HM Exploration Expands Pilley’s Island VMS District with Acquisition of Lewis Copper Tenure

~With historic drilling returning 1.84% copper over 16.7m~

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HM Exploration Corp. (“HM Exploration” or “HM” or the “Company”) (CSE:HM) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a property option agreement dated March 11, 2026 (the “Agreement”) to acquire (the “Acquisition”) the option to earn a hundred percent (100%) interest in the Lewis Copper VMS Tenure located in Newfoundland, Canada (the “Tenure” or “Lewis Tenure”).

“This acquisition expands HM’s control of the Pilley’s Island VMS district,” said Nicholas Rodway, CEO of HM Exploration. “With promising historic copper drilling intercepts and multiple undrilled targets, we believe the district holds strong discovery potential. We are excited to hit the ground running for HM’s first ever diamond drill program.”

Highlights:

• The acquisition of the Lewis Tenure expands HM’s Pilley’s Island land package to 42 km² located just 55 km southeast of Firefly Metals’ Green Bay VMS project.
• Historic drilling on the Tenure at the 3B-Zone conducted by Au Pell in 1989 returned:
  • PI-89-01: 16.77m of 1.84% Cu
  • PI-89-02: 7.63m of 0.90% Cu
  • PI-89-03: 5.19m of 0.24% Cu, 4.54% Zn, 17.43 g/t Ag, and 5.00 g/t Au
• The Tenure hosts a cluster of VMS systems and prospects with high-grade Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag +/- Au mineralization, analogous to the Buchans camp.
• Brinco-Getty discovered the 3B-Zone during exploration carried out from 1981 to 1985. Historic estimates reference the zone to contain approximately 200,000 tonnes grading 3.0 – 4.0% Cu* (Epp, 1984).
• Modern geophysical techniques and systematic drilling have not been conducted historically on the Tenure.
• HM plans to conduct an inaugural drilling campaign in 2026 pending permits.

* The reported grades and volumes are historical in nature and are not considered current mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined by NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). The Company has not done sufficient work to classify these estimates as current, and a qualified person has not verified them.

About the Tenure

The Tenure consists of six (6) mineral licenses encompassing a total land area of 20 km² making the total area of the land package approximately 42 km². Collectively, the Tenure along with the Pilley’s Island Project will now be referred to as the “Lewis Pilley’s Project”. The Tenure is road accessible and situated approximately 25 km east of the town of Springdale, approximately 210 km from the town of Gander, approximately 55 km southeast of Firefly Metals’ Green Bay Project and approximately 150 km from the Pine Cove Mill and Port by way of major roads.

The Tenure has a long history of mining and exploration dating back to the late 1800’s when the Pilley’s Island Pyrite Company Ltd. produced approximately 450,000 tons of massive pyritic ore from the Pilley’s Island Mine-Old Mines (after Kerr, 1996).

The Lewis Pilley’s Project hosts a cluster of Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (“VMS”) systems and prospects with demonstrated high-grade Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag+/-Au intersections. Mineralization is typical bimodal-felsic VMS, with both massive sulfide and sulfide-clast breccias (Thurlow, 2001). The geological setting is directly analogous to the Buchans camp (Thurlow, 1996), and the presence of sulfide-clast breccias is a strong vector toward proximal massive sulfide lenses. Deep drilling has confirmed a large hydrothermal system with significant sulfide development.

Most of the historic showings that fall within the extents of the new Tenure have not seen systematic exploration recently or historically. Many of the historic drill holes were shallow and drilled in a vertical orientation limiting the geological knowledge of the extents of the underlying lithology and mineralization. Work is being planned to validate historic assay results as well as collect new data from the 3B-Zone, Clifford Jones (Bull Road) Extension, Bouzanne Shaft, Henderson, Mansfield and Pilley’s Cove Showings.

Figure 1: Regional map of Newfoundland displaying the location of the Pilley’s Island Project and other significant mineral exploration and mining projects in Newfoundland – Canada.

