility study (FS).

"The PFS remains on schedule for reporting by the end of Q1 2025 and is expected to build on the confidence outlined in Cabacal's PEA, by increasing certainty, using a staged production expansion scenario, additional drill data, metallurgical testwork, and other studies advanced and completed in 2024.

"Meridian is focused both on, developing Cabacal's near-term potential to be Brazil's next Au-Cu-Ag mine, as well as testing the untapped exploration potential of the broader Cabacal VMS belt. The potential of the Santa Helena Au-Cu-Ag and Zn deposit as a future open-pit resource is advancing, illustrating the longer-term vision of the company for a multiple mine along the VMS belt. Our discovery of the high-grade gold-silver VMS system in the western sector of Santa Helena in 2024, has locally changed the nature of the deposit's potential toward a more precious metal system. An extensive section of this open, high-grade gold-silver extension is hosted within the oxide and transitional layers, where Meridian currently has no metallurgical data. To avoid under-reporting the recoverable gold and silver mineralization at Santa Helena, the company will complete additional metallurgical testwork, before reporting the initial Santa Helena resource which is expected in Q2.

"With the growing exploration potential of the belt's southeastern zone centred on Santa Helena's open mineralization and its near-mine upside, Meridian will include into Santa Helena's preliminary licence submission's scope, the ability for the historical mine site to be re-established as a stand-alone processing facility, with associated infrastructure waste and dry-stack tailing facilities.

"Throughout 2025, Meridian's local team will continue to work professionally and safely to advance Cabacal's and the belt's future, and to be actively engaged with the local communities. As a leading local employer, the company is looking forward to continuing its support via direct and indirect investments into the local economy throughout 2025."

Cabacal 2025 outlook

Cabacal's PFS is on schedule for reporting in Q1 2025. The company has strengthened the geological controls by adding 37,000 additional metres of drilling and 53,000 assays to the database for geological modelling, resource estimation and infrastructure planning. Civil engineering, geotechnical and hydrological studies to optimize the mine site's design input parameters have been completed. Metallurgical repeatability tests and sulphide reagent optimization have been concluded and final reports are pending. On reporting of the Cabacal PFS, Meridian anticipates the launch of Cabacal's FS.

In 2025, the company plans to complete an infill drill program of up to 4,700 metres, including areas of the deposit where historical drill hole data was only used for geological interpretation. The infill drilling will supplement and/or replace this historical data with mineralized intercepts. On receipt of the PFS's final geological model and mine plan, a limited grade control program centred on the future starter pit will be completed.

The company has commenced the preparation for the next stage of permitting, assuming that the preliminary licence is granted in H1 2025. To this end, additional planning has been initiated for the supplementary data and reports needed to be submitted with Cabacal's subsequent installation licence submission (LI; Licenca de Instalacao). This submission is planned for H2 2025.

Santa Helena 2025 outlook

Santa Helena's resource program was expanded with the discovery of the western extension of shallow high-grade gold-silver-dominant VMS mineralization reported late in Q4 2024. The immediate program is to test the metallurgical properties of this Au and Ag mineralization hosted within the oxide and transitional zones as no historical data exists for these zones. This program, testing the combined recovery processes for precious metals via gravity and then flotation, is continuing.

The additional time needed to complete Santa Helena's full metallurgical programs provides a short period of opportunity to further infill and expand drill coverage of Santa Helena. In consultation with Santa Helena's resource estimation consultants, Cube Consulting Ltd. (Perth, Western Australia), this short, targeted drill campaign will also test a selection of historical holes for twinning and replacement of drill records from Santa Helena's database with partial sampling and limited geological input, thus improving the confidence in the geology and grade models for the Santa Helena deposit. The initial resource is scheduled for Q2 2025 with an updated resource in H1 2026. In total, the company plans for up to 11,700 metres of drilling at Santa Helena in 2025.

Non-brokered private placement

Meridian has launched a fully subscribed non-brokered private placement of 25,641,025 common shares of the company at a price of 39 cents per common shares for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $10-million.

Pursuant to the private placement, a single strategic European investor has subscribed for 25,641,025 common shares. Prior to the private placement, the European investor owned 4.6 per cent of the company. Upon closing of the private placement, the European investor will become a new insider of the company owning approximately 12.1 per cent of the company on a non-diluted basis

The net proceeds from the private placement are expected to be used in advancing the Cabacal's PFS, initiate the FS and related programs, as well as associated resource and exploration activities of the broader Cabacal Cu-Au-Ag VMS belt, regional targeting, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The private placement is expected to close during the week of Feb. 17, 2025, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including the acceptance of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Securities to be issued pursuant to the private placement will be subject to a four-month hold period under applicable securities laws in Canada.

About Meridian Mining U.K. Societas

Meridian Mining is focused on:

• The development and exploration of the advanced-stage Cabacal VMS gold-copper project;
• The initial resource definition at the second high-grade VMS asset at Santa Helena as first stage of hub-and-spoke development strategy;
• Regional-scale exploration of the Cabacal VMS belt to expand the hub-and-spoke strategy;
• Exploration in the Jauru and Araputanga greenstone belts (the above all located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil).

The preliminary economic assessment technical report dated March 30, 2023, entitled: "Cabacal Gold-Copper Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment, Mato Grosso, Brazil," outlines a base case after-tax net present value at 5 per cent (NPV5) of $573-million (U.S.) and an internal rate of return of 58.4 per cent from a preproduction capital cost of $180-million (U.S.), leading to capital repayment in 10.6 months (assuming metals price scenario of $1,650 (U.S.) per ounce of gold, $3.59 (U.S.) per pound of copper and $21.35 (U.S.) per ounce of silver). Cabacal has a low all-in-sustaining cost of $671 (U.S.) per ounce gold equivalent for the first five years, driven by high metallurgical recovery, a low life-of-mine strip ratio of 2.1:1 and the low-operating-cost environment of Brazil.

The Cabacal mineral resource estimate consists of indicated resources of 52.9 million tonnes at 0.6 g/t gold, 0.3 per cent copper and 1.4 g/t silver, and inferred resources of 10.3 million tonnes at 0.7 g/t gold, 0.2 per cent copper and 1.1 g/t silver (at a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t gold equivalent). The Santa Helena mine area generated an initial exploration target with a tonnage range of 3.2 million to 7.2 million tonnes (t) grading between 3.0 and 3.2 g/t AuEq, which gives a potential high-grade metal inventory range of between 306,000 and 763,000 AuEq ounces, located within 10 km of the proposed Cabacal mill site.

Readers are encouraged to read the PEA technical report in its entirety. The PEA technical report may be found on the company's website and under the company's profile on SEDAR+.

The qualified persons for the PEA technical report are: Robert Raponi (PEng), principal metallurgist with Ausenco Engineering, Scott Elfen (PE), global lead, geotechnical and civil services, with Ausenco Engineering, Simon Tear (PGeo, EurGeol), principal geological consultant of H&SC, Marcelo Batelochi (MAusIMM, CPGeo), geological consultant of MB Geologia Ltda., Joseph Keane (mineral processing engineer, PE), of SGS, and Guilherme Gomides Ferreira (mine engineer, MAIG), of GE21 Consultoria Mineral.

Qualified person

Erich Marques, BSc, FAIG, 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.