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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coppernico Metals Inc. (TSX: COPR, OTCQB: CPPMF, FSE: 9I3) (“Coppernico” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce additional surface channel sampling results from the Nioc target area at its Sombrero copper-gold Project in Peru. These results expand the known surface footprint of copper-gold mineralization at Zone 2, and materially de-risk initial drill targeting decisions by demonstrating continuous, high-grade skarn mineralization across a broad footprint directly above a large, coherent geophysical anomaly. This reinforces the Company’s interpretation of Nioc as a large skarn system genetically linked to a porphyry-style intrusive center, with significant exploration upside.
Highlights
*(m = metres, Cu = Copper, g/t = grams per tonne, Au = Gold and Ag = Silver)
Ivan Bebek, Chair and CEO of Coppernico, commented, “These results are significant in both grade and width of copper-gold mineralization at our Nioc target. Doubling the width of the east-west surface mineralization in Zone 2 and the meaningful results from the step-out to the north reinforces our view that Nioc is one of the high-priority opportunities within the Sombrero Project much like Fierrazo, where we expect to commence our next phase of drilling in an effort to expand the Fierrazo discovery.
Sombrero has progressively strengthened its pipeline of seven significant drill-ready targets with each layer of data collected; the Company is now in the final stages of advancing significant permit expansions with updates expected in the coming weeks.”
Figure 1: Plan map of Nioc Zones 1 and 2 showing channel sample highlights, completed and pending channels, and the interpreted mineralized footprint.
Figure 2: Interpreted cross-section through Nioc Zones 1 and 2 incorporating composite channel sample intervals and interpreted skarn–intrusive contacts. Subsurface geometry is projected from surface orientation measurements of the skarn–intrusive contact; the depicted continuity and thickness are interpretive and subject to refinement with drilling or additional mapping.
Zone 2 Results
The most recent results build on previously reported Zone 2 channel sampling and represent a continued program of systematic hand-cut channel sampling designed to better define the limits and geometry of mineralization. The combined 26SRT-109, 25SRT-042 and 26SRT-110 channel line extends mineralization along the same interpreted east-west trend and returned a combined composite result of 70.1 m of 0.92% Cu, 0.25 g/t Au and 2.45 g/t Ag. Step-out channel 26SRT-111, located approximately 120 m to the north, returned 58.0 m of 0.58% Cu, 0.39 g/t Au and 1.70 g/t Ag, demonstrating a meaningful northward expansion of the Zone 2 footprint.
Mineralization at Zone 2 remains open to the north, where it is interpreted to continue beneath cover, additional work is planned to define the northern limit of mineralization through additional hand channel sampling work. Channel 26SRT-112 has been completed approximately 70 m south of the combined channel line, with assay results pending.
Table 1: Zone 2 Channel Sampling Results
Table Notes: True thickness is unknown; the highlighted channels are oriented generally perpendicular to the interpreted strike of mineralization and are considered most representative at the time of reporting. Composites are length- and density-weighted intervals calculated using a nominal 0.20% Cu reporting cut-off, with no more than 6 m of consecutive internal dilution and a minimum reported length of 6 m unless otherwise noted. Composite intervals were not constrained by individual lithologic domains and may include both magnetite-garnet exoskarn and mineralized skarn alteration within intrusive rocks; this approach is intended to report the mineralized channel interval as exposed and sampled.
* Previously reported (see Coppernico news release dated September 4, 2025).
Geological Interpretation
Copper-gold mineralization at Nioc is skarn-related and is principally hosted by magnetite-rich to garnet-magnetite skarn developed in reactive host rocks adjacent to intrusive contacts. The strongest copper grades are consistently developed within magnetite-rich exoskarn, spatially associated with a quartz monzonite intrusion interpreted as the causative intrusive phase. The current Zone 2 results demonstrate that mineralization is not limited to the originally exposed outcrops and that systematic hand channel sampling can expand the known footprint where overburden conditions permit.
An interpreted cross section through Zones 1 and 2 is presented in Figure 2. Subsurface geometry has been projected on the basis of orientation measurements collected along the skarn–intrusive contact at surface; the contact is shown in simplified form, and the geometry, continuity and thickness depicted are interpretive and subject to refinement with drilling or additional mapping. Channel sample results are surface exposures only and are not necessarily indicative of mineralization at depth.
Recently completed magnetic, gravity and chargeability surveys indicate that the mineralization observed at surface forms only part of a substantially larger system extending beneath post-mineral cover and to depth. All three geophysical datasets (magnetics, gravity and induced polarization) highlight the same large area, defining a target more than 1.5 km across at Nioc, with the chargeability and gravity responses modeled to extend at least 500 m below surface (see news releases dated February 25, 2026 and January 17, 2020, the latter issued by predecessor Auryn Resources, now Fury Gold Mines). The channel sampling at Zones 1 and 2 represents the exposed portion of this larger target, which remains untested by drilling.
