Imperial Reports Mount Polley Permit Issuance, Mount Polley Production Update for 2026 Second Quarter, and Huckleberry Mine Exploration Results
imperialmetals.com
News Release
Imperial Reports Mount Polley Permit Issuance, Mount Polley Production Update for 2026 Second Quarter,
and Huckleberry Mine Exploration Results
Vancouver | July 21, 2026 | Imperial Metals Corporation (“Imperial”) (TSX:III) reports that the British Columbia
Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has recommended approval of Mount Polley Tailings Dam construction
to the 987 metre elevation from the previously permitted 974 metre elevation. The regulatory process included
consultation with First Nations in the area. Based on EAO’s recommendation, Minister Brar (Mining and Critical
Minerals) and Minister Davidson (Environment and Parks) have granted consent, and the corresponding permits
were issued. The permitted facility will provide storage of the tailings generated by the expanded mining to
2034.
Mount Polley Mine Production
Imperial reports copper and gold production for the second quarter 2026 from Mount Polley mine. Production
was 3.382 million pounds copper and 6,848 ounces gold at Mount Polley.
Mount Polley Mine Production
Three Months Ended June 30
2026 2025
Ore milled - tonnes 1,683,357 1,759,093
Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 18,498 19,331
Grade % - copper 0.152 0.295
Grade g/t - gold 0.199 0.286
Recovery % - copper 60.0 83.0
Recovery % - gold 63.6 68.4
Copper - million pounds 3.382 9.496
Gold - ounces 6,848 11,061
Throughput in the second quarter of 2026 was 18,498 tonnes per day compared to 19,331 tonnes per day in the
second quarter of 2025. Copper production was 3.382 million pounds compared with 9.496 million pounds in
the second quarter of 2025 and gold production was 6,848 ounces in versus 11,061 ounces in the comparative
2025 quarter.
Mill feed for the second quarter of 2026 was sourced 44% from the Springer pit Phase 5 pushback supplemented
by 15% from Phase 4 and C2 pit, and 41% from lower grade stockpiles. The high percentage of low-grade
stockpile material delivered to the mill resulted in lower copper and gold grades being milled. By the fourth
quarter of 2026 higher grade material from Phase 5 should begin to be delivered to the mill and reduce or
eliminate the need to process lower grade stockpiles.
Three initiatives are being undertaken to improve grades for the third quarter. Production from the C2 pit, which
is relatively high-grade gold was about 800,000 tonnes less than expected in the first half of 2026 and, based on
the block model, that tonnage contains about 6,000 ounces of recoverable gold. The C2 mining was rescheduled
to be delivered to the mill this summer as warmer, drier conditions make it easier to process, as the high clay
content made it challengi ng to process during the winter and spring. Additionally, a small high -grade pit
(Boundary pit) that was planned to be mined at the end of mine life is being developed this quarter and will also
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provide a small amount of higher grade feed to the mill this year. These three initiatives will help increase the
grades delivered to the mill and reduce the percentage of low-grade stockpile material treated. Mount Polley is
expected to meet the range of guidance for 2026 production.
Stripping activities for the Phase 5 pushback continued during the quarter with approximately 6.032 million
tonnes of rock mined from this pushback. Approximately 2.725 million tonnes of non-acid generating rock from
the pushback were delivered to the tailings storage facility embankment for buttress construction.
Huckleberry Mine Exploration
Imperial reports results for 22 diamond drill holes, drilled early in 2026 at Huckleberry mine to test an extension
of the Main zone to the southwest, and to test below a molybdenum trend defined by historic blastholes in the
Main zone pit. All drill holes reported in this release intersected significant copper, molybdenum, silver and gold
mineralization. Some notable intervals are provided below:
Hole ID From (m) To (m) Width (m)
Copper
(%)
Molybdenum
(%)
Silver
(g/t) Gold (g/t)
MZ-26-01A 75.0 210.0 135.0 0.42 0.007 1.76 0.12
including 87.5 172.5 85.0 0.51 0.007 1.93 0.10
MZ-26-02 86.0 317.5 231.5 0.27 0.011 2.09 0.06
including 86.0 256.4 170.4 0.31 0.013 2.63 0.07
including 215.0 256.4 41.4 0.56 0.017 2.08 0.13
MZ-26-3 80.0 312.5 232.5 0.23 0.010 1.00 0.06
including 85.0 150.0 65.0 0.34 0.009 1.74 0.05
MZ-26-06A 94.6 120.0 25.4 0.29 0.004 2.60 0.04
and 157.5 332.5 175.0 0.38 0.011 1.47 0.06
including 157.5 297.5 140.0 0.45 0.013 1.72 0.07
including 165.0 272.5 107.5 0.50 0.013 1.95 0.07
MZ-26-08A 65.0 247.5 182.5 0.31 0.014 2.96 0.05
MZ-26-21 60.0 300.0 240.0 0.29 0.018 0.67 0.07
including 142.5 197.5 55.0 0.42 0.009 1.65 0.09
and 257.5 300.0 42.5 0.29 0.058 0.59 0.14
The 2026 diamond drilling program consisted of 22 NQ core size drill holes total ling 7,047 metres and was
designed to follow up on results from the summer 2025 drill program. The area explored by drilling is partially
buried below historic tailings and till and many of the mineralized intervals begin at the bedrock contact.
