Star Metro - Aston Bay Announces Pre-Feasibility Study Results and Maiden Mineral Reserve for the Storm Copper Project, Nunavut

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2026 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or the "Project") on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. The Project is held in a joint venture with American West Metals Limited ("American West"), which holds an 80% interest and is the operator, with Aston Bay maintaining a free carried interest until a decision to mine is made upon completion of a bankable feasibility study. The PFS was prepared by Sacré-Davey Engineering Inc. ("Sacré-Davey") with specialist contributors and supports the first Mineral Reserve Estimate for the Project.

The PFS evaluates a contractor-operated, open-pit mine at the Cyclone, Chinook, Corona and Thunder Deposits. Ore is planned to be upgraded on site by sensor-based sorting and gravity concentration, with flotation of the fine fraction, to produce a copper-silver concentrate that is shipped during the summer open-water season. Mining is scheduled over approximately 8.6 years, from January 2030 to July 2038. Processing runs from April 2030 to April 2040 and treats stockpiled lower-grade ore after mining ends. The last concentrate shipment is in September 2040, for a production life of 10.5 years.

The production plan and economic analysis are based only on Probable Mineral Reserves. Inferred Mineral Resources are treated as waste and contribute no tonnes, metal or revenue to the PFS case.

All amounts are in Canadian dollars (C$) unless otherwise stated. Metal prices, concentrate commercial terms and cash costs per pound of copper are in US dollars (US$). Conversions between currencies use an exchange rate of C$1.39 per US$1.00 (US$0.72 per C$1.00). NPV is reported in both C$ and US$. IRR and payback are reported once, as they are the same in either currency at a constant exchange rate. All figures are on a 100% Project basis, before allocation between the joint venture participants. Costs and prices are in real terms, without escalation. Unless stated otherwise, results are for the base case.

Cautionary Note

The PFS is based on Probable Mineral Reserves only; no Inferred Mineral Resources are included in the mine plan or economic analysis. The capital and operating cost estimates are AACE Class 4 estimates with an accuracy range of −30% to +50%. The PFS is not a Feasibility Study and no decision to develop the Project has been made. The base-case NPV and IRR are calculated at an assumed investment decision date of 30 September 2029 and exclude pre-development capital scheduled before that date (see Economic Analysis). The spot price case is a sensitivity only and is not a forecast.

PFS Highlights

• Maiden Mineral Reserve: Probable Mineral Reserves of 12.58 Mt at 1.20% Cu and 3.7 g/t Ag, containing approximately 151,400 t (334 Mlb) of copper and 1.50 Moz of silver, effective 1 November 2026. The Probable Mineral Reserve contains about 89% of the copper in the Indicated Mineral Resource.
• Key assumptions (base case): US$5.30/lb copper, US$50/oz silver, C$1.39 per US$1.00 and a 7% discount rate. Concentrate terms provided by American West: treatment charge US$25/dmt, refining charge US$0.025/lb payable copper, copper payable after a deduction of 1.15 to 1.45 units by concentrate grade, and silver payable at 100% above a 30 g/t deduction and a silver refining charge of US$0.50/oz payable. Concentrate shipping is US$85/wmt, insurance and brokerage are 0.33% of cargo value, and concentrate moisture is 2.5%.
• Spot price case: at spot prices of US$6.53/lb copper and US$49.98/oz silver on 2 November 2026, provided by American West, the after-tax NPV7% is C$323.8 million (US$233.1 million), the IRR is 55.1%, and payback is 2.7 years, on the same valuation basis as the base case. The spot case uses the base-case mine plan and Mineral Reserves.
• Capital (incl. C$23.66 million contingency): pre-development C$37.90 million (October 2028 to March 2029), initial C$112.58 million (October 2029 to March 2030) and expansion C$14.21 million (October 2031 to March 2032), for a total of C$164.69 million. Closure and reclamation: C$9.70 million, an allowance provided by American West.
• Production: 688,290 dmt of concentrate at an average grade of 14.97% Cu and 45.8 g/t Ag, containing 103,035 t (227.2 Mlb) of copper and 1.01 Moz of silver. LOM recoveries are 68.2% for copper and 67.5% for silver. Payable metal is 208.2 Mlb of copper and 351.6 koz of silver. Silver is payable at 100% above a deduction of 30 g/t in concentrate.
• Operating costs: LOM average site operating cost of C$72.00 per tonne processed: mining C$47.70/t (contractor rate of C$7.21 per tonne mined, including pre-stripping), processing C$13.29/t and G&A C$11.01/t.
• Cash costs: C1 cash cost of US$3.45/lb and AISC of US$3.73/lb of payable copper in the base case (US$3.45/lb and US$3.91/lb in the spot case), after silver credits (see Non-GAAP Measures).
• Mine plan: 83.28 Mt of total material mined, including 12.58 Mt of ore and 70.70 Mt of waste, for a strip ratio of 5.6:1. Processing runs from April 2030 to April 2040.
• Offtake and finance: a binding offtake agreement with Ocean Partners (July 2025) covers 100% of the base production of copper, silver and gold products from Storm. Ocean Partners has agreed to provide debt finance of up to 80% of initial capital, subject to a bankable feasibility study and formal documentation; this is not committed funding. The PFS economic analysis is unlevered.
• The PFS envisions all infrastructure on-site to be built in three phases; with pre-development capital to target all required infrastructure to support construction at the next phase, initial capital for all infrastructure to be installed to be operational in Years 1 & 2, and the expansion phase to build infrastructure to satisfy the increased throughput in Year 3