Nioc also forms part of a broader cluster of intrusions with skarn alteration and mineralization similar to the Ccascabamba target area to the south. The Fierrazo target within Ccascabamba is geologically similar to Nioc and has been previously drill-tested, returning intervals including 116 m of 0.42% Cu and 0.24 g/t Au, 90.4 m of 0.48% Cu and 0.05 g/t Au, and 51 m of 0.43% Cu and 0.16 g/t Au (see news release dated June 13, 2019, issued by predecessor Auryn Resources, now Fury Gold Mines). Fierrazo provides a nearby example, within the same broader skarn cluster, of meaningful copper-gold mineralization confirmed at depth.
Figure 3: Nioc geophysical context map showing Zone 1 and Zone 2 surface mineralization over the coincident magnetic, gravity and chargeability anomalies previously disclosed (see news release dated February 25, 2026).
Tim Kingsley, VP Exploration of Coppernico Metals, commented, “The latest channel sampling at Nioc demonstrates strong continuity of higher-grade mineralization over meaningful scale at surface. Doubling the east-west surface width of Zone 2 and stepping mineralization 120 metres north, into ground that remains open beneath post-mineral cover, improves our understanding of the system’s footprint. When combined with the broad mineralized intervals at Zone 1 and the recently defined coincident gravity, magnetic and chargeability anomalies, these results provide a strong framework for drill targeting as we advance Nioc toward drill testing.”
Next Steps
The Company is continuing channel sampling and detailed mapping at Zone 2 to define the northern and southern extents of surface mineralization and better constrain geological controls on grade, alteration and host-rock relationships. Additional step-out channels are planned, subject to bedrock exposure and overburden depth. Drill targeting will integrate these results with geophysical datasets (IP, gravity and magnetics) and will advance in parallel with ongoing community access discussions and permit applications at Nioc.
Technical Disclosure and Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was reviewed and approved by Tim Kingsley, M.Sc., CPG, Coppernico’s Vice President of Exploration, who is a “Qualified Person” as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Kingsley supervised the sampling program and verified the data disclosed herein.
Quality Control
Samples were typically between 1 and 2 metres in length; however, sample lengths could be reduced to as little as 0.5 metres where lithological or significant mineralogical changes were observed, in order to accurately reflect the apparent width of mineralization. Analytical samples were collected by cutting a continuous channel into bedrock with a portable rock saw. Individual samples weighed between 3 and 7 kilograms. Samples were collected in plastic bags, given a unique reference number and sent to the ALS Laboratories in Lima, Peru for preparation and analysis. Preparation included crushing the sample to 90% < 2 mm and pulverizing 1,000 g of crushed material to better than 95% < 106 microns. All samples are assayed using 30 g nominal weight fire assay with atomic absorption finish (Au-AA23) and multi-element using a four-acid digest ICP-AES/ICP-MS method (ME-MS61). Where MS61 results were greater than or near 10,000 ppm Cu, or 10,000 ppm Zn, assays were repeated using an ore-grade four-acid digest method (Cu-OG62). QA/QC programs for 2025-2026 channel samples included internal standard samples, blanks, and duplicates, lab duplicates, lab standards, and laboratory blanks indicate good overall accuracy and precision.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ivan Bebek
Chair & CEO
For further information, please contact:
Coppernico Metals Inc.
Phone: +1 778 729 0600
Email: info@coppernicometals.com
Website: www.coppernicometals.com
Twitter: @CoppernicoMetal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/coppernico-metals/
About Coppernico
Coppernico is a mineral exploration company focused on creating value for shareholders and stakeholders through diligent project evaluation and exploration, in pursuit of the discovery of large-scale high-grade copper-gold deposits in the Americas. The Company’s management and technical teams have a successful track record of raising capital, discovery and the monetization of exploration successes. The Company’s objective is to become a leading advanced copper and gold explorer, and through its wholly owned Peruvian subsidiary Sombrero Minerales S.A.C., is currently focused on the Ccascabamba (previously referred to as Sombrero Main) and Nioc target areas within the Sombrero Project in Peru, its flagship project, while regularly reviewing additional premium projects to consider for acquisition.
The Sombrero Project is a land package of approximately 57,000 hectares (570 square kilometres) located in the north-western margins of the world-renowned Andahuaylas-Yauri trend in Peru. It consists of a number of prospective exploration targets characterized by copper-gold skarn and porphyry systems and precious metal epithermal systems. The Company’s NI 43-101 technical report, with an effective date of April 17, 2024, and as filed on SEDAR+ on May 23, 2024, focuses on the Ccascabamba and Nioc target areas of the Sombrero Project. The Tipicancha target was determined subsequent to the date of that report.
Common shares of Coppernico Metals Inc. are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “COPR”, trades on the OTCQB Venture Market under symbol “CPPMF” and is quoted over the counter by certain dealers in the Unofficial Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol “9I3”. More information about Coppernico can be found on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).
Cautionary Note
No regulatory organization has approved the contents hereof.
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend” and similar expressions and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the interpretation of recent and historical geological, geochemical and geophysical data; the receipt of community access agreements and permits required to advance exploration at the Nioc target area; the Company’s plans for future exploration, including drilling; the potential to identify porphyry-related mineralization at depth; and the Company’s ability to secure the necessary financing to fund such exploration activities. No certainty can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be heavily relied upon. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to the risks discussed in the Company’s 2025 Annual Information Form and other continuous disclosure filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators, available at www.sedarplus.ca. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place heavy reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this new release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this news release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in the Company’s expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.
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