Drill holes MZ-26-01 to MZ-26-10 were angled at 50 degrees and tested the southwestern contact between the
volcanic host rocks and the Main zone intrusive stock. All holes intersected long intervals of copper,
molybdenum, silver and gold mineralization along the contact, both within the intrusive stock and in the
surrounding volcanics.
Hole MZ-26-06A hit the mineralized zone upon entering bedrock at 94.6 metres, and yielded 140.0 metres of
0.45% copper, 0.013% molybdenum, 1.72 g/t silver, and 0.07 g/t gold starting at 157.5 metres down hole.
Located 60 metres to the northwest, last season hole MZ -25-07A intercepted 72.5 metres of 0.41% copper,
0.012% molybdenum, 3.66 g/t silver, and 0.16 g/t gold starting at 197.5 metres.
Strong molybdenum mineralization was intercepted in many of the drill holes from 2026. Hole MZ-26-07 yielded
301.5 metres of 0.21% copper, 0.024% molybdenum, 0.87 g/t silver and 0.07 g/t gold starting at 97.5 metres
when it entered bedrock and hole MZ -26-08A returned 334.0 metres of 0.24% copper, 0.016% molybdenum,
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1.87 g/t silver and 0.06 g/t gold starting at 65.0 metres down hole, again when the hole entered bedrock. These
drill holes are located roughly 100 metres from one another and intersected long intervals of biotite-plagioclase
porphyritic intrusion situated along the contact of the Main zone granodiorite stock. This porphyritic intrusive
correlates well with stronger molybdenum mineralization.
Drill holes MZ-26-11 to MZ-26-21 were vertical to sub -vertical within the Main zone stock and tested below a
molybdenum trend defined by historic blastholes in Main zone pit . The holes show consistent mineralization
such as hole MZ-26-21 intersecting 240.0 metres of 0.29% copper, 0.018% molybdenum, 0.67 g/t silver and 0.07
g/t gold after entering bedrock at 60.0 metres.
These new results will be used to update the Huckleberry model and optimize a new mine plan. Work on the
cost of restarting Huckleberry is underway and completion of a reopening plan is expected by the end of 2026.
Jim Miller-Tait, P.Geo., Imperial’s Vice President Exploration, has reviewed this news release as the designated
Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43 -101 (“NI 43 -101”) for the Huckleberry exploration
program. Steve Robertson, P. Geo., Imperial’s Vice President Corporate Development has reviewed the above
disclosures contained in this news release pertaining to Mount Polley production and is a designated Qualified
Person as defined by NI 43-101.
The Huckleberry samples reported were analyzed at Activation Laboratories Ltd. located in Kamloops. A full
QA/QC program using blanks, standards and duplicates was completed for all diamond drilling samples
submitted to the lab. Significant assay intervals reported represent apparent widths. Insufficient geological
information is available to confirm the geological model and true width of significant assay intervals.
Drillhole data for all drillholes is available on imperialmetals.com/operations/huckleberry-mine/drillhole-data.
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About Imperial
Imperial is a Vancouver based exploration, mine development and operating company with holdings that include the Mount
Polley mine (100%), the Huckleberry mine (100%), and the Red Chris mine (30%). Imperial also holds a portfolio of 2 0
greenfield exploration properties in British Columbia.
Company Contacts
Brian Kynoch | President | 604.669.8959
Jim Miller-Tait | Vice President Exploration | 604.669.8959
Steve Robertson | Vice President Corporate Development | 604.669.8959
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this news release are not statements of historical fact and are “forward -looking” statements.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Imperial management’s expectations or
beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Imperial’s expectation that: the newly
permitted tailings storage facility raise will provide storage capacity for tailings generated by expanded mining through 2034; the
use of higher grade material may reduce or eliminate the need to process lower grade stockpiles in Q4 2026; production this year
from: (i) the C2 pit may deliver approximately 6,000 ounces of recoverable gold , (ii) the bottom of the Phase 4 pit may deliver
about 300,000 tonnes of good grade ore , and (iii) the development of the Boundary pit may provide a small amount of higher
grade feed to the mill, cumulatively resulting in increased grades delivered to the mill and reducing the percentage of lower grade
stockpile material treated; the Mount Polley mine will still meet the range of guidance for 2026 production ; a reopening plan for
the Huckleberry mine will be completed by the end of 2026 ; and other risks outlined in statements made by Imperial from time
to time in the filings made by Imperial with securities regulators. Imperial disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as otherwise required
by applicable securities legislation.
In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect",
"is expected", "outlook", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" , or
"believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "wo uld",
"might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. By their very
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nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Imperial to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In making the forward -looking statements in this news release, Imperial has applied certain factors and assumptions that are
based on information currently available to Imperial as well as Imperial’s current beliefs and assumptions. These factors and
assumptions and beliefs and assumptions include, the risk factors detailed from time to time in Imperial’s interim and annual
financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review
on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although Imperia l has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions,
events or results to differ materially from those described in forward -looking statements, there may be other factors that cause
actions, imperialmetals.com events or results no t to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, many of which are beyond
Imperial’s ability to control or predict. There can be no assurance that forward -looking statements will prove to be accurate, as
actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and all forward-looking statements in this news release are qualified by these
cautionary statements.