Management Commentary

"The pre-feasibility study and maiden Mineral Reserve mark an important milestone in evaluating Storm's potential to create value for Aston Bay shareholders," said Thomas Ullrich, Aston Bay CEO. "The study provides a foundation for further technical work and assessment of potential development, but it does not capture the Project's full exploration upside. The spot-price sensitivity further illustrates Storm's leverage to copper prices, with an after-tax NPV at a 7% discount rate of approximately C$265 million, including all capital, on a 100% project basis. This highlights the potential for additional value at copper prices above the base-case assumption, separate from the exploration upside. Exploration and resource-expansion work are expected to continue, offering significant potential to create additional value beyond the current mine plan. Importantly, Aston Bay's 20% interest remains free-carried for both ongoing exploration and work to advance the project toward a potential mine development decision, including completion of a bankable feasibility study. This gives our shareholders exposure to both development progress and exploration upside without Aston Bay having to fund its share of project expenditures until a decision to mine.

"For Nunavut, Storm's potential development represents an opportunity to generate employment, training and business opportunities for Inuit and northern communities. Whether and how those benefits could be realized would depend on further studies, meaningful engagement with Inuit rights holders and communities, the required assessments and approvals, and project financing. Storm's location in the Canadian Arctic also adds a strategic dimension to its potential. As a prospective new Canadian source of copper, the project could contribute to more secure and diversified critical minerals supply chains while supporting long-term economic activity in the North. Our focus, together with our operating partner, American West Metals, is on evaluating that opportunity responsibly."

PFS Summary

Table 1: PFS Assumptions and Results Summary (100% Project Basis)

Base case unless stated. Results are from the PFS financial model (261102 Storm PFS Model v1.6 (Final) - with Spot): unlevered, 100% Project basis, real terms. NPV and IRR are at 30 September 2029, the assumed date of the investment decision, and exclude C$37.90 million (US$27.3 million) of pre-development capital; the tax deductions and investment tax credits on that capital are included. Payback is measured in annual periods from the start of production in April 2030 and includes all capital, including the pre-development capital. The funding requirement covers pre-development and initial capital, pre-production costs and initial working capital. Totals may not add due to rounding.

Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves

The Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") has an effective date of 23 December, 2025 and was prepared by Mr. K. Hon, P.Geo., of APEX Geoscience Ltd. in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (2014) and the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (2019). The MRE was reviewed and accepted by the responsible QP Mr. Yungang Wu, M.Sc., P.Geo., of P&E Mining Consultants Inc.

Mineral Resources are reported at a 0.25% Cu cut-off grade within a conceptual open-pit shell.

Table 2: Storm Mineral Resource Estimate (effective date 23 December 2025)

Values are rounded for presentation, and classification totals may not sum due to rounding.

Notes to the Mineral Resource table:

1. Mineral Resources are classified in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (2014) and have an effective date of 23 December 2025. The estimate was prepared under the supervision of, and approved by, Yungang Wu, P.Geo., of P&E Mining Consultants Inc., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
2. Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
3. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues. The Qualified Persons are not aware of any such issue that would materially affect the estimate.
4. Inferred Mineral Resources have a lower level of confidence than Indicated Mineral Resources and cannot be converted to Mineral Reserves. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could potentially be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.
5. The October 26 workbook reports a 0.25% Cu cutoff and identifies the shell as v2026_3_55deg. For the purposes of RPEEE a conceptual pit was constructed that utilized a copper price of $US6.05 per pound, mining costs of $US4 and 5 per tonne for waste and mineralized material, $US7 per tonne for G&A and $US6 per tonne for processing and recovery of 80% for copper.
6. Grades were estimated into 5 m × 5 m × 2.5 m blocks within mineralized domains by Ordinary Kriging (OK) with locally varying anisotropy (LVA) using 1.5 m composites with a balanced approach and with variable high-grade capping by domain.
7. Bulk density was assigned by geological formation using median values of 2.73 to 2.80 g/cm³.
8. The drill database closed 23 December 2025 and includes 235drill holes that intersect the mineralization domains.
9. No Measured Mineral Resources are defined. Tonnes are reported in thousands of dry tonnes and contained silver in thousands of troy ounces. Tonnes, grades and contained metal are rounded; totals may not sum due to rounding.