Geology & Mineralization

The Tenure is located within the Notre Dame Subzone of the Dunnage Tectonostratigraphic Zone. Of note, most of the Tenure is underlain by Ordovician submarine volcanic rocks of the Roberts Arm Group which is regionally identified as part of a mature arc sequence referred to as the Buchans-Roberts Arm Belt that also hosts the historic Buchan’s mine (after Dunning et. Al., 1987). Mineralization occurs as lower grade (Spencer’s Dock); medium grade (Old Mines); and high grade (3B-Zone/Clifford Jones) deposits that are of both sub-seafloor replacement and exhalative varieties. The deposits are often flanked by extensive chlorite, sericite, silica, K-feldspar and epidote alteration often observed in bimodal-felsic VMS systems. The Spencer’s Dock area displays sericite/silica alteration that generally increases in intensity near mineralized zones, while the 3B/Old Mine areas display sericite/silica alteration that is abundant but less widespread and is more intense when proximal to mineralized zones (after Kerr, 1996).

VMS deposits are a globally significant source of copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold. The Tenure’s geology shares key characteristics with known VMS districts in Newfoundland, including the past producing Buchans, Ming and Rambler Mines supporting the exploration potential of the Tenure.

From north to south the Tenure is underlain by:

Lushes Bight Group – Lower Ordovician

Composed of pillow basalts, pillow breccias, aquagene tuffs, massive basalt flows, flow breccias, and chlorite schist.

Springdale Group – Silurian

Terrestrial sequence of volcanics, pyroclastics, epiclastic to volcaniclastic sediments.

Roberts Arm Group – Middle Ordovician

The Roberts Arm Group, which hosts known mineralization, is complexly faulted and consists of an older tholeiitic terrane overlain by more calc-alkaline thrust slices. It is suggested that it represents an evolution from tholeiitic, back arc basalts to calc-alkaline intermediate to felsic volcanics deposited at about the time of continental collision in a neritic to littoral environment (after Bostock, 1988).

Figure 2: Property map of the Lewis Pilley’s Project displaying historical showings/zones located on the Tenure.
**Historic intercept lengths have been converted from feet to meters and Ag/Au results have been converted from oz/t to g/t.

Prospective Areas

3B-Zone (additional claims)

The 3B-Zone has been described as a massive sulfide zone containing Cu, Zn, Ag, Au (after Brinex, 1967). Brinco-Getty discovered the 3B-Zone during exploration carried out from 1981 to 1985. Historic estimates reference the zone to contain approximately 200,000 tons grading 3.00 – 4.00% Cu* (Epp, 1984).

* The reported reserves are historical in nature and are not considered current mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined by NI 43-101. The Company has not done sufficient work to classify these estimates as current, and a qualified person has not verified them.

Au Pell Resources Inc. conducted work in the 3B-Zone from 1987 to 1988 consisting of 1,949 meters of diamond drilling in eight (8) holes; mostly in the area of the 3B-Zone. This drilling intersected the extension of the 3B-Zone and some of the higher-grade intersections included:

• Au Pell Resources Inc. – Drill hole results from NL assessment report 002E_0656:
  • Drill hole PI-89-01:
    • 16.77m of 1.84% Cu from 302.44 to 319.21m depth.
      • Including: 10.97m of 2.34% Cu from 302.4 to 313.41m depth.
  • Drill hole PI-89-02:
    • 7.63m of 0.90% Cu from 262.80 to 270.43m depth.
      • Including: 3.05m of 1.59 % Cu from 262.80 to 265.85m depth.
  • Drill hole PI-89-03:
    • 3.05m of 5.03% Zn, 7.58 g/t Ag, and 1.02 g/t Au from 201.83 to 204.44m depth.
    • 5.19m of 0.24% Cu, 4.54% Zn, 17.43 g/t Ag, and 5.00 g/t Au from 206.40 to 211.59m depth.
      • Including: 2.29m of 0.39% Cu, 0.14% Pb, 7.60% Zn, 30.72 g/t Ag, and 10.48 g/t Au from 209.30 to 211.59m depth.
  • Drill hole PI-89-04:
    • 16.70m of 1.28% Zn and 10.00 g/t Ag from 222.60 to 239.30m depth.

Clifford Jones (Bull Road) Extension Showing

The Clifford Jones (Bull Road) Extension Showing consists of stockworks ‘feeder’ type mineralization with networks of veinlet and disseminated base metals sulphides including pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, silver, gold, and sphalerite. The lithology of the area is highly silica/sericite altered brecciated rhyolitic host rocks (Epp, 1984). The similarities between this zone and the Bull Road/3B-Zone are encouraging for further exploration and discovery.

