Total Metals Executes Drill Contract For Its High-Grade High Lake Gold Project, Northwestern Ontario

(MENAFN- Newsfile Corp) Total Metals Executes Drill Contract for Its High-Grade High Lake Gold Project, Northwestern Ontario

October 05, 2026 4:45 AM EDT | Source: Total Metals Corp.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2026) - Total Metals Corp. (TSXV: TT) (OTCQB: TTTMF) (FSE: O4N) (" Total Metals " or the " Company ") is pleased to announce that it has executed a definitive agreement and submitted the initial deposit to Platinum Diamond Drilling Inc. ("Platinum Drilling"), a Centreport, MB-based drilling contractor. Under the terms of the agreement, Platinum Drilling will conduct a minimum 2,500 metre diamond drilling program at the Company's high-grade High Lake gold project, situated in Northwestern Ontario near the Manitoba/Ontario border and adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway.

Michael Dehn, Executive Chairman of Total Metals, commented, "We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Platinum Drilling, following their strong operational performance during our Q1 2026 drill program at Electrolode and demonstrated commitment to safety and environmental management. We look forward to working with them again as we take this important next step toward testing high-priority drill targets at High Lake through a larger, focused, multi-target drill program."

High-Priority Drilling Strategy

Drilling is expected to commence shortly at High Lake, where historic drilling has demonstrated significant gold mineralization. Geological and geophysical evidence indicates that the system remains open in multiple directions. The planned program is an initial phase of a drilling strategy with objectives to further expand the known mineralized footprint, establish continuity and further define the scale potential of the Purdex Zone.

The drill program has been structured to allow the company to scale activity in response to results, including the potential deployment of additional drill rigs to accelerate follow-up on successful targets. This flexibility is intended to allow Total Metals to rapidly advance encouraging results while continuing to evaluate the broader high-potential targets.

High-priority drill targets include the Purdex Zone and interpreted structural trends at the High Lake Property as shown in Figure 1. Areas of exploration focus include confirming and expanding occurrences as well as prioritized areas of structural trends, especially in where they intersect or bend in areas of lithological complexity.

Figure 1. High Lake property geology highlighting target zones, interpreted structural trends as well as other mineral occurrences*. (*from Ontario Mineral Inventory (OMI), Ontario Geological Survey)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

Summary of Previous Significant Results

Exploration drilling completed by McFarlane Lake Mining at the Purdex Zone has demonstrated the presence of a robust gold system with high gold grades.

Select core length intervals^ highlighting drill results from the 2022 - 2023 program include:

Drilling intersected 24.96 g/t Au over 14.90 m in drill hole MLHL-22-06 from 325.56 to 340.46 m. This intersection includes 43.22 g/t of Au over 7.99 m and 53.87 g/t of Au over 3.15 m. Visible gold was observed in these higher-grade intervals. Drill hole MLHL-22-04 intersected 32.58 g/t Au over 1.45 m from 187.00 to 188.45 m, located higher on the same section within the Purdex A Zone;

Drill hole MLHL-22-05 intersected two mineralized intervals. The first interval graded 4.95 g/t Au over 7.49 m from 242.51 to 250.00 m, including 11.18 g/t Au over 1.94 m. The second interval graded 4.49 g/t Au over 6.38 m from 267.45 to 273.83 m;

Drill hole MLHL-22-17 intersected 148.37 g/t gold over 1.3 m from 113.20 to 114.50 m, including 557 g/t Au over 0.3 m. Visible gold was observed in this interval. This drill hole also includes a second mineralized intersection of 3.89 g/t Au over 4.6 m from 56.00 to 60.60 m. Drill hole MLHL-22-25, approximately 100 m vertically below MLM-22-17, intersected 6.85 g/t Au over 2.97 m from 202.10 to 205.07 m, including 27.5 g/t Au over 0.60 m;

Drill hole MLHL-22-23 intersected 21.67 g/t Au over 1.75 m from 171.05 to 172.8 m and 13.3 g/t Au over 0.70 m from 74.85 to 75.55 m within the Purdex A Zone. Drill hole MLHL-22-28 intersected 9.42 g/t gold over 9.38 m from 29.62 to 39.00 m, including 117 g/t gold over 0.55 m and 12 g/t gold over 1.00 m

^Intervals calculated from uncut gold assays. Holes highlighted are included in current mineral resource.