The Mineral Reserve Estimate has an effective date of 1 November 2026 and was prepared by Shervin Teymouri, P.Eng., of Sacré-Davey Engineering Inc., in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (2014) and the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (2019). The Mineral Reserves are included in the Mineral Resources and are derived only from Indicated Mineral Resources within the PFS pit designs.

Table 3: Storm Probable Mineral Reserves (Effective Date 1 November 2026)

1. The Mineral Reserve Estimate has an effective date of 1 November 2026. It was prepared by American West personnel and was reviewed and approved by Shervin Teymouri, P.Eng., of Sacré-Davey Engineering Inc., who takes responsibility for it, in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (2014) and the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (2019). Mineral Reserves are included in the Mineral Resources. Only Indicated Mineral Resources within the PFS pit designs are converted to Probable Mineral Reserves. No Measured Mineral Resources are defined, so no Proven Mineral Reserves are reported. Inferred Mineral Resources are treated as waste. The Probable Mineral Reserve contains about 89% of the copper in the Indicated Mineral Resource. Mineral Reserves were derived from the Mineral Resource estimate through pit optimization, staged pit design (four pits, 15 stages) and production scheduling. They are limited to Indicated material scheduled for processing in the PFS production schedule and are supported by a positive cash flow in the PFS economic analysis.
2. Mineral Reserves are reported at the base-case prices of US$5.30/lb copper and US$50/oz silver and C$1.39 per US$1.00. The base-case economic analysis demonstrates that extraction is economically viable on the assumptions stated in this news release, including the exclusion of sustaining capital, a water treatment plant and the owner's mining technical team and grade control, and the closure cost allowance provided by American West.Cut-off grades are 0.33% Cu at Cyclone, 0.32% Cu at Chinook, 0.33% Cu at Corona and 0.34% Cu at Thunder, at or above the breakeven grades calculated from the inputs in notes 6 to 8. Ore above 0.5% Cu is generally sent directly to the process plant; ore between the cut-off grade and 0.5% Cu is stockpiled for later processing. The Mineral Reserves include about 2.9 Mt of ore between the cut-off grade and 0.5% Cu, stockpiled and processed mainly after mining ends in July 2038.
3. Dilution is included by converting Mineral Resource blocks to whole-block grades on 2.5 m × 2.5 m × 2.5 m selective mining units of about 45 t. Dilution ranges from about 14% (Corona) to 24% (Chinook) and averages 15.6%. An operational ore loss of about 1% is applied, through additional factors at Chinook and Corona and within the reblocked models at Cyclone and Thunder.
4. Process recoveries vary with head grade and are calculated from deposit-specific recovery equations. Cut-off calculations use copper recoveries of 68.4% (Cyclone, Corona and Thunder) and 70.4% (Chinook). The LOM average copper recovery in the PFS production schedule is 68.2%.
5. Cut-off cost inputs, in US$: processing US$9.71/t and G&A US$8.63/t processed; ore differential mining cost US$1.59/t (Cyclone), US$1.47/t (Chinook), US$1.82/t (Corona) and US$1.86/t (Thunder); waste mining cost US$5.88/t to US$6.16/t mined (C$8.17/t to C$8.56/t). These mining costs exceed the contract rate of C$7.21/t used in the economic analysis, which is conservative for the cut-off grades. Royalties were not included in the cut-off calculation; including them would not raise the breakeven grades above the reported cut-off grades.
6. Selling terms used for the cut-off grades: shipping US$85.00/t and insurance US$5.46/t of concentrate; treatment charge US$35.00/dmt; refining charge US$0.035/lb Cu; copper payable at concentrate grade less 1.25 units; silver payable above a 30 g/t deduction. The economic analysis uses later terms provided by American West (treatment charge US$25/dmt, refining charge US$0.025/lb Cu and copper deductions of 1.15 to 1.45 units). The cut-off grades were not recalculated; the later terms would lower them, so the reported cut-off grades are conservative.
7. Pit optimization used the Lerchs-Grossmann method with overall slopes of 49.1° in fresh rock and 42.9° in the upper weathered zone, and a 7% discount rate.
8. The PFS mine plan moves 83.28 Mt of total material, including 70.70 Mt of waste, for a LOM strip ratio of 5.6:1.
9. Tonnes are dry metric tonnes. Mineral Reserves are reported as diluted ore delivered to the process plant (crusher feed). Contained metal is in situ in the Mineral Reserves, before processing losses and payability deductions. Totals may not add due to rounding.

