Aston Bay and American West Metals Confirm New Thick Copper Intercepts at Cyclone and Lightning Ridge as Drilling Accelerates at the Storm Copper Project, Canada

30 RC drill holes now completed with diamond drilling now also underway

• The 2024 summer drilling program continues to accelerate with more than 4,450 metres ("m") now completed

• The recent drilling has targeted expansion at the Cyclone and Chinook Prospects, and delineation drilling Lightning Ridge discovery and Thunder Prospect

• Visual results have been received for 16 of the Lightning Ridge and Cyclone Deposit drill holes which confirm a 100% hit rate for copper sulfides; visual results for drilling at Thunder and Chinook are pending

Lightning Ridge Prospect:

• Drill hole SR24-014 has intersected a combined total of 30.5m of visual copper sulfide mineralization within three zones from 57.9m downhole

• Drill hole SR24-016 has intersected a combined total of 21.3m of visual copper sulfide mineralization within three main zones from 38.1m downhole, including 5m of very strong copper sulfide mineralization from 44m downhole

• Copper mineralization at the Lightning Ridge zone has now been defined over a strike of 150m, with excellent potential to expand further

Cyclone Deposit:

• Visual results have been received for 13 drill holes, including several outside of the current mineralization footprint, with all drill holes intersecting visual copper sulfides

• Drill hole SR24-009 was drilled approximately 80m to the south-west of the Cyclone Deposit and has intersected 32m of strong visual copper sulfides from 85.3m downhole

• Drill holes SR24-011 and SR24-013 have intersected thick intervals of semi-massive sulfides within the southern part of the current known mineralization envelope

• Drilling at the Cyclone Deposit continues to confirm the robust and continuous nature of the copper mineralization supporting the potential for delineation of a future resource and outstanding growth potential

Visual estimates of mineral abundance should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analyses where concentrations or grades are the factor of principal economic interest. Laboratory assays are required to determine the presence and grade of any contained mineralization within the reported visual intersections of copper sulfides. Portable XRF is used as an aid in the determination of mineral type and abundance during the geological logging process.

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 10, 2024 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to present an update on drilling and exploration activities currently underway at the Storm Copper Project ("Storm" or the "Project") on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The program is being conducted by American West Metals Limited ("American West"), who is the operator of the Project. Aston Bay and American West have formed a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture in respect of the Storm Project property, with Aston Bay maintaining a free carried interest until a decision to mine upon completion of a bankable feasibility study.

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Bay, commented:

"The 2024 exploration program has ramped up production and we are on track to drill the proposed 20,000 metres this season.

"The summer phase of drilling is hitting visual copper mineralization in every hole, expanding the already large zone of high-grade copper mineralization at Cyclone and confirming additional mineralization around last year's discovery at Lightning Ridge. Most exciting for me is the intersection of a thick zone of copper sulfide mineralization across the fault from Cyclone in the down-dropped Central Graben. This extensive area holds the potential for significant additional discoveries concealed below the surface in this down-faulted block."

DRILL PROGRAM ACCELERATING AT STORM

A total of 30 drill holes (for approximately 4,453m) have now been completed during the 2024 drilling program, with drilling ongoing. Assay results were received from the five exploratory Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill holes from the spring phase of the program, which confirmed exploration success at the Gap prospect (see Aston Bay July 2, 2024, news release). Assay results from the remainder of the current drilling, including the 3,460m drilled since July 1, are pending. Drilling is ongoing with 20,000m planned.

The recent drill holes have been completed at the Cyclone, Chinook, Thunder, and Lightning Ridge high-grade copper prospects. The visual results from 16 of these drill holes have now been received, with all holes intersecting visual copper sulfides. The mineralogy and presence of copper has been confirmed with portable XRF analysis.

The drilling at the Cyclone Prospect is designed to expand and infill an upcoming maiden mineral resource estimate for the Storm Project that is currently being constructed to CIM standards and to explore the margins of the deposit for additional resources.

Figure 1: Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling underway at the Cyclone Deposit, Storm Project, Nunavut.

All of the reported infill drill holes have intersected thick intervals of visual copper sulfides, including semi-massive sulfides, highlighting the outstanding continuity of the mineralization at Cyclone.

Exploration drilling outside of the known Cyclone mineralization has also intersected thick intervals of strong visual copper mineralization, confirming the excellent potential for growth to the south-west, east, and north of the deposit.

The initial Lightning Ridge drilling has successfully confirmed the continuity and likely geometry of the high-grade mineralization. The steeply dipping copper mineralization (discovery hole SR23-52 intersected 30.4m @ 2.1% Cu, 5.4 grams per tonne ("g/t") silver ("Ag") can now be traced over a strike of at least 150m, with further extensions interpreted to be likely, given the thick intervals of the visual mineralization in the outlying drill holes.

The 2024 drill program is continuing with two RC drill rigs and single diamond drill rig. The excellent production of the drilling achieved to date puts the program on track to complete the planned 20,000m of drilling.

Table 1: Details for the 2024 resource and exploration drill holes completed to date.

Figure 2: Recent and existing drill hole locations, copper mineralization outlines, overlaying aerial photography.

LIGHTNING RIDGE COPPER PROSPECT EXTENDED

The Lightning Ridge Prospect is located to the south of the Chinook Prospect. The high-grade copper zone was discovered with exploration drilling during 2023 in which drill hole SR23-52 intersected 15.2m @ 2.3% Cu from 30.5m downhole and 15.2m @ 2.1% Cu from 77.7m downhole.

Outcropping massive chalcocite is visible at surface and in boulders at the base of a large E-W oriented gully (Figure 4). The proximity to the gully and the style of mineralization is strongly suggestive that the mineralization is fault-related and steeply dipping, as is seen at the nearby Chinook and Corona copper prospects.

The initial 2024 drilling at Lightning Ridge included three drill holes designed to test the strike extent and confirm the geometry of the high-grade mineralization intersected in SR23-52 (Figure 3).

The visual results have now been received and show that the drill holes along strike of the initial discovery hole have intersected strong visual copper sulfides. The known strike extent of the Lightning Ridge is now interpreted to be over 150m.

The third drill hole was drilled beneath SR23-52 and what is interpreted to be parallel to the zones of high-grade mineralization. The drill hole also intersected visual copper sulfide mineralization and other mineralogy that supports the interpretation that this third hole is located on the margin of the main copper zone. See below for details.

Figure 3: Plan view of the Chinook, Corona, Thunder, and Lightning Ridge areas showing the known copper mineralization and interpreted footprint (defined by drilling, MLEM and VTEM) of the near-surface copper mineralization and drilling overlaying regional geology.

DRILL HOLE SR24-014 AND SR24-016 DETAILS

RC drill hole SR24-014 was drilled to a depth of 119m and completed to the west of discovery drill hole SR23-52 (Figure 3).

SR24-014 has intersected three main zones of visible chalcocite- and chalcopyrite-dominant mineralization, correlating with the multiple copper zones encountered in drill hole SR23-52.

Drill hole SR24-016 was drilled to a depth of 129.5m and is located east of drill hole SR23-52. Three distinct zones of copper sulfide mineralization were also intersected, including a strongly mineralized zone between 102-106m downhole.

Mineralization key for the tables below: cc = chalcocite, chpy = chalcopyrite, br = bornite, py = pyrite, Cu = native copper, ct = cuprite, ml = malachite, sph = sphalerite, ga = galena, cuox = copper oxides. (5%) = visual estimation of sulfide content