Mr. Alex Black reports

RIO2 PROVIDES MINE CONSTRUCTION AND CORPORATE UPDATE

Rio2 Ltd. today provided an update on progress made at Rio2's 100-per-cent owned Fenix gold project currently under construction in the Atacama region, Chile. At the end of Q2 2025, construction was 41 per cent complete and remains on track and on budget for first gold production in January, 2026.

Construction update

Construction highlights for the nine months from Oct. 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, are as follows, with all amounts expressed in United States dollars.

Health and safety -- A total of 1,270,141 person-hours have been worked on the project to date, with one lost-time incident for a finger injury, resulting in a lost-time incident frequency rate (LTIFR) of 0.79. The total incident frequency rate (TIFR) for the project as of June 30, 2025, was 6.30.

Budget -- Total spend to date since October, 2024, of $56.4-million for works completed versus budget of $57.8-million. These costs exclude corporate overheads and do not include preconstruction costs expended in 2022.

Schedule -- Total project is currently 41 per cent complete, and the company expects to achieve first gold production in January, 2026. All long lead time procurement items are in hand.

Construction progress

As of the end of the month, 12.7 hectares of geosynthetics have been installed at the leach pad. This area guarantees a leach pad for the first six months of production capacity.

Completed the placement of four hectares of overliner material on the leach pad, ready to receive mineral in August, 2025.

Haul Road 1, construction progress has reached 90 per cent, while Haul Road 4 stands at 40-per-cent completion. Both haul roads connect the Fenix South pit to the leach pad and are essential for the commencement of operations.

At the ADR plant, continuing work focused on the adsorption area, reagent handling facilities and chemical reagent storage. The structural assembly of the plant building is now complete, and building cladding is 90 per cent finished.

The first of three electrical switch rooms is currently being transported from the city of Santiago to the project site.

Human resources -- A total of 1,514 personnel (including contractors) are currently employed at the project. Ninety-four per cent of the work force is comprised of Chileans, with 41 per cent of the work force from the Atacama region, 10 per cent of the work force is female.

Exploration -- Grade control drilling activities are nearing completion, focused on the pit areas covering the first three years of future mine production. This drilling program is planned to finish by the end of July, and the MRE update/reconciliation for mineral within the grade control drilling area is expected to be released by the end of September. This new information will be useful for mine planning and scheduling of the initial three years of production from the Fenix gold mine.

Timetable and next steps

Upcoming key milestones at the Fenix gold mine include:

• Start of mining mineral and stacking ore on leach pad -- August, 2025;
• Finalization of the PLS pond -- August, 2025;
• Installation of all three electrical switch rooms -- August, 2025;
• Commissioning of the ADR plant -- November, 2025;
• Completion of mine expansion study -- December, 2025;
• First gold pour -- January, 2026.

Corporate news

Conditional approval to graduate to the Toronto Stock Exchange

Rio2 also announces that it has received conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to graduate from the TSX Venture Exchange and to list its common shares on the TSX. Final approval of the listing is subject to the company meeting certain customary conditions required by the TSX. Rio2 is working diligently to satisfy such listing conditions, and further details and a timeline for graduation will be announced in due course. Upon receipt of the final approval from the TSX, Rio2's common shares will commence trading on the TSX and be delisted from the TSX-V. Shareholders are not required to exchange their share certificates or take any other action in connection with the TSX listing, as there will be no change in the trading symbol or Cusip for the common shares.

2024 ESG report

Rio2 also announces the publication of its 2024 ESG report. This report represents a comprehensive review of the environmental, social and governance factors related to Rio2's development activities at its Fenix gold project in Chile for the year 2024.

Rio2 is committed to the principles of responsible mining and best practices in corporate governance.

Fenix gold project

The Fenix gold project is one of the largest undeveloped gold oxide, heap leach projects in the Americas, hosting a measured and indicated mineral resource (as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, NI 43-101) of 4.8 million ounces of gold which the company believes will make a positive contribution to the Atacama region and Chile. The project is an example of modern gold mining where a full complement of technical, environmental and social considerations has been consulted and designed from the outset. The project represents a significant investment in the gold mining business in Chile by a junior mining company of approximately $235-million (U.S.) of initial and sustaining capital, generating employment for at least 1,200 people during the construction phase and 800 people during the 17-year operations phase. The mine being contemplated will be a run-of-mine heap leach operation; no crushing or tailings storage facilities are required, thereby minimizing the overall impact and footprint of the project.

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, approved and verified by Enrique Garay, MSc, PGeo/FAIG, who is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. For additional information regarding the project, including key parameters, assumptions and risks associated with its development, see the independent technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for the Fenix Gold Project" pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The feasibility study is dated Oct. 16, 2023, with an effective date of Oct. 16, 2023, a copy of which document is available under Rio2's SEDAR+ profile.

About Rio2 Ltd.

Rio2 is a mining company with a focus on development and mining operations with a team that has proven technical skills as well as successful capital markets record. Rio2 is focused on taking its Fenix gold project in Chile to production in the shortest possible time frame based on a staged development strategy. Rio2 and its wholly owned subsidiary, Fenix Gold Ltd., are companies with the highest environmental standards and responsibility with the firm conviction that it is possible to develop mining projects that respect the three pillars (social, environment, economics) of responsible development. As related companies, the company reaffirms its commitment to apply environmental standards beyond those that are mandated by regulators, seeking to protect and preserve the environment of the territories that it operates in.

We seek Safe Harbor.