The Mineral Reserve Estimate may be affected by changes in metal prices, exchange rates, mining and processing costs, dilution and ore loss, pit slopes, metallurgical recovery, concentrate terms, permitting, and the hydrogeological and permafrost conditions still to be studied. The Project does not yet hold the permits required to construct and operate a mine. The Qualified Person is not aware of any other mining, metallurgical, infrastructure, permitting, legal, environmental, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing or political factor that could materially affect the Mineral Reserves.

Mining

Storm is planned as a conventional open-pit operation run by a mining contractor. Production is planned with hydraulic excavators of approximately 90 t class and nominal 60 t rigid-frame haul trucks, supported by drilling, blasting and ancillary equipment. The pits are mined in stages to bring higher-grade ore and lower stripping forward. Chinook is mined first because its ore reaches the target recovery at the lower throughput of the staged plant start-up. Total material movement is about 11.3 Mt to 11.6 Mt per year from 2032 to 2036.

Mining and processing are scheduled year-round, with monthly productivity factors for Arctic conditions, including periods below about -40°C. Scheduled material movement is held at about 80% of nominal fleet capacity. Ore above 0.5% Cu is generally sent to the process plant; lower-grade ore above the deposit cut-off is stockpiled for later treatment. Ore stockpile inventory peaks at about 2.9 Mt in 2036; about 2.1 Mt remains when mining ends in July 2038 and is processed by April 2040. American West advises that stockpile rehandle is included in the operating cost estimates; no separate rehandle cost is carried.

Pit slopes follow the PFS geotechnical assessment completed by Peter O'Bryan and Associates in February 2026, based on seven geotechnical holes drilled in 2025 at Cyclone and Chinook and logging from 11 holes drilled in 2024. Bench faces are designed at 65° in fresh rock and 60° in weathered rock, with catch berms of 7 m and 5 m, respectively. The Cyclone and Chinook parameters were extended to the smaller Corona and Thunder pits; site-specific drilling is recommended to confirm them. Hydrogeological and permafrost studies were not available for the PFS and are required for the next study stage.

Total material mined is 83.28 Mt, including 70.70 Mt of waste (Inferred Mineral Resources are treated as waste) and 12.58 Mt of ore, for a LOM strip ratio of 5.6:1.

Mining costs are based on a mining contractor quotation (October 2026) at a flat rate of C$7.21 per tonne mined for all pits and years, including fuel, explosives and contractor mobilization, and excluding the owner's technical team and grade control. LOM mining cost is C$600.0 million, including C$4.3 million of pre-stripping from January to March 2030.

Processing and Production

The process plant is planned to be built in stages, starting with Chinook ore in April 2030 and expanded in Year 2 to process at the planned throughput rates. Run-of-mine ore is crushed in three stages and screened and upgraded by dry sensor-based sorting of the coarse size fraction (about 40 mm to 6 mm in size) and wet jigging of the intermediate fraction (about 6 mm to 1 mm). The fine fraction is milled and treated by flotation. The final product is a copper-silver concentrate averaging about 15% Cu and 46 g/t Ag.

The flowsheet is based on pre-concentration of the ore at a coarse size. Dry sorting rejects about 79% of the plant feed as waste before any grinding. Less than 10% of the feed is milled and treated by flotation. As a result, the grinding and flotation circuit is small compared with a conventional copper concentrator of the same throughput.

Metallurgical testwork from 2022 to 2025 on Chinook and Cyclone samples covered sensor-based sorting, gravity separation and flotation mineral recovery processes. Sorting produced a product of at least 10% Cu, including from low-grade samples. Jigging and flotation recovered additional copper from the fines. The design target is a concentrate grade of 15% Cu. Copper recovery varies with feed grade and deposit origin. At the mine-plan head grades, the estimated copper recovery is 70.4% in Years 1 and 2, 68.8% in Years 3 to 9 and 55.8% in Years 10 and 11 when processing the stockpiled low-grade material.

Table 4: Production Summary

Infrastructure and Logistics

The Storm Copper Project is in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, near the northwest coast of Somerset Island; 120 km south of Resolute, Cornwallis Island. The Project is accessed and supplied using a combination of barges, seasonal roads, and an airstrip.

