Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 18, 2026) - The new leadership of Valkea Resources Corp. (TSXV: OZ) (OTCQB: OZBKF) (FSE: 4A7) (the "Company" or "Valkea") is pleased to outline the Company's first comprehensive work program to systematically unlock value from our large prospective land package in Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt.

• New leadership team now in place including key members of the Ikkari discovery team
• Funding now secured for 2026/2027 exploration programs
• Work to outline an initial 15 - 20 target prospect pipeline nearing completion
• Planning underway to recommence drilling in H2 2026

Earlier this year, Valkea announced leadership and technical appointments comprised of key contributors to Rupert Resources' Ikkari discovery team. Valkea's board acknowledged their proven ability to develop targets and assess prospectivity through both efficient technical work and understanding of the area's geology. (See April 13, 2026, and Jan. 21, 2026 press releases).

These appointments include:

• Thomas Credland, President & CEO: A geologist by background, Mr Credland was involved in the identification and acquisition of Rupert's core property package in Northern Finland and the implementation of strategy, financings and work programs that led to the discovery and resource development of Ikkari.

• Dr Chris Bonson, VP Exploration: Dr Bonson has more than 25 years of international consulting experience in the application of structural geology to mineral projects and has contributed to the understanding of significant projects within Lapland, including Ikkari.

• Dr Charlotte (Charlie) Seabrook, Technical Advisor: Dr Seabrook was Rupert's Group Exploration Manager and is credited with assembling the team and implementing the systematic geoscience-led approach that resulted in the Ikkari discovery.

Dr Bonson is leading the advancement of the Company's exploration programs in collaboration with Dr Seabrook.

Valkea has commenced a systematic four-phase exploration program to be undertaken over a 12-month cycle, where new high-ranking prospects will be expedited for reconnaissance base-of-till drilling ("BoT"), followed by systematic diamond drilling ("DDH") of the most prospective targets commencing in the second half of 2026. Valkea plans to initially complete around 6,000 points of BoT and up to 10,000 metres of DDH drilling on the targets, initially at the more advanced Paana property, with a longer-term plan to develop an expanded exploration pipeline to include targets from the other 100% owned Valkea properties.

Thomas Credland, Chief Executive of Valkea Resources, said: "Our 350 km² of prospective exploration properties in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt makes Valkea the second largest landholder in the district following Agnico Eagle's acquisition of the Ikkari Project and consolidation of the exploration properties in the region. However, it also repositions Valkea as the dominant exploration-focused company in the belt. While Paana is our most advanced exploration project, our new technical team is currently evaluating Valkea's entire land package with the goal of developing a ranked pipeline of targets for priority exploration with a geoscience-led approach."

Valkea's initial systematic exploration plan is outlined below:

Phase 1. Initial review and mineral asset evaluation (ongoing to July): Review of Valkea properties and datasets with the goal of developing a prospect pipeline of more than 20 targets based on a proprietary regional geological model and interpretation.

Phase 2. Detailed exploration planning (July to August): Identification of the best five to 10 targets ranked by prospectivity, permit status and access. Baseline environmental studies and stakeholder engagement to commence.

Phase 3. Exploration campaign (August to March): Goal of around 6,000 points of BoT and 5,000 m to 10,000 m of diamond drilling on the best five to 10 targets.

Phase 4. Review, evaluation and planning (ongoing): Review of drilling results and continual assessment of opportunities to consolidate, divest or permit new properties.

Project descriptions and near-term objectives

Valkea's 350 km² of landholdings (see Figure 1) currently include six project areas that span highly prospective regional geological structures with a total trace length of more than 50 kilometres.

Paana

The Paana project covers extensions of regional shear zones and large-scale fold structures considered highly prospective for orogenic gold mineralisation within the same stratigraphic suite that hosts Agnico Eagle's Suurikuusikko deposit (Kittilä mine), 16 km southeast. New interpretations of public and proprietary geophysical data (i.e., aeromagnetic, electromagnetic (EM), and VTEM surveys) combined with an assessment of the efficacy and underlying geochemical traits of existing BoT data have identified 12 new targets within Paana that are currently undergoing ranking for new BoT and DDH drill testing over the 2026/27 drill season. These targets include a combination of anomalous gold in BoT, highly conductive features on EM, prospective structural settings and potential lithological traps (e.g. ironstones and graphitic tuffs).

