Copper Quest Completes Acquisition of Past Producing Alpine Gold Mine, Appoints New Drector
CSE: CQX www.copper.quest
COPPER QUEST COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF PAST PRODUCING ALPINE GOLD MINE,
APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR
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December 22, 2025, VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Copper Quest Exploration Inc. (CSE: CQX; FRA:
3MX) (“Copper Quest” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases of
November 14, 2025 and December 10, 2025, it has completed its acquisition of the past producing
Alpine Gold Property (the “Property”), located in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia (the
“Acquisition”).
“We are excited to offer our shareholders the opportunity to leverage a pure gold play in what has been a
primarily copper-focused company. Having now successfully acquired this exceptional property with an
existing historical gold resource, excellent expansion potential, and a seasoned technical team, including
Alan Matovich, Ted Murano, and John Mirko, we look forward to updating our shareholders on our endeavor
towards growing this current historical resource, and the possibility of seeing near-term cash flow from
existing stockpiles,” commented Brian Thurston, CEO of Copper Quest. “The Alpine Gold Property
presents a tremendous opportunity to create near-term value for our shareholders through exposure to an
all-time high gold market while we also continue to advance our multiple copper properties. Our recent
financing of approximately two million dollars ensures that our shareholders will benefit from more than
one exploration opportunity.”
Highlights of the Alpine Gold Property
● 2018 National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”)
Historical Inferred Resource of 268,000 tonnes estimated using a cut-off grade of 5.0 g/t Au
and an average grade of 16.52 g/t Au that represents an inferred resource of 142,000 oz of
gold (McCuaig & Giroux, 2018).
● Substantial opportunity to grow the maiden Alpine resource to the east-west and to
depth with only about 300m of the roughly 2km long vein system explored to date by
underground mine workings and drilling.
● Estimated 24,000 tonnes Run-of-Mine mineralized stockpile on surface presenting a
possible near-term cash flow opportunity.
● 1,650 metres of clean and dry underground workings accessing sampled and mineable zones.
● At least four additional relatively unexplored vein systems on the Property (Black Prince, Cold
Blow, Gold Crown, and past-producing King Solomon), all hosting historic high-grade gold
values.
● Road accessible 4,611.49-hectare Property including 15 Crown Grants (one with surface
rights) and 19 staked mineral claims with all-season operation potential (Figure 1).
● Additions of Mr. Allan Matovich to the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”), and
Mr. Ted Muraro and Mr. John Mirko as Technical Advisors on closing. They have a combined
mining and exploration experience of 150+ years in the industry.
The 4,611.49-hectare Property is approximately 20 kilometres northeast of the City of Nelson (Figure
1) and hosts a former operating underground mine with a recorded production of approximately
16,810 tonnes of mineralized vein material (Table 1). This material contained 356,360 grams of gold,
222,054 grams of silver, 49,329 kilograms of lead, and 17,167 kilograms of zinc. The other four
significant vein systems on the Property will also be explored including the Black Prince and Cold Blow
quartz veins approximately 3km to the northeast of the Alpine mine, the Gold Crown vein system
600m southeast, and the past-producing King Solomon vein workings 1.8km to the south. Further
information about the Alpine Gold property will be forthcoming in the upcoming weeks.
Figure 1: Location Claim Map
Appointment of Mr. Allan Matovich as Director
Copper Quest is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Allan Matovich to the Board. Mr.
Matovich has 60+ years of mining and exploration experience in Canada and the United States. He
first started with Cominco in Trail, BC, working in the smelter operation. Mr. Matovich then started
Matovich Mining Industries, which supplied considerable tonnages of siliceous flux materials, lead and
zinc concentrates to Cominco for over 20 years. He then opened a mining operation in 1997 in
Northern British Columbia to supply barite for drilling fluids in the oil and gas industry. This mining
operation is still in production today. Mr. Matovich also opened a barite operation in Washington State
that is going into production. He also worked with Halliburton, Baker Hughes, and Newmont and was
very successful. In 2000, Mr. Matovich purchased the Alpine Gold Property and has spent a
considerable amount of time proving up the project.
Mr. Matovich commented, “I am very pleased to bring the Alpine Gold Property to Copper Quest and join
as a director. The Company has a fantastic portfolio of advancing critical mineral projects and the Alpine
Gold Project gives a potential near-term cash flow opportunity along with upside to grow the current
resource with drilling. I look forward to working with the Copper Quest team to create value for all
stakeholders.”