All infrastructure will be built in three phases: pre-development, pre-initial capital and expansion phases. Pre-development will consist of all infrastructure as required for the operation of the MLA, access roads, airstrip and early construction activities for the process plant and permanent camp area. Pre-initial capital will consist of the installation of process plant and camp infrastructure to make the Process Plant operational in Year 1 and 2. Expansion phase will include all process plant and camp infrastructure to make the Process Plant operational in Year 3 to end of life.

During the construction phase and throughout the life of the mine, most equipment, supplies, and fuel will be transported to a marine lay-down area (MLA) by ocean-going vessels during the summer open-water season. The MLA will be located on the southern portion of Aston Bay. Materials will then be transported to the mineral processing and open pit mine areas by tractor-trailers and road tankers using all-weather roads. Employees will work on a fly-in/fly-out shift rotation basis and be housed in a fully catered accommodation camp, located near the process plant.

The permanent, all-weather airstrip will be constructed to be approximately 1,000 m long and 25 m wide; suitable to provide year-long access to the site. The airstrip will be operated to service a 3x3 worker rotation with mobile electrical equipment and support infrastructure.

The MLA will consist of a fuel farm sized to store between 15 ML to 18 ML to supply fuel year-round to the site. The process plant area will be serviced with a 0.25 ML diesel tank. Diesel fuel will be stored in vertical, covered, steel storage tanks, unheated, uninsulated, and interconnected to their respective fuel unloading and dispensing modules. Water, concentrate and Diesel are expected to be transported year-round to all areas of the site as required by tanker trucks.

The Project has no grid connection, and all electrical power will be generated on site by diesel generator sets. Permanent generation will be provided at the Process Plant and at the MLA. Loads above 150 kW will be fed at 4,160 V. Loads of 150 kW or less will be fed at 600 V from motor control centres (MCCs).

The process plant, camp and associated infrastructure are located within approximately 150 m of the open pits. The process plant will be built in phases, with the majority of the crushing, screening, sorting, and wet processing circuit built during the initial phase. Additions to the sorting circuit are expected to be made during the expansion phase to make the plant operational from Year 3 onwards.

The PFS assumes a principal shipping window from early September to the first week of October, about five weeks, based on Canadian Coast Guard navigation information. Concentrate produced during the year is stored on site and shipped in that window. Fuel deliveries may extend into the shoulder periods where ice-capable vessels are used.

Planned infrastructure includes process plant and power generation, a marine laydown area and access road, an airstrip, accommodation camp, fuel storage, workshops, explosives facilities, waste-rock and tailings facilities, and water-management structures.

Filtered tailings are expected to be transported and placed as compacted, predominantly unsaturated material. The preliminary location for the FTSF is proposed near the process plant and open pits. Locating the facility close to the mill will also reduce tailings haulage distances, handling freezing issues, operating costs, and associated dust and emissions.

Figure 1: Conceptual PFS Site Layout and Infrastructure

Capital and Operating Costs

The capital cost estimate is an AACE Class 4 estimate in Canadian dollars at a Q3 2026 cost basis with a stated accuracy range of −30% to +50%. Escalation after the cost base date is excluded.

Table 5: Capital Cost Summary (C$ million, incl. Contingency)

Pre-development capital covers works scheduled from October 2028 to March 2029, before the assumed investment decision date of 30 September 2029. It is included in total capital, the funding requirement and payback, and is excluded from the base-case NPV and IRR (see Economic Analysis). Contingency is 13.1% of pre-development, 18.0% of initial and 17.1% of expansion capital before contingency. Totals may not add due to rounding.

At the direction of American West, the estimate excludes sustaining capital, a water treatment plant and owner's costs beyond C$0.90 million. Closure and reclamation costs of C$9.70 million (C$8.29 million direct plus 17% indirect) are an allowance provided by American West. These exclusions are risks to the PFS results and are to be addressed in the next study stage.

Annual processing and G&A costs, excluding mining, are about C$26.7 million in Years 1 and 2, C$31.3 million in Years 3 to 9 and C$27.6 million in Year 10, the last full year of processing.

Table 6: Life-of-Mine Site Operating Costs

Values are from the economic model. Average annual values are LOM totals divided by the 10.5-year production life. Mining includes C$4.3 million of pre-stripping (January to March 2030). G&A includes closure surety bond premiums of C$4.9 million over the life of mine, of which C$0.2 million is paid before production. Pre-stripping and pre-production surety premiums are included in the funding requirement. Site operating costs exclude concentrate shipping, insurance, treatment and refining charges and royalties.

Economic Analysis

The economic analysis uses an unlevered discounted cash flow model of the Project on a 100% basis, in real US dollars, with monthly cash flows and a 7% discount rate. Payback is measured in annual periods from the start of production and includes all capital. The analysis is presented for a base case and a spot price case.

