XXIX Expands Drill Program At Cooke And Saddle Zones Following Encouraging Early Results At Opemiska

2025-12-08 06:08:38

(MENAFN- Newsfile Corp) Highlights:

Cooke drilling outperforming expectations, with broader mineralization than the current model.
Cooke budget and metres doubled to fast-track resource growth and test a new mineralized horizon.
Expanded drilling at Saddle to connect and define the copper-gold zone.
Both areas lie outside the current MRE/PEA, offering meaningful step-out growth for XXIX.
Total program now 10,000 metres, split between Cooke and Saddle.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 8, 2025) - XXIX Metal Corp‎. (TSXV: XXIX) (OTCQB: QCCUF) (FSE: 5LW0) (" XXIX " or the "Company") announces an expansion of its 2025 drill program at the Opemiska Project, driven by stronger-than-expected results from the Cooke Zone and growing confidence in the Saddle Zone.

Cooke Zone: Outperforming Early Expectations

Drilling at Cooke has confirmed a more extensive mineralized horizon than modeled. Based on these encouraging results, XXIX is doubling the Cooke drill budget and metre count, targeting both the near-surface crown pillar of the former Cooke Gold Mine and step-outs along a newly identified horizon. Cooke is not included in the current MRE or PEA and represents a significant opportunity to add new, near-surface ounces to the project.

Saddle Zone: Advancing Toward Resource Definition

The Saddle Zone has delivered strong copper-gold intercepts in previous campaigns, but drill density has not yet been sufficient for resource inclusion. The expanded program will increase drilling aimed at connecting and upgrading known high-grade areas. Like Cooke, Saddle lies entirely outside the current MRE/PEA and offers substantial upside.

Driving Growth Beyond the October PEA

The expanded drill program is designed to build on XXIX's recently announced robust PEA, which demonstrated compelling economics and rapid payback. Resource additions from Cooke, Saddle, and other near-pit targets have the potential to strengthen project scale and further improve the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study.

"Cooke continues to exceed expectations, and the identification of a new horizon adds another layer of potential," said Guy Le Bel, CEO of XXIX. "By expanding our work at Cooke and increasing metres at Saddle, we are positioning XXIX for meaningful near-term resource growth and long-term value creation."

XXIX will provide further updates as drilling progresses and assay results are received.

Figure 1) Location of Cooke Gold Zone & Chibougamau Copper Zone

Cooke drilling to date includes visible gold in two of the initial six holes.
Cooke lies 2.5 km east of the envisioned Opemiska pit and historically produced 1.97 Mt at 5.04 g/t gold and 0.66% copper.
The Saddle Zone continues to deliver strong step-out potential within the broader open-pit environment.
A second drill rig was mobilized end of November to accelerate progress across priority targets.

Figure 2) Collar locations of the Cooke Mine drilling program
QP Statement
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Denis McNichols, P.Geo and géo., Vice President Exploration for XXIX Metal, a Qualified Person, as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects."
About XXIX Metal Corp‎.
XXIX is advancing its Opemiska and Thierry Copper projects, two significant Canadian copper assets. The Opemiska Project, one of Canada's highest-grade open pitable copper deposits, spans 21,333 hectares in Quebec's Chapais-Chibougamau region, with strong infrastructure and nearby access to the Horne Smelter. An October 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment outlined a 12,500 tpd open pit operation over a 17-year mine life, generating an after-tax NPV8% of $505M, IRR of 27.2%, and a 2.3-year payback period ($4.35/lb copper price, $3,000/oz gold price, $30/oz silver price). The Thierry Project hosts the K1 (near-surface) and the past-producing K2 (underground & surface) zones (see XXIX news release dated October 1, 2024 for details regarding resources). Thierry has significant infrastructure in place including an all-season road, an airport within 5km, a provincial power grid within 8km, and nearby rail. With these two high-potential projects, the Company has solidified its position as a key player in the Canadian copper sector and has established itself as one of Eastern Canada's largest copper developer.

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