Mr. Andrew Cox reports

CONDESTABLE MINE RECEIVES APPROVAL OF MODIFIED EIA PAVING THE PATH FORWARD FOR EXPANSION

Rio2 Ltd. has received regulatory approval for the Modification of the Environmental Impact Study (Modificacion del Estudio de Impacto Ambiental or MEIA) on Aug. 21, 2026, for the expansion of its Condestable underground copper mine in Peru, concluding a successful 14-month process involving environmental regulators, local communities and other key stakeholders.

"The approval of the MEIA is a significant regulatory milestone for Rio2 and Minera Condestable and allows for several significant operational milestones," stated Andrew Cox, president, chief executive officer and a director of Rio2. "This decision extends our operating horizon, confirms our environmental approach with dry-stack tailings, and opens the regulatory path to expand operations to 10,000 tpd and beyond. With detailed engineering well under way, ore sorting trials scheduleld for later this year and continuous exploration across our concessions, we remain dedicated to maximizing the asset's full potential."

The approved MEIA includes environmental authorization for a dry-stack tailings facility (tailings storage facility No. 6), which, together with the continuing commissioning of the tailings filtration plant at Condestable, reinforces the company's commitment to modern, low-risk tailings management. Initial permitted capacity for tailings storage facility No. 6 is approximately 43 million tonnes, with the design allowing for staged expansions up to 170 million tonnes to support future mine life extensions.

The MEIA also permits an expansion of throughput capacity to 10,000 tonnes per day (tpd) from the current capacity of 8,400 tpd. Next steps with respect to the planned expansion include completing engineering studies for both the processing plant and the mine, which are currently under way with third party consultants. Rio2 is advancing its technical and economic evaluation with the goal of making a final investment decision during H2 2026, less than a year after its acquisition of Condestable.

While the recently updated mineral reserves and resources at Condestable, and the consistent history of reserve and resource replacement, provide a solid foundation for an expanded operation, Rio2 continues to evaluate other potential sources of ore. The ore sorting pilot program targeting existing low-grade stockpiles and waste dumps is schedulled to commence during Q4 2026. In addition, systematic exploration campaigns continue, both from underground and surface, to expand resources and replace reserves. A full surface geophysical survey of the entire Condestable land package was recently completed, and results analysis is under way.

Finally, the MEIA officially extends Condestable's environmentally approved mine life for a further decade.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed, approved and verified by Enrique Garay, MSc PGeo/FAIG, senior vice-president, geology, Rio2, who is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

For additional information regarding Condestable, see the independent technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Condestable Mine, Lima Department, Peru" pursuant to National Instrument 43-101. The technical report is dated July 22, 2026, with an effective date of May 31, 2026, a copy of which document is available under Rio2's SEDAR+ profile.

About Rio2 Ltd.

Rio2 is a diversified precious metals and copper producer focused on building and operating mines with a management team that has proven technical skills as well as a successful capital markets record. The company is currently producing gold at its Fenix gold heap leach mine in Chile and copper/gold/silver at its recently acquired Condestable underground mine in Peru. Rio2 and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Fenix Gold Ltd. and Compania Minera Condestable SA, are companies that operate 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 mandated by regulators, seeking to protect and preserve the environment in the territories where it operates.

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