Valuation basis. NPV and IRR are discounted to 30 September 2029, the assumed date of the investment decision. Pre-development capital of US$27.3 million (C$37.9 million), scheduled from October 2028 to March 2029, and C$0.1 million of surety bond premiums paid before that date are excluded from NPV and IRR. The tax deductions (capital cost allowance, development and exploration expenses, and the processing allowance under the Nunavut mining royalty) and investment tax credits on that capital are included. Table 8 shows both cases with all capital included, valued at 30 September 2028.

Prices. The base case uses US$5.30/lb copper, US$50/oz silver and C$1.39 per US$1.00, constant over the Project life. The spot price case uses US$6.53/lb copper and US$49.98/oz silver, the spot prices on 2 November 2026 provided by American West, with all other inputs as in the base case. It is a sensitivity only; the Mineral Reserves were estimated at base-case prices.

Royalties and taxes. The model includes the profits-based Nunavut mining royalty, a 1.825% gross overriding royalty on revenue net of treatment and refining charges, federal and Nunavut income taxes at 15% and 12%, and clean technology manufacturing investment tax credits at 30%, reducing to 20%, 10% and 5% in 2032, 2033 and 2034. Tax and royalty treatment follows PKF advice dated 26 October 2026. Eligibility of individual assets for the investment tax credit has not been confirmed with the tax authorities; excluding all investment tax credits, the base-case after-tax NPV7% is US$100.6 million, and the IRR is 26.5%.

Table 7 summarizes both cases. The financial model was prepared by Model Answer for American West and reviewed by the Qualified Person responsible for the economic analysis, who independently rebuilt the Project cash flow. In the economic analysis, the Qualified Person relied on the process, infrastructure, construction indirect and owner's cost estimates of the Qualified Persons responsible for those areas; the closure cost allowance, concentrate terms and spot metal prices provided by American West; and the tax and royalty advice of PKF. The Qualified Person is responsible for incorporating these inputs in the financial model and for the resulting economic analysis, and not for the underlying estimates. The after-tax IRR is slightly higher than the pre-tax IRR because the investment tax credit refunds and the tax deductions on pre-development capital are received after the valuation date, while that capital is excluded.

Table 7: Economic Results, Base Case and Spot Price Case (100% Project basis, real terms; NPV and IRR at 30 September 2029)

Spot prices are those of 2 November 2026, provided by American West. Both cases use the base-case mine plan, Mineral Reserves, costs and valuation basis. Payback is measured in annual periods from the start of production and includes all capital.

Table 8: NPV and IRR on Each Valuation Basis (US$M, real, 7%)

The 30 September 2028 basis includes the pre-development capital and its tax benefits and values the Project one year earlier. Spot prices change with market conditions; the spot case is not a forecast of future prices.

Offtake and Funding

A binding offtake agreement with Ocean Partners was executed in July 2025 for 100% of the base production of copper, silver and gold products from the Storm Project, for the longer of eight years and the resource life defined in the March 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment. The PFS uses concentrate terms provided by American West; the Qualified Person has not reviewed the offtake agreement. Ocean Partners has also agreed to provide debt finance of up to 80% of initial capital through a senior secured loan facility, subject to a Feasibility Study and formal documentation. This is not committed funding, and the PFS economic analysis is unlevered.

Aston Bay's 20% interest is carried until a decision to mine following completion of a Feasibility Study. The PFS model estimates a total funding requirement of C$174.5 million (US$125.6 million): pre-development and initial capital of US$108.3 million, pre-production costs of US$3.3 million and initial working capital of US$14.0 million. The working capital allowance is a funding provision and is not a cash flow in the NPV calculation. There is no certainty that funding will be obtained on acceptable terms.

Environment, Permitting and Communities

Project exploration activities currently operate under a type B water licence and class A land use permit which are valid through 2031, allowing for a 60-person seasonal camp and sea-lift resupply of fuel and other freight. Construction and operation of a mine will require review and approval under the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, including review by the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) and the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB), a type A water licence from the Nunavut Water Board, and other federal and territorial permits. The mining Project proposal was reviewed earlier in 2026 by the NPC, which determined that the proposal conformed to the North Baffin Regional Land Use Plan. NPC passed the proposal on to NIRB for screening in August 2026. The NIRB process is currently paused as AW1 prepares further information to be provided to the NIRB in Q4 2026 to support a positive screening decision outcome. The preparation and submission of an environmental impact statement (EIS) will follow; this work is currently in the planning stage and is supported by ongoing socio-environmental baseline and Inuit and government engagement efforts.

