Highlights:

• DDH PL-112 - wide intervals of copper and gold and discovers Kraken zone
  • 20.9m of 0.35 g/t Au, 18.25 g/t Ag, 0.30% Cu, 1.96% Zn
  • 51.9m of 0.46 g/t Au, 9.4 g/t Ag, 0.37% Cu, 1.32% Zn
  • 75.8m of 0.45% Cu - Kraken copper zone
  • 23.5m of 0.43% Cu - Kraken copper zone
• DDH PL-111 extends strike of Pt. Leamington deposit to >1km testing a 350m airborne EM anomaly, intersecting 2.8m of 1.20 g/t Au, 9.96 g/t Ag, 0.62% Cu, 1.87% Zn and 9.2m of 1.16 g/t Au, 0.53% Zn; and
• Step-out drilling is ongoing to expand the new Kraken copper zone.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 2, 2026) - Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQB: VCGMF) (the "Company" or "Visionary") is pleased to announce initial drilling results from the Phase 1 exploration program at the 100% owned Pt. Leamington Project (the "Project") located in central Newfoundland. The property is accessible by road and trails, approximately 18km and 37km from the towns of Pt. Leamington and Grand Falls-Windsor and 20km from the provincial power grid. The program is planned to expand the Pt. Leamington volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") deposit (the "Deposit") by testing high-priority exploration targets with emphasis on expanding the near surface resource (See News Release Dated February 3, 2026).

To date, the Company has completed 2,119m across six of the seven proposed exploration drill holes for a total of 2,119m in the previously announced 3,000m drill program. Several additional holes have been added to the current campaign to expedite immediate follow up on newly discovered mineralization.

Max Porterfield, Visionary President & CEO, stated, "Initial results from our Phase I exploration drilling has been a resounding success. We discovered the new Kraken copper rich zone and an extension to the south, which I believe together with other significant intersections from our current drilling program will have a positive impact on our next Pt Leamington mineral resource estimate. I'm looking forward to additional results from our ongoing program."

Dr. Stephen Piercey, P. Geo. and Technical Advisor, said "The recent drill program at Pt. Leamington has verified and expanded previous massive sulfide mineralization, while outlining new stringer-style mineralization in the Kraken zone. These results are exciting and expand the potential for the Pt. Leamington deposit and district."

Peter Jones, P. Eng. and Technical Advisor, commented, "The Pt. Leamington deposit offers a compelling opportunity to increase near-surface base and precious metal mineral resources with a focus on copper rich zones. Together with extension of mineral resources and by successfully optimizing metallurgical processes, ongoing exploration can pave the way for a significant future mining operation."

Potential to Expand Current Pt. Leamington Deposit and Discovery of the Kraken Copper Zone

Drill hole PL-112, was drilled to test the continuity of the Pt. Leamington deposit near surface compared to historic drill intersections and was also deepened to test the potential for additional stacked lenses of mineralization below the existing resource.

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PL-112 intersected the Deposit 27.3m down hole, returning 20.9m of 0.35 g/t Au, 18.25 g/t Ag, 0.30% Cu and 1.96% Zn followed by 51.9m of 0.46 g/t Au, 9.4 g/t Ag, 0.37% Cu and 1.32% Zn beginning at 60.1m including:

• 8.4 m of 0.48 g/t Au, 11.77 g/t Ag, 0.70% Cu and 2.07% Zn (60.1m to 68.5m)
• 18.3m of 0.54 g/t Au, 9.76 g/t Ag, 0.61% Cu and 0.86% Zn (72.1m to 90.4m)
• 19.7 m of 0.49 g/t Au, 10.65 g/t Ag, 0.11% Cu and 1.80% Zn (92.3m to 112.0m)

The grades and widths intersected in PL-112 are higher grade and wider than historic holes drilled nearby included in the existing mineral resource estimate. These initial results show the potential to significantly improve the existing resource estimate through infill drilling concurrent with a more comprehensive core sampling program. Historic operators focused on sampling massive sulphides with less sampling of footwall, stringer-type pyrite and chalcopyrite, a mineral that hosts copper (Pt. Leamington Deposit Kraken Discovery Cross Section).

Drill hole PL-112 also resulted in the discovery of a new zone of mineralization (the "Kraken") intersecting 75.8m of 0.45% Cu (248.2m to 324m) and an additional 23.5m of 0.43% Cu (342m to 365.5m) on the newly emerging, lower footwall horizon (the "Kraken Horizon"). The mineralization intersected at Kraken is located outside of the existing resource and pit shell. The significant thickness and grades intersected have the potential for near surface resource growth that could be included in an expanded pit.

The discovery of the Kraken zone also indicates mineralization occurs at multiple stratigraphic levels similar to other large VMS systems globally like the Ming deposit being advanced by FireFly Metals (Pt. Leamington/Ming Cross Section).*

Step-out drilling continues to expand / define the Kraken zone along the Kraken stratigraphic horizon with drilling to continue until spring break-up.