Aarnivalkea West strike and depth extensions

Further drilling of strike and depth extensions on the advanced Aarnivalkea West target will be considered after review of the geological model by the new technical team and will incorporate Valkea's relogging of existing core and new drilling in 2025. In addition, diagnostic metallurgical test work of representative mineralisation from Aarnivalkea West will be undertaken over the next few months.

Pahasvuoma / Rova

Mineralisation was originally discovered in the Rova licence during BoT sampling in 1983, which included one sample grading 3.97 g/t Au and 0.5% Cu. A subsequent reconnaissance ionic leach program outlined a strong Au-Cu-Sb-As-Ag anomaly approximately 1.3 km south of the initial BoT sampling. Further work in 2026 may include geological mapping and sampling along the trend, as well as BoT drilling across the known anomalous area and structural features picked from an updated interpretation of regional GTK geophysics.

The Pahasvuoma licence straddles the northern continuation of the N-S striking Hanhimaa Shear Zone. A reconnaissance ionic leach program undertaken by S2 Resources defined two Au-As-Ag anomalies spanning lithological contacts in the west and centre of the licence, each with a strike length of 1.5 to 2 km. Follow-up work at Pahasvuoma in 2026 is planned to include acquisition and interpretation of a UAV-magnetic survey and BoT drilling to test the extent and nature of the ionic leach anomalies.

Putaanperä

The Putaanperä licence encompasses a 3.5 km segment of the highly prospective Sirkka Shear Zone, a regional structure that, along with associated features, is interpreted to host numerous mineral gold occurrences, potentially including Rupert Resource's Ikkari gold discovery (45 km to the southeast). Following a revised structural interpretation, Valkea plans to progress exploration of the licence by testing the existing geochemical anomaly with BoT drilling.

Sikavaara Joint Venture

The Sikavaara East and West licences have been explored under a JV with Rupert Resources since 2021. The properties are located ~12 km west of Rupert Resources' Ikkari discovery and ~20 km down trend from Agnico Eagle's Kittilä Mine, encompassing a 10 km strike length of the regional Sirkka Shear Zone. Under the terms of the joint venture, Rupert Resources agreed to a total spending commitment of CDN$5M to earn a 70% interest over six years in two stages. Rupert completed Stage 1 with an initial $1.7M spent over three years and elected to enter Stage 2 for an additional $3.3M exploration spend. If Stages 1 and 2 are not completed, the licences revert 100% to Valkea.

Palvanen

The Palvanen property hosts a number of regional structures including the interpreted continuation of the Kiistala Thrust, host to the multi-million-ounce Kittilä Mine. Valkea plans to undertake analysis of the existing extensive dataset in 2026 to further its understanding of the geology of Palvanen and its potential to host either a new standalone Tier 1 or Tier 2 orebody, or satellite mineralisation that could be processed through one of two mills expected to be operational within a decade at Kittilä Mine and Ikkari.

About Valkea

Valkea Resources is a geoscience-led exploration company focused on making new gold and base metals discoveries in Northern Finland's prospective Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. Its 350 km² land package includes six principal project areas that span highly prospective regional geological structures. The Company's leadership and technical team include key contributors to the multi-million-ounce Ikkari gold discovery made in 2020. Work is underway to make a new discovery using the same systematic and disciplined approach to identifying targets with the best potential for meaningful size and the possibility of becoming mines of the future.

Qualified Person

The disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Dr Chris Bonson. Dr Bonson holds a BSc (Hons, First Class) in Geology from the University of Liverpool and a PhD in structural and economic geology from Kingston University, UK. He is a Chartered Geologist in good standing with the Geological Society, London, and is recognised as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Over the past decade, he has gained extensive geological experience in Northern Finland, working in a consulting capacity on the principal gold and base metal deposits of Central Lapland.

Some technical information contained in this release is historical in nature and has been compiled from public sources believed to be accurate. The historical technical information has not been verified by Valkea and may, in some instances, be unverifiable. Mineralisation hosted on adjacent and/or nearby projects is not necessarily indicative of mineralisation hosted on Valkea's projects

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

Figure 1. Valkea Resources land holdings in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/301963