Table 1 – Production History – Minfile (082FNW127) for Alpine Mine for gold (Au) and silver (Ag)
YEAR
Tonnes Tonnes Au Grams Ag Grams Est
Grade
Est
Grade
Mined Milled Recovered Recovered Au (g/t) Ag (g/t)
1988 200 90 198 591 2.20 6.57
*1948 - - 16,889 11,384 25.32 17.07
*1947 - - 2,768 1,866 15.38 10.37
*1946 - - 11,042 5,785 18.59 9.74
*1942 - - 56,079 34,182 824.69 502.68
1941 11,517 11,517 219,350 130,011 18.26 11.29
1940 3,992 3,992 57,852 35,333 14.49 8.85
1939 3 0 62 62
1938 35 0 1,120 902
1915 4 0 1,938
*ore milled not reported
Appointment of Mr. Ted Muraro as Technical Advisor to the Board
Mr. Theodore (Ted) W. Muraro has been appointed as Technical Advisor to the Board. Mr. Muraro has
accumulated over six decades of experience in mineral exploration, including 35 years with Cominco
where he advanced to serve as the company’s Chief Geologist and Internal Consulting Geologist. Early
in his career, Mr. Muraro gained underground experience at Keno Hill, HB Mine, Sullivan, and Western
Mines.
His tenure at Cominco was marked by direct involvement in the discovery and subsequent successful
development of the Westmin Mine at Buttle Lake, the Polaris Mine on Little Cornwallis Island in the
high Arctic and Snip Mine on the Iskut River. Following his service at Cominco, Mr. Muraro assumed
the role of Vice President, Exploration at Romanex and International Barytex Resources, contributing
his expertise to international gold projects.
Mr. Muraro, who was awarded the Spud Huestis award in 2021 for his outstanding contributions to
the industry and excellence in exploration, worked as an independent consultant (T.W. Muraro
Consulting 1993-2016) on base metal and gold exploration projects a round the world until his
retirement in 2016. In these later years, he served on several boards as Director and/or Advisor, most
recently with Imperial Metals. Mr. Muraro’s working relationship with Al Matovich started in the
Rossland Mining Camp and shifted to the Alpine Property in the late 80s.
Appointment of Mr. John Mirko as Technical Advisor to the Board
Mr. John Mirko has been appointed as Technical Advisor to the Board. Mr. Mirko has over 40 years’
experience in the mining industry, including as past President and Founder of Canam Alpine Ventures
Ltd. (recently sold to Vizsla Resources Ltd., a TSX Venture Exchange listed company), and currently as
President and Founder of Canam Mining Corp. and Rokmaster Resources Corporation.
From 1986 to 2010 Mr. Mirko founded and served as CEO, President, and Director of four public
mineral exploration companies and founded and served as Director of three other companies. He has
been self-employed in the sector since 1972 as a prospector, contractor, and consultant involved in
the exploration, development, and mine construction of various projects in 12 counties, and
commercial production of mineral concentrates and metal products from five of the projects.
In 2008, he was a recipient of the “E. A. Scholtz Medal for Excellence in Mine Development” from the
Association for Mineral Exploration of British Columbia, and in 2009, the Mining Association of British
Columbia's “Mining and Sustainability Award” for the MAX Mine. He is currently a member in good
standing of the Society of Economic Geologists, Inc., the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and AME BC.
Transaction Details
The Company has purchased of all the minerals claims and crown grants that comprise the Property
from 0847114 B.C. Ltd. (“Privco”), a private company. As consideration for the Property, Copper Quest
has issued an aggregate of 14,177,517 common shares in its capital (the “Shares”) at a deemed price
of $0.135 per Share for deemed consideration of $1,913,964.80 to Privco.
The Shares are subject to a statutory hold period expiring April 19, 2026, being the date that is four
months and one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable Canadian securities
legislation. In addition, the Shares are subject to further trading restrictions as the Shares will be
released in stages over the next 24 months, such that (i) 2,362,920 Shares will be released April 19,
2026; (ii) 2,362,919 Shares will be released August 19, 2026; (iii) 2,362,920 Shares will be released
December 19, 2026; (iv) 2,362,920 Shares will be released April 19, 2027; (v) 2,362,920 Shares will be
released August 19, 2027; and (vi) the final 2,362,920 Shares will be released December 19, 2027.