Desktop and field-based environmental studies were conducted annually from 2023 to 2025, and socioeconomic desktop studies were conducted in 2025 and 2026, supported by Inuit community engagement activities. Engagement activities to date include meeting with community members and organizations in the Hamlets of Resolute Bay and Taloyoak, and meeting with Inuit and regulatory authorities in Iqaluit. The areas of focus for the baseline studies have included meteorology, surface water quantity and quality, geochemistry, aquatics and freshwater fish habitat, nearshore marine fish habitat, marine mammals, terrestrial wildlife, archaeology, and socioeconomics. During Q4 of 2026 and 2027, further engagement to support the environmental assessment and permitting processes is planned with nearby Inuit communities, regulatory authorities, and regional Inuit organizations.

Risks and Opportunities

The main risks to the PFS case are seasonal marine access and the need to store a full year of concentrate and fuel; permafrost, groundwater and slope conditions not yet confirmed by hydrogeological and permafrost studies; metallurgical variability and concentrate quality; Arctic construction costs; permitting timelines; and copper price and funding. Volatility in copper and silver prices and exchange rates will affect the NPV, IRR, payback and cash flows. The estimates exclude sustaining capital, a water treatment plant and the owner's mining technical team and grade control, and the closure cost is an allowance provided by American West. The results also depend on investment tax credit eligibility, the concentrate terms provided by American West and the timing of the investment decision after the pre-development works. The recovery estimates are based on limited testwork on Chinook and Cyclone samples. Further variability testwork is required to confirm recoveries for all deposits. Opportunities include resource growth around the planned pits, lower cut-off grades supported by further testwork, and improvements to sorting and fines recovery. No value is assigned to these opportunities in the PFS. Copper prices above the base case are a further upside, as shown by the spot price case.

The PFS recommends a Feasibility Study and supporting work, including hydrogeological and permafrost investigations, geotechnical drilling at Corona and Thunder, grade-control and metallurgical variability testing, and permitting and engagement.

There remain environmental, socio-economic baseline, and cultural study gaps that need to be addressed to keep the Project on schedule through the next phase of feasibility design and permitting. These efforts need to be supported by continued engagement with local Inuit communities, regional Inuit organizations, and regulatory authorities. The work with Inuit communities and organizations should focus on Inuit land and resource use in the vicinity of the Project site and should seek Inuit knowledge relative to the site to support future regulatory processes.

Joint Venture

Storm is held by an unincorporated joint venture between American West, through its subsidiary Tornado Metals Ltd., with an 80% interest, and Aston Bay, with a 20% interest. Aston Bay has a free carried interest until American West makes a decision to mine following completion of a Feasibility Study. After that decision, Aston Bay's interest will be diluted if it does not contribute its share, and will convert to a 2% net smelter returns royalty if diluted below 10%. PFS results are stated on a 100% Project basis; returns to each company depend on the joint venture terms.

Qualified Persons and Technical Report

The PFS involves Sacré-Davey and specialist contributors.

The scientific and technical information in this news release that relates to the PFS has been reviewed and approved by the Qualified Persons listed below, each as defined by NI 43-101 and each for the information listed. Each Qualified Person is independent of Aston Bay and American West within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is not independent of Aston Bay. He has reviewed and approved, on behalf of Aston Bay, the scientific and technical information in this news release that is not attributed to the Qualified Persons listed above, including the statements on exploration potential.

Data verification: Mr. Teymouri has not made a personal inspection of the Project site. He did not verify the drill hole database, the Mineral Resource block model or the metallurgical testwork, which are the responsibility of the Qualified Persons named for those areas. He did not review the offtake agreement. Mr. Teymouri verified the Mineral Reserve, mining and economic information in this news release by reconciling the Mineral Reserve to the Mineral Resource estimate and the PFS mine schedule; reviewing the pit designs, cut-off grade inputs and modifying factors; reviewing the mining cost inputs against a first-principles estimate; and independently rebuilding the Project cash flow from the physical schedule in the PFS financial model and checking revenue, concentrate terms, royalties, income taxes, discounting, NPV and IRR for the base case and the spot case. He reviewed, but did not independently verify, the investment tax credit inputs. The concentrate terms, closure cost allowance, exclusion of sustaining capital, stockpile rehandle basis and spot metal prices were provided by American West, and the tax and royalty treatment follows PKF advice dated 26 October 2026; these were relied on as provided. Mr. Teymouri considers the data adequate for the purposes of this news release.

An independent Technical Report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 by Sacré-Davey Engineering Inc. and the other Qualified Persons named above, in support of the PFS and the Mineral Reserve Estimate, will be filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under Aston Bay's profile and posted on the Company's website within 45 days of this news release.