Pt. Leamington Deposit Expansion Along Strike to the South

Drilling was planned to expand the current strike of the Deposit to nearly 1.2km (Pt Leamington Deposit Plan View with Electromagnetics).

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Drill hole PL-111, the first hole testing a 350m airborne electromagnetic anomaly located immediately to the south of the Deposit intersected 2.8m of massive sulphides at 1.20 g/t Au, 9.96 g/t Ag, 0.62% Cu and 1.87% Zn beginning at 120.3m and 9.2m of stringer mineralization at 1.16 g/t Au and 0.53% Zn from 138.6m to 147.8m (Pt. Leamington PL-111 Cross Section). PL-111 is a 166m step-out from PL-072, drilled in 2000, which intersected 8.08m of 1.08 g/t Au, 4.76 g/t Ag, 0.66% Cu and 0.44% Zn from 176.7m to 184.78m. The airborne EM anomaly was identified in 2007 however no exploration drilling had previously tested this target.

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Table 1: Initial Phase 1 Drill Results

Notes:

1. True width estimates are unknown and will be determined with more drilling.
2. PL-111 collar is located at the following Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates using the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) within UTM Zone 21N: 599763m East and 5458396m North and 192m above sea level, and started at 065Az, -60 degree dip.
3. PL-112 collar is located at the following Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates using the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) within UTM Zone 21N: 599359m East and 5458923m North and 151m above sea level, and started at 065Az, -47 degree dip.
4. The size of the drill core is NQ.

Sampling for Mineralogical Testwork

Samples from the gold and copper rich zones in the Deposit have been taken and submitted for detailed mineralogical studies to understand gold and base metal residence.

A bench scale metallurgical test program in a commercial lab is planned. It will involve flotation to recover copper and zinc, separate arsenic and other minerals, and recover gold. A focus on gold recovery will test and evaluate leaching alternatives to maximize gold recovery. Results will be used for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Pt. Leamington Project.

QA / QC Protocols

Core and rock samples, including standards, blanks and duplicates, are submitted to Eastern Analytical Ltd., Springdale, Newfoundland for preparation and analysis. All samples were acquired by saw-cut (drill core) with one-half submitted for assay and one-half retained for reference by Visionary personnel. Samples were submitted in sealed bags to the Springdale lab of Eastern Analytical, which is an accredited assay lab that conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. Samples were analyzed by the Eastern's Au+ICP-34, which involved a 30g fire assay coupled with an AAS finish for Au, whereas the ICP-34 involved a four acid digestion of a 200mg subsample with an ICP-OES finish. Overlimits are analysed with Eastern's atomic absorption method, using a 0.200g to 2.00g sample, digested with three acids. All reported assays are uncut. Eastern Analytical Ltd. achieved ISO 17025 accreditation in February 2014 (for more details on the scope of accreditation visit the CALA website).

Pt. Leamington Project

The Pt. Leamington Project is located approximately 37km by road and trails from the City of Grand Falls-Windsor and approximately 20km from the provincial power grid. Pt. Leamington is a felsic-hosted, VMS deposit that dips 70 degrees to the west, has a strike length of 560m plus and a maximum thickness of 85m. Massive sulphides have been intersected to a depth of 360m below surface from approximately 21,714m of drilling in 72 holes. Regional government mapping and lithogeochemical sampling indicates that Pt. Leamington's host volcanic stratigraphy extends beyond the Deposit area.

The Deposit hosts a significant gold, copper, zinc, and silver resource, with a pit-constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit-constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead), and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25, 2021).

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Aaryn Hutchins, P. Geo, a qualified person under NI 43-101. Ms. Hutchins is a consultant for the Company and is independent of the Company. Historical information was verified from geological reports filed with the government by previous operators.

*Mineralization at the Ming deposit owned by Firefly Metals is not necessarily indicative of mineralization at the Kraken zone.

About Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc.

Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQB: VCGMF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the 100% owned Pt. Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. The Company prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25, 2021). Additionally the Company is permitting the Rainbow deposit at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The Company prepared an indicated mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 3.44 Mt grading 3.59% CuEq for 272.4 Mlb CuEq (238.3 Mlb Cu, 56.9 Mlb Zn, 37.6 koz Au, 692.8 koz Ag, 2.3 Mlb Pb), an inferred mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 1.28 Mt grading 2.95% CuEq containing 83.4 Mlb CuEq (72.1 Mlb Cu, 19.5 Mlb Zn, 11.1 koz Au, 222.2 Koz Ag, 0.8 Mlb Pb) and an inferred mineral resource at the Pine Bay deposit of 1.0 Mt grading 2.62% Cu containing 58.1 Mlb Cu (see news release dated July 10, 2023). Additionally, the portfolio includes the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc (see news release dated May 14, 2018).

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.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Visionary does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

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