Bouzanne Shaft Showing

Brinex drill hole PI-84-02 was drilled within 100.00m of the Bouzanne Shaft as part of the extended exploration of the Clifford Jones (Bull Road) showing (after Grimley, 1967). While the results from this drill hole were underwhelming, the local geology in the area consisting of strata-bound volcanogenic stockwork within mixed mafic/felsic rocks and proximity to the Clifford Jones (Bull Road)/3B-Zone provide evidence for future follow-up.

Henderson Showing

This showing was discovered in 1885, and two (2) pits and a shaft were excavated on the prospect (Horsburgh, 1961). In 1968 Brinex drilled two (2) holes (BBF-36,37) totaling 220.00m near the prospect; sparse mineralization was intersected in hole BBF-36.

This showing consists of a chaotic mix of rounded to sub angular massive sulphide blocks up to 1.00m in diameter and fragments of rhyolite, chert, and basalt in a fine-grained breccia exposure over a width of approximately 20.00m (Strong, 1974; Bostock, 1988; Tuach, 1990). The breccia, which is strongly altered and contains disseminated pyrite, has been traced inland approximately 100.00m (Tuach, 1990). This occurrence is interpreted as localized in a small portion of vent. The sulphide blocks display banding and colloform textures and contain 2.00 to 3.00% copper with minor sphalerite and galena (Strong, 1974).

The similarities between this zone and the Bull Road/3B-Zone are encouraging for further exploration and discovery.

Mansfield Showing

The Mansfield showing was discovered by Brinex personnel during their activities in 1966 (Grimley, 1967). The area was mapped, prospected, trenched, blasted, and sampled. In 1967, drill hole BBF-7 was drilled near the south edge of the showing. The hole (vertical) was drill to a depth of 125.00m and intersected sporadic mineralization (Brinex, 1967).

Pilley’s Cove Showing

This showing displays mineralization consisting of chalcopyrite and pyrite in sheeted diabase. It was reported as “a pit on a 2-meter quartz vein” (Paltser, 1989). A sample of chalcopyrite bearing float from the area of the pit was reported to return 4.79% Cu and 12.75 g/t Ag**. This is within the general area of the Pilley’s Cove copper occurrence where malachite staining was reported on a cliff rock face above a reported adit near the showing (Epoch Capital Corp – 002E/0643 & 002E/0658).

The Agreement

On March 11, 2026 (the “Effective Date”), the Company entered into the Agreement to acquire the option (the “Option”) from Unity Resources Inc. and Stephen Stockley Agriculture and Fabrication Inc. (collectively, the “Optionors”) to earn a hundred percent (100%) interest in the Tenure through a combination of common share issuances and incurrence of exploration expenditures on the Tenure, as follows:

(1)   Issuing to the Optionors, on a 50-50 basis, an aggregate of 2,700,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the “Shares”) at a deemed price of $0.27 per Share as follows:

a.   300,000 Shares on or before the date that is ten (10) business days after the Effective Date;

b.   450,000 common shares on or before March 9, 2027 (the “First Tranche Issuance”);

c.   450,000 common shares on or before March 9, 2028 (the “Second Tranche Issuance”);

d.   450,000 common shares on or before March 9, 2029 (the “Third Tranche Issuance”);

e.   450,000 common shares on or before March 9, 2030 (the “Fourth Tranche Issuance”); and

f.   600,000 common shares on or before March 9, 2031 (the “Fifth Tranche Issuance”); and

(2)   incurring a minimum of $1,500,000 in exploration expenditures on the Tenure as follows:

a.   $900,000 of exploration expenditures on or before March 9, 2028; and

b.   $1,400,000 of exploration expenditures on or before March 9, 2030.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the First Tranche Shares, Second Tranche Shares, Third Tranche Shares, Fourth Tranche Shares and Fifth Tranche Shares will be collectively subject to a two (2) year resale restriction (the “Escrow”) from the applicable date of issuance. During the Option period, each of the Optionors will also be subject to restrictions on disposition applicable to any Shares they hold, consisting of giving prior notice to the Company of any proposed disposition of more than 50,000 Shares during any thirty (30) day period and the price, approximating current market, at which the applicable Optionor is willing to sell them (the “Proposed Sale Price”) and either: (i) disposing of such Shares to specific willing investors identified by the Company within a 10-day period at 98% of the Proposed Sale Price if the purchase is via a private off-market sale or 100% of the Proposed Sale Price if the purchase is arranged through a stock exchange; or (ii) in the instance that the Company fails to identity a willing investor, disposing of such Shares at a price of not less than 65% of the Proposed Sale Price (the “Resale Rules”). Pursuant to the Agreement, should the Company complete a financing at a per-Share price lower than that of its immediately preceding financing round during the Option period, the Escrow and Resale Rules shall be of no further force or effect and any resale restrictions imposed under the Escrow shall be removed by the Company.

