Mr. Sylvain Guerard reports

ORLA MINING LAUNCHES $25M EXPLORATION DRILLING PROGRAM TO EXPAND RESERVES AND RESOURCES AND EXTEND MUSSELWHITE MINE TREND

Orla Mining Ltd. has started the 2025 exploration drilling program at the company's recently acquired Musselwhite mine in Northwestern Ontario.

2025 program summary:

• Underground drilling to replace and expand reserves and resources;
• Directional drilling from surface to prove the open down-plunge extension of the mine trend -- the first surface program since 2020;
• Drill testing priority near-mine targets to identify potential new mill feed material.

Background

The Musselwhite mine has produced nearly six million ounces of gold over its 28-year operating history. Recent exploration efforts have focused on near-mine targets, including the down-plunge extension of the mine trend (PQ Deep area), through underground drilling to replace depleted reserves and resources. However, historical exploration drilling confirmed that the mineralized system extends at least one kilometre beyond current reserves. These results indicate significant potential mineralization beyond the current reserve.

Orla plans to continue underground exploration while also restarting drilling from surface to confirm the deposit's down-plunge continuity. The objective is to define a critical mass of additional reserves and resources to support expansion of the operation and significantly extend the mine life. Historical drilling along the mine trend extension suggests an additional two to three kilometres of mineralized strike potential beyond current reserves and resources, extending from the PQ Deep area into the down-plunge portion of the mine. Additionally, Orla will assess near-mine targets through surface drilling for further resource growth and potential new mill feed.

"We are thrilled to launch this long-overdue, ambitious exploration program at Musselwhite. Our primary objective is to intersect mineralization beyond the current reserves and resources along the down-plunge extension of the mine trend, demonstrating the potential to extend mine life well beyond 2030. We will also continue underground drilling and reactivate surface drilling near the mine to further expand resources and demonstrate the potential for mine life extension and expansion," said Sylvain Guerard, Orla's senior vice-president, exploration.

2025 underground drill program

Underground exploration drilling began in March immediately following completion of the Musselwhite acquisition. Orla intends to complete approximately 35,000 metres of underground drilling in 2025 to offset mine depletion and grow reserves, resources and mineral inventories.

2025 directional drilling on the extension of the mine

Historical drill results from the PQ Deeps target area confirmed that gold mineralization at Musselwhite extends at least one kilometre beyond current reserves. Orla is planning a 10,000-metre directional drilling program from surface to further prove the down-plunge extension of the Musselwhite mine. The 2025 program aims to confirm the first kilometre, beyond existing drilling, of a potential two to three kilometre extension of the current mineral reserves. Drilling is scheduled to begin in the second quarter, with this initial phase expected to continue through the end of 2025.

The last phase of surface exploration drilling conducted by Goldcorp Inc. and Newmont Corp. from 2017 to 2020 intersected strong mineralization in the area referred to as extension 2 and extension 3, extending approximately one kilometre from the currently defined reserves and resources. The drill results confirm that the mine trend remains open, and Orla intends to define the extent of this mineralization.

Highlighted drill results from this program are presented in an attached table.

2025 near-mine surface drilling

Around the Musselwhite mine, Orla plans to complete approximately 6,500 metres of drilling in the second half of 2025 to test five priority near-mine targets. These targets, all within a 10-kilometre radius of the Musselwhite mill, are supported by historical drill intersections, surface rock sampling results and a favourable geological setting. They present opportunities to define satellite mineralized zones that could provide additional mill feed.

The priority targets are either situated along the mine trend (such as Karl Zeemal and Midway) or associated with historical drill intersections, gold occurrences (grab samples of up to seven grams per tonne gold) and banded iron formations (such as Camp Bay, Bottenfield and Libert).

Qualified person statement

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sylvain Guerard, PGeo, senior vice-president of exploration, who is the qualified person as defined under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101.

To verify the information related to the historical drilling programs at the Musselwhite property, Mr. Guerard visited the property in the past year; discussed logging, sampling and sample-shipping processes with responsible site staff; discussed and reviewed assay and quality assurance/quality control results with responsible personnel; and reviewed supporting documentation, including drill hole location and orientation as well as significant assay interval calculations.

Quality assurance/quality control -- historical drilling

Historical drill results at Musselwhite were completed by Goldcorp and/or Newmont, the prior owners of the project. The company's independent qualified person, DRA Americas Inc., was of the opinion that the drilling and sampling procedures for Musselwhite drill samples by Goldcorp and Newmont were reasonable and adequate for the purposes of the Musselwhite report (as defined herein), and that the Goldcorp and Newmont QA/QC program met or exceeded industry standards (see the company's NI 43-101 technical report for the project titled "Technical Report -- Musselwhite Mine Project, Ontario, Canada," with an effective date of Nov. 18, 2024, for additional information).

The true widths of the historical drill intersections in this news release are estimated to be between 45 per cent and 100 per cent of the core length.

About Orla Mining Ltd.

Orla's corporate strategy is to acquire, develop and operate mineral properties where the company's expertise can substantially increase stakeholder value. The company has three material projects, consisting of two operating mines and one development project, all 100 per cent owned by the company: (i) Camino Rojo, in Zacatecas state, Mexico, an operating gold and silver open-pit and heap-leach mine that covers over 139,000 hectares and contains a large oxide and sulphide mineral resource; (ii) Musselwhite, in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, an underground gold mine that has been in operation for over 25 years and produced close to six million ounces of gold, with a long history of resource growth and conversion; and (iii) South Railroad, in Nevada, United States, a feasibility-stage, open-pit, heap-leach gold project located on the Carlin trend in Nevada. The technical reports for the company's material projects are available on Orla's website, as well as on SEDAR+ and EDGAR.

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