Copper Quest will also reimburse Privco a total of $225,000 towards 2025 expenditures incurred on
exploring the Property and has granted a 2% net smelter returns royalty (the “Royalty”) to Privco on
all minerals mined, produced, or otherwise recovered from the Property. The Company retains the
right to purchase half of the Royalty in consideration of $1,000,000 paid to Privco at any time.
Subject to the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange, a finder’s fee of 587,212 common shares
of the Company (the “Finder’s Shares”) is applicable in connection with the acquisition of the
Property. The Finder’s Shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months in accordance
with applicable Canadian securities legislation. It is anticipated that the Finder’s Shares will be issued
on or about December 31, 2025.
Debt Settlement Transactions
The Company also wishes to announce it intends to issue 218,620 common shares of the Company
(the “Debt Settlement Shares”) at a deemed value of $0.15 per Debt Settlement Share in order to
satisfy an aggregate of $32,793 in outstanding debt for services previously provided to the Company.
The Debt Settlement Shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months in accordance
with applicable Canadian securities legislation. It is anticipated that the Finder’s Shares will be issued
on or about December 31, 2025. The issuance of the Debt Settlement Shares is subject to the receipt
of all required approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange.
The securities described herein have not been, 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 except in compliance with the registration
requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to available
exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to
buy any securities in the United States.
Qualified Person
Brian Thurston, P.Geo., the Company’s CEO and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 has
reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.
ABOUT COPPER QUEST EXPLORATION INC.
Copper Quest (CSE: CQX; FRA: 3MX) is committed to building shareholder value through acquisitions,
discovery-driven exploration, disciplined execution, and responsible development of its North
American Critical Mineral portfolio of assets. Please visit our website at www.copper.quest.
The Company’s land package currently comprises six projects that span over 40,000+ hectares in great
mining jurisdictions as well as the Kitimat Cu-Au Project pending acquisition.
Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Stars Property, a porphyry copper-molybdenum discovery,
covering 9,693 hectares in central British Columbia’s Bulkley Porphyry Belt. Contiguous to the Stars
Property, Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the 5,389-hectare Stellar Property. CQX also has an
earn-in option up to 80% and joint-venture agreement on the 4,700-hectare porphyry copper-
molybdenum Rip Project, also in the Bulkley Porphyry Belt.
Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Nekash Copper -Gold Project, a porphyry exploration
opportunity located in Lemhi County, Idaho, along the prolific Idaho-Montana porphyry copper belt
that hosts world-class systems such as Butte and CUMO. The project is fully road -accessible via
maintained U.S. highways and forest service roads and currently consists of 70 unpatented federal
lode claims covering 585 hectares.
Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Thane Project located in the Quesnel Terrane of Northern
BC which spans over 20,658 ha with 10 high-priority targets identified demonstrating significant
copper and precious metal mineralization potential.
Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the past-producing Alpine Gold Mine located approximately 20
kilometers northeast of the City of Nelson spanning 4,611.49 hectares. Apart from the Alpine Mine
the property hosts 4 significant vein systems including the Black Prince and the Cold Blow quartz veins,
the Gold Crown vein system, and the past-producing King Solomon vein workings.
Copper Quest’s leadership and advisory teams are senior mining industry executives who have a
wealth of technical and capital markets experience and a strong track record of discovering, financing,
developing, and operating mining projects on a global scal e. Copper Quest is committed to
sustainable and responsible business activities in line with industry best practices, supportive of all
stakeholders, including the local communities in which it operates. The Company’s common shares
are principally listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the symbol “CQX”.
On behalf of the Board of Copper Quest Exploration Inc.
Brian Thurston, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Tel: 778-949-1829
For further information contact:
Investor Relations
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements”
(collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation.
All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, including without limitation,
statements regarding the merits and benefits of the acquisition of the Alpine Gold Property, and the
issuance of the Finder’s Shares and Debt Settlement Shares, including the anticipated issuance date
thereof, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always,
identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”,
“possible”, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results “will”, “may”,
“could”, or “should” occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and
projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and
estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the
ability of the Company to obtain the necessary approvals with respect to the issuance of the Finder’s
Shares and Debt Settlement Shares, risks associated with possible accidents and other risks
associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter
unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of exploration results, the
possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances
necessary to carry out the Company's exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to
raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and
regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. Readers
should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this
news release concerning these items. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the
forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change,
except as required by applicable securities laws.
The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this
press release, and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.