American West, the operator of the Project, is reporting the PFS results and the Ore Reserve to the ASX in accordance with the JORC Code (2012). The Probable Mineral Reserve in this news release, reported under the CIM Definition Standards, corresponds to the Probable Ore Reserve reported by American West, and the estimates and economic results in both releases are the same.

Non-GAAP Measures

This news release refers to C1 cash cost, all-in sustaining cost (AISC), EBITDA and free cash flow. These are non-GAAP financial measures, are not standardized under IFRS and may not be comparable with similar measures used by other issuers. C1 cash cost is site operating costs (mining excluding capitalized pre-stripping, processing and G&A), concentrate shipping and insurance, and treatment and refining charges, less silver revenue, divided by payable pounds of copper. AISC is C1 cash cost plus royalties, expansion capital and closure and reclamation costs, divided by payable pounds of copper. EBITDA is revenue net of treatment and refining charges, less site operating costs (excluding capitalized pre-stripping), concentrate shipping and insurance, and royalties. Free cash flow is EBITDA less capital (including closure), pre-stripping and changes in working capital and, on an after-tax basis, income taxes net of investment tax credits. These measures are forward-looking and derived from the PFS model; the Project has no historical equivalent to reconcile to.

Cautionary Statements

Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves

Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates are estimates only. They depend on geological interpretation, sampling, metal prices, costs, recoveries and other assumptions, and may change as more information becomes available. The PFS is based solely on Probable Mineral Reserves; Inferred Mineral Resources are excluded from the production plan and economic analysis. The Mineral Reserves are reported at base-case prices and were not re-estimated at spot prices.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements in conditional or future tenses, or using words such as 'believe', 'expect', 'may', 'will', 'should', 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'plan', 'intend' and 'project', constitute forward-looking information and involve risk and uncertainty.

Forward-looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, statements about: the results of the PFS, including NPV, IRR, payback, cash flow, capital and operating costs, C1 cash cost and AISC; the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates; mine life, production, recoveries and concentrate grade; the start of processing in April 2030; the development schedule, construction and shipping logistics; permitting and community engagement; the offtake agreement and the Ocean Partners financing proposal; funding of the Project; the joint venture carried interest and dilution provisions; the filing of the technical report; results at spot metal prices; the assumed investment decision date and the treatment of pre-development capital; investment tax credits; closure costs and security; the conversion of Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves; mining rates, strip ratios and grades; the technical viability of the Project; and the timing, cost and results of the Feasibility Study and other future work.

This information is based on the assumptions set out in this release, including: metal prices base-case metal prices of US$5.30/lb copper and US$50/oz silver, and spot prices of US$6.53/lb copper and US$50/oz silver; the concentrate terms provided by American West; an investment decision on 30 September 2029; an exchange rate of C$1.39 per US$1.00; a 7% discount rate; the mine and process schedules and recoveries described in the PFS; the estimated capital and operating costs; the annual shipping window; the availability of financing, contractors, equipment and personnel on acceptable terms; the receipt of permits and approvals on the assumed timetable; the offtake terms; the applicable tax and royalty regimes; and the absence of material adverse changes affecting the Project or markets.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. These include fluctuations in copper and silver prices and exchange rates; differences between estimated and actual grades, tonnes and recoveries; metallurgical variability and concentrate quality; geotechnical, permafrost and groundwater conditions; cost escalation and the cost and availability of fuel, equipment and labour; Arctic weather, sea-ice conditions and shipping delays; delays in or failure to obtain permits, approvals or community support; the availability and terms of financing; counterparty performance under the offtake and financing arrangements; changes in tax, royalty or other laws; environmental and closure liabilities; costs excluded from the PFS estimates, including sustaining capital; title and land access; operating hazards and uninsured risks; and the other risks described in Aston Bay's most recent management's discussion and analysis and other continuous disclosure filings and the other risks described in Aston Bay's continuous disclosure filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Aston Bay is not the operator of the Project and relies on American West for information about the Project and for its development.

The PFS is not a feasibility study and no decision to develop the Project has been made. Unless stated otherwise, economic results are for the base case. Results at spot metal prices are illustrative and are not a forecast. There is no assurance that the assumptions will prove correct, that the Project will be developed, or that the production, costs and economic results in the PFS will be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable securities legislation, Aston Bay does not undertake to update any forward-looking information. All forward-looking information in this release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

About Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for high-grade critical and precious metal deposits in North America. The Company holds a 20% carried interest in the Storm Copper Project and is exploring the Cu-Ag-Zn-Co Epworth Property in Nunavut.

For more information:

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer | [email protected] | (416) 456-3516

Sofia Harquail, Investor Relations | [email protected] | (647) 821-1337

www.astonbayholdings.com

Neither 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 news release.

SOURCE: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

J.Hall--SMC