The Optionors will retain a three (3%) percent net smelter returns royalty (the “NSR”) on the Tenure, subject to the Company’s buyback right of one point five percent (1.5%) of the NSR for C$2,000,000.

All securities issued in connection with the Agreement will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day. No finders’ fees were paid on this arm’s length Agreement.

Bonus Agreement

In connection with the Agreement, the Company also concurrently entered into a Bonus Agreement with the Optionors (the “Bonus Agreement”). Pursuant to the Bonus Agreement, in the event that the Company enters into an agreement in respect of an arm’s length transaction on the Tenure during the Option period under the Agreement (a “Subsequent Sale”), the Optionors will be entitled to receive, on a 50-50 basis, additional consideration in aggregate equal to five percent (5%) (the “Consideration Entitlement”) of the total cash and non-cash consideration payable to the Company under the Subsequent Sale (the “Subsequent Sale Consideration”), paid within thirty days of the Company’s receipt of the applicable portion of the Consideration Entitlement under the Agreement. In the event that at least sixty-five percent (65%) of the Subsequent Sale Consideration is returned to shareholders of the Company as a dividend, return of capital or other pro rata distribution, the Company will be relieved of its obligations and will not be obligated to pay the Consideration Entitlement.

Pursuant to the Bonus Agreement, the Company shall also pay the Optionors an aggregate bonus payment(s) of C$5,000,000 in cash (the “Mineral Resource Bonus Payment”) in the event, subsequent to the exercise of the Option by the Company, a cumulative mineral reserve and mineral resource of not less than 2,000,000 AuEq ounces is established, updated or expanded on the Tenure, in compliance with NI 43-101, in any one or more mineral resource or mineral reserve category supported by a Feasibility Study and with a Net Present Value of not less than C$1,000,000,000. The Mineral Resource Bonus Payment will be payable by the Company to the Optionors, on a 50-50 basis, within thirty (30) business days of the date of filing of the Technical Report in support of such Feasibility Study or other public disclosure under applicable securities laws of the results of such Feasibility Study, whichever is earlier.

References

British Newfoundland Exploration Limited 1968: Diamond drilling data from Pilley’s Island, Newfoundland. British Newfoundland Exploration Limited Unpublished report [GSB# 002E/12/0168]
Bostock, H.H. 1988: Geology and petrochemistry of the Ordovician volcano-plutonic Roberts Arm Group, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 369, 84 pages, with 1:50,000 colour map.
Consolidated Morrison Exploration Company 1979: The Bull Road showing, Pilley’s Island, Nfld. Consolidated Morrison Exploration Company unpublished report. [NDNR 2E/12]
Dunning, G.R., Kean, B.F., Thurlow, J.G. and Swinden, H.S. 1987: Geochronology of the Buchans, Roberts Arm and Victoria Lake Groups and Mansfield Cove Complex, Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 24, pages 1175-1184.
Epp, W.R. 1984: Brinco/Getty Joint Venture Dawes Pond Tenure Pilley’s Island 1984 diamond drilling report Blast Furnace Option, C.B. 2400, Lic. 2240, Newfoundland. Brinco Mining unpublished report. [NDNR 2E/524]
Espenshade, G.H., 1937. Geology and mineral deposits of the Pilley’s Island area, Newfoundland. Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources, Bulletin 6, pp. 1-56.
Grimley, P.H. 1968: Geological and other notes on Pilley’s Island. Brinex unpublished report. [NDNR 2E12/274]
Harris, A. 1976: Consolidated Morrison Exploration Company; The Bull Road showing, Pilley’s Island, Nfld. Consolidated Morrison Exploration Company unpublished report. [NDNR 2E/12/0388]
Horsburgh, J R 1967: The geology of the Pilleys Island prospect, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. BSc thesis, Royal School Of Mines. 170 pages. [GSB# 002E/12/0265]
Hum, P. 1983: Report on the 1983 diamond drilling Pilley’s Island Blast Furnace Option and C.B. 2400, Licence 2240, Newfoundland. Brinco Mining Document No. G83005. [NDNR 2E/487]
Kerr, A. (1996) New perspectives on the stratigraphy, volcanology, and structure of the island-arc volcanic rocks in the Ordovician Roberts Arm Group, Notre Dame Bay. In Current Research, Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey, Report 96-1, pages 283-310.
Paltser, Ulo, 1989. Geological and geochemical surveys in the Sunday Cove Tickle area, north central Newfoundland, C.B. 5746, Lic. 3303, NTS 2E/12, by James Wade Engineering for Epoch Capital Corp. [2E/12/0648]
Strong, D F 1974: Geology of the Pilleys Island area. In Ore deposits and their tectonic setting in the Central Mobile Belt of northeast Newfoundland. Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada, Field Trip Manual, No. A-3 and B-3, pages 26-34. [GSB# NFLD/0782]
Thurlow, J.G 1996: Geology of a newly discovered cluster of blind massive sulfide deposits, Pilley’s Island, central Newfoundland. In Current Research, Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey, Report 96-1, pages 181- 189.
Tuach, J. 1989: Diamond drilling at Pilley’s Island, Newfoundland January – February 1989. Licence 2278 and Fee Simple Grant Vol. 1, Fol. 28 (NTS 2E/12). Au Pell Resources Inc. unpublished report. [ NDNR 2E/656]
Walker, W B G 1960: Report on copper-pyrite of Pilleys Island, Newfoundland. British Newfoundland Exploration Limited Unpublished report [GSB# 002E/12/0242]

