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Hercules Metals Completes Closing of Share-Based Strategic Option Agreement with Barrick to Consolidate 73-Kilometres of Claims Around its Leviathan Copper Discovery in Idaho

Mergers & Acquisitions Property Options & Staking

Hercules Metals Completes Closing of Share-Based

Strategic Option Agreement with Barrick to

Consolidate 73-Kilometres of Claims Around its

Leviathan Copper Discovery in Idaho

Toronto, Ontario / August 18, 2025 – Hercules Metals Corp. ( “Hercules” or the

“Company”) (TSX-V: BIG) (OTCQB: BADEF) (FRA: C0X) is pleased to announce that,

further to its news release on July 28, 2025, the Company has completed the closing (the

“Closing”) of a strategic option agreement (the “Agreement”) between Hercules and its

wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Anglo- Bomarc, U.S., Inc. (“ Anglo”), and Barrick Gold

Exploration Inc. (“BGE”), a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Barrick Mining Corporation

(NYSE: B) (TSX: ABX) (“Barrick”). For further details regarding the Agreement, please

refer to the Company’s press release dated July 28, 2025.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Hercules can earn a 100% interest (the “ Option”) in

over 74,000 acres of unpatented mining claims (the “Olympus Claims”) surrounding the

Company’s Hercules property and its flagship Leviathan porphyry discovery in western

Idaho (the “ Property”). The Option, if exercised, would increase the Company’s land

position to over 100,000 acres in America’s newest porphyry copper belt.

In connection with the Closing and as the first payment under the terms of the Agreement,

Hercules has issued 2,681,427 common shares of the Company (the “Shares”) to Barrick

at a price of $0.74587136, being the 5-day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of the

Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”) prior to the issuance.

Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Company shall reimburse BGE for amounts

paid to the United States Bureau of Land Management (the “ BLM”) for annual claim

maintenance (the “ Claim Maintenance Payments”) and recorders for the applicable

counties in which the Olympus Claims are located to record annual notices of intent to

hold for each relevant assessment year (collectively, the “Reimbursement Payments”).

The Company estimates the value of the annual Claim Maintenance Payments to be

US$740,000 per year.

As is the case for any transfer of real estate with a foreign investment component that

meets the criteria set out in 31 C.F.R. Part 802, the Committee on Foreign Investment in

the United States has jurisdiction to review the transactions under the Agreement (the

“Regulatory Requirement ”). The Company has been advised that , for a number of

reasons, including because the value of this transaction is well below the applicable

threshold for a mandatory Regulatory Requirement related filing, the likelihood of such a

review is considered very low. In rare cases, a review as a result of the Regulatory

Requirement may result in conditions being imposed on a transaction, or a requirement

to divest all or part of the interest acquired. In the unlikely event that a Regulatory

Requirement review is applicable to the Agreement and results in Hercules or Anglo being

required to reconvey any portion of the Olympus Claims to BGE, BGE will return to

Hercules, for cancellation, any Shares issued or cash paid as consideration for the

Option, calculated in proportion to the percentage of claims reconveyed. Any

Reimbursement Payments paid by Hercules to BGE will not be returned, provided BGE

has already remitted such amounts to the BLM or the applicable county recorders.

About Hercules Metals Corp.

Hercules Metals Corp. (TSXV: BIG) (OTCQB: BADEF) ( FRA: C0X) is an exploration

Company focused on developing America’s newest porphyry copper district, in Idaho.

The 100% owned Hercules Project located northwest of Cambridge, hosts the newly

discovered Leviathan porphyry copper system, one of the most important new discoveries

in the region to date. The Company is well positioned for growth through continued drilling,

supported by a strategic investment from Barrick Mining Corporation.

With the potential for significant scale, the Company’s management and board of

directors aims to build on its proven track record which includes the discovery and

development of numerous precious metals projects worldwide.

For further information please contact:

Chris Paul

CEO & Director

Telephone +1 (604) 670-5527

Email: [email protected]

Greg DiTomaso

Investor Relations

Telephone: +1 (647) 243-4074

Email: [email protected]

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy

any of the securities in the United States. Any securities referred to herein have not and

will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the

“U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within

the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act

and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain information that may be deemed “forward- looking

information” with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws.

Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and

other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or

achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated

results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward- looking

information. Forward-looking information includes statements that are not historical facts

and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates,"

"believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that

events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. Forward- looking

information contained in this press release may include, without limitation, the expected

issuance of Common Shares in connection with the Agreement the execution of future

exploration programs on the Property; assay results of future drill holes; results of

operations, and the expected financial performance of the Company.

Although the Company believes the forward -looking information contained in this news

release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by its nature,

forward-looking information involves assumptions and known and unknown risks,

uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, level of activity,

performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any

future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-

looking information.

Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation,

assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; the

Covid-19 pandemic; adverse industry events; the receipt of required regulatory approvals

and the timing of such approvals; that the Company maintains good relationships with the

communities in which it operates or proposes to operate, future legislative and regulatory

developments in the mining sector; the Company’s ability to access sufficient capital from

internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable

terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of the Company

to implement its business strategies; competition; the risk th at any of the assumptions

prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in delays, or cessation in planned work,

risks associated with the interpretation of data, the geology, grade and continuity of

mineral deposits, the possibility that results w ill not be consistent with the Company’s

expectations, as well as other assumptions risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral

exploration and development activities and to the Company, including as set forth in the

Company’s public disclosure documents filed on the SEDAR+ website at

www.sedarplus.ca.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE

REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF HERCULES METALS AS OF THE DATE OF

THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER

SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS

INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE HERCULES METALS MAY ELECT

TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY

PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE

LAWS.

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 press release.