The High Lake Property hosts a high-grade gold resource within the Purdex Zone which the company plans to confirm and expand in initial upcoming drill programs. The Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Purdex Zone has an effective date of April 14, 2023. A NI 43-101 Technical Report with an effective date of November 30, 2025 titled "Technical Report and Initial Mineral Resource Estimate of the High Lake - West Hawk Lake Gold Project" by English River Geoscience Ltd. confirms the currency of this MRE and is available on the Company's issuer profile at SEDAR+.

Table 1. Purdex Zone Mineral Resource
Estimate at 2.6 g/t Au Cut-Off (1-7)
Classification	Tonnes (k)	Au (g/t)	Au (koz)
Indicated	152	9.38	45.8
Inferred	287	10.43	96.2

Table 1. Mineral Resource Estimate for the Purdex Zone of the High Lake Deposit.

Notes:

The MRE was independently prepared by Mr. Charles Spath, P.Geo in accordance with NI 43-101, with an effective date of April 14, 2023

Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could potentially be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.

The Mineral Resources were estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council.

Metal prices used were US$1,800/oz Au and 0.77 C$/US$ foreign exchange rate with process recoveries of 95% Au. A C$40/t process cost and C$15/t G&A cost were used.

The underground mining cost was C$130/t. The underground Mineral Resource grade blocks were quantified above the 2.6 g/t Au cut-off within the constraining mineralized wireframes. Underground Mineral Resources selected exhibited continuity and reasonable potential for extraction by the long hole underground mining method.

Grade estimation was undertaken with the Inverse Distance Cubed method on 1.0 m capped composites.

Qualified Person

Robert Penczak, M.Sc., P.Geo (Ontario), Vice President of Exploration for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information used in this news release.

About Total Metals Corp.

Total Metals owns 100% of the High Lake and West Hawk Lake Project covering 958 hectares in two gold properties located along the Trans-Canada Highway straddling the Manitoba / Ontario border. The Purdex Zone on the High Lake property has significant exploration potential and will be the primary target for initial exploration and potential future mining activities. The West Hawk Lake property is comprised of a single mineral lease, located within southeastern Manitoba. The Company has an option on the Menary gold property, strategically located in the Kenora Mining Division of Ontario, sharing a common southern boundary with the Rainy River claims being acquired by Coeur Mining, Inc. ("Coeur") following its ~US$7 billion acquisition of New Gold Inc. The most recent addition to the Company is the Pick Lake property, consisting of 75 claims and a mining lease covering over 5,260 hectares, accessible via a road connected to the Trans-Canada Highway to the south. The Pick Lake critical minerals deposit has an average strike length of approximately 250m and a depth extension tested between 300 to 1200m. Total Metals Corp. is focused on developing and advancing its high-grade gold and critical mineral assets located in Eastern Canada. The Electrolode Project is targeting high-potential critical mineral plus gold resources and targets in three favorable geologic trends, located near major mines in the Red Lake Gold camp and is strategically located between Kinross Gold's Great Bear Project and First Mining Gold's Springpole Project. The Electrolode Project and hosts 10 historic mineralized zones with significant expansion potential plus new, untested targets ready for further exploration.

Cautionary Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in its policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release.

Tyler Thorburn
Investor Relations
...
(416) 873-7662

Forward-Looking Information

This press release includes "forward-looking information" that is subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward-looking. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions readers that all forward-looking statements, are based on assumptions none of which can be assured and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. Readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the TSX-V. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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Source: Total Metals Corp.

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