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

Nicholas Rodway, P.Geo, (Licence# 46541) (Permit to Practice# 100359) is CEO and Director of the Company, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Rodway has reviewed and approved the technical content in this release.

About HM Exploration Corp.

The Company is currently advancing the Devil’s Den Project, an exploration-stage property consisting of two contiguous claims totaling approximately 3,200 hectares on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Exploration work completed in 2022 established four geochemical grids to identify possible buried mineralization, uncovering multiple high-grade occurrences including copper values up to 4.68% at surface (Devil’s Den NI 43-101, Nov 2022). Phase One exploration completed in 2025 included high-resolution UAV magnetic surveying and a lithogeochemical program, which identified new structural targets and zones of elevated copper, zinc, and nickel geochemistry. The project hosts multiple historical adits with high-grade surface occurrences that remain undrilled. HM believes a lack of adequate modern exploration has left significant discovery potential.

In addition, the Company has recently expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of the Lewis Pilley’s Project in Newfoundland, a 41.25 km² contiguous land package hosting a cluster of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) systems and the historic Pilley’s Island Mine (~450,000 tonnes of ore produced in the late 1800s). Historic drilling at the 3B-Zone returned significant intersections, including 16.77m of 1.84% Cu and 3.05m of 5.03% Zn with 1.02 g/t Au (Au Pell, 1989). The geological setting is directly analogous to the prolific Buchans camp, with multiple underexplored showings and strong potential for new discoveries.

HM Exploration is committed to applying modern exploration techniques across its projects to unlock value in historically underexplored Canadian mining districts.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

HM EXPLORATION CORP.

“Nicholas Rodway”
Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and “forward-looking information” under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, expect”, “target”, “plan”, “forecast”, “may”, “would”, “could”, “schedule” and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of HM, future growth potential for HM and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management’s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of copper, gold and other metals; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; HM’s ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the Canadian securities laws. Statements, other than statements of historical fact, may constitute forward looking information and include, without limitation, statements with respect to the Tenure and its mineralization potential; the Company’s objectives, goals, or future plans with respect to the Tenure; completion of the Option; and the Company’s anticipated exploration program at the Tenure. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions regarding, among other things, the geological, metallurgical, engineering, financial and economic advice that the Company has received is reliable and are based upon practices and methodologies which are consistent with industry standards. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others: fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of well results and the geology, continuity and grade of copper, gold and other metal deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, recovery rates, production estimates and estimated economic return; the need for cooperation of government agencies in the exploration and development of properties and the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs or in construction projects and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; increased costs and restrictions on operations due to compliance with environmental and other requirements; increased costs affecting the metals industry and increased competition in the metals industry for properties, qualified personnel, and management. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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