Gunnison Copper and Nuton Optimize Stage 2 Mine Plan with Approximately 3 Million Additional Tons of Mineralized Material

Gunnison secures an $8 million Nuton payment and more mineable material while maintaining Johnson Camp’s Stage 2 schedule and workforce continuity.

Rhea-AI Summary

Gunnison Copper (GCUMF) agreed with Nuton LLC to revise the Stage 2 mine plan at the Johnson Camp Mine, adding approximately 3 million tons of mineralized material between 2027 and 2029 while keeping the existing schedule.

Nuton will make a US$8 million payment to Gunnison, expected in Q4 2026, reflecting value from the optimized plan and continued commitment to the Johnson Camp demonstration project. The revised plan is expected to preserve critical operational capabilities and workforce through the demonstration period, supporting operational continuity and future project opportunities. Gunnison also elected not to proceed with conditionally awarded U.S. Department of Energy 48C tax credits.

Positive

• ~3 million additional tons of mineralized material to be mined between 2027 and 2029
• Nuton to pay US$8 million to Gunnison, expected in Q4 2026
• Revised plan expected to preserve operational capabilities and workforce during the demonstration period

Negative

• Gunnison will not proceed with conditionally awarded DOE 48C tax credits

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Revised mine plan adds approximately 3 million tons of mineralized material to be mined between 2027 and 2029; Nuton LLC to provide a US$8 million payment to Gunnison. The optimized plan supports operational continuity, preserves critical workforce capabilities, and advances the Johnson Camp demonstration project.

Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - September 16, 2026) - Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU) (OTCQB: GCUMF) (FSE: 3XS0) ("Gunnison" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Nuton LLC ("Nuton"), a Rio Tinto venture, to revise and optimize the Stage 2 mine plan at the Johnson Camp Mine ("JCM") in southeast Arizona, adding approximately 3 million tons of mineralized material to the mine plan and further enhancing the value of the project.

Under the revised mine plan, the additional tons of mineralized material are expected to be mined within the planned demonstration period between 2027 and 2029, enhancing project value while maintaining the existing Stage 2 schedule.

Related to the mining activities, Nuton has agreed to make a US$8 million payment to Gunnison. The Company expects to receive the payment in Q4 2026. The payment reflects the value created through the optimized mine plan and the parties' continued commitment to advancing the Johnson Camp demonstration project.

The revised mine plan is expected to preserve Gunnison's critical operational capabilities and experienced workforce throughout the demonstration period, supporting operational continuity and future project opportunities.

"The optimized mine plan adds approximately 3 million tons of mineralized material and further enhances the value of Johnson Camp," said Craig Hallworth, President and CEO of Gunnison Copper. "The additional material supports continued operations, preserves critical workforce and technical capabilities, strengthens the long-term outlook for the project, and advances our mission to reliably supply pure American copper from Southern Arizona."

The Company also announces it has elected not to proceed with claiming the Department of Energy 48C Tax Credits as conditionally awarded to the Company in January 10, 2025 as part of the 48C selection process. Gunnison will continue to evaluate U.S. Federal tax incentive opportunities to maximize value and support the long-term interests of the company.

ABOUT GUNNISON COPPER

Gunnison Copper Corp. is a multi-asset pure-play copper developer and producer that controls the Cochise Mining District (the district), containing 12 known deposits within an 8 km economic radius, in the Southern Arizona Copper Belt.

Its flagship asset, the Gunnison Copper Project, has a main pit Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource containing over 846 million tons with a total copper grade of 0.33% containing 5.19 billion pounds of copper (Measured Mineral Resource of 192 million tons at 0.37% containing 1.42 billion pounds of copper and Indicated Mineral Resource of 655 million tons at 0.31% containing 3.77 billion pounds of copper).

The Strong & Harris satellite deposit, located approximately 1.9 miles from the Gunnison processing facilities, is also included in the mine plan and hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 76 million tons grading 0.49% total copper (0.32% CuOx) at a 0.07% cutoff, 0.56% zinc and 0.12 oz/ton silver, containing approximately 740 million pounds of copper, including 483 million pounds of oxide copper, as well as zinc (856 million pounds) and silver (9.0 million ounces).

A preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") was completed in March 2026 for the Gunnison Project yielding robust economics including an NPV8% of $2 billion, IRR of 23%, and payback period of 3.9 years. It is being developed as a conventional operation with open pit mining, heap leach, and SX/EW refinery to produce finished copper cathode on-site with direct rail link. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

In addition, Gunnison's Johnson Camp Asset, which is now in production, is fully funded by Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto Venture, with a production capacity of up to 25 million lbs of finished copper cathode annually.

Other significant deposits controlled by Gunnison in the district, with potential to be economic satellite feeder deposits for Gunnison Project infrastructure, include South Star, and eight other deposits.

For more information on the Company, please visit our website at www.GunnisonCopper.com.

For additional information on the Gunnison Project, please refer to the technical report titled "Gunnison Project NI 43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Cochise County, Arizona, USA" with an effective date of March 18, 2026 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

For additional information on the Johnson Camp Mine, please refer to the technical report titled "Johnson Camp Mine NI 43-101 Technical Report, Cochise County, Arizona, USA" with an effective date of March 18, 2026 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Dr. Roland Goodgame, Senior VP of Project Development of the Company is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Dr. Goodgame has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

For further information regarding this press release, please contact:

Gunnison Copper Corp.
Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018

Melissa Mackie
T: 647.533.4536
E: info@GunnisonCopper.com
www.GunnisonCopper.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the intention to deploy the Nuton® technology at the Johnson Camp mine and future production therefrom; (ii) the continued funding of the stage 2 work program by Nuton; (iii) the details and expected results of the stage two work program; (iv) future production and production capacity from the Company's mineral projects; (v) the results of the preliminary economic assessment on the Gunnison Project; (vi) the exploration and development of the Company's mineral projects; (vii) the details and timelines associated with the Company's PFS work program; (viii) the expected results of the Company's PFS work program; and (ix) eligibility for future tax credits.

In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, Nuton will continue to fund the stage 2 work program, the availability of financing to continue as a going concern and implement the Company's operational plans, , the estimation of mineral resources, the realization of resource estimates, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs (including the price of acid), the availability of labour, material and acid supply, receipt of and compliance with necessary regulatory approvals and permits, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to the Company not obtaining adequate financing to continue operations, Nuton failing to continue to fund the stage 2 work program, the breach of debt covenants, risks inherent in the construction and operation of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not be sustained at the Gunnison Copper Project, risks related to the delay in approval of work plans, variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products, risks related to current global financial conditions, risks related to current global financial conditions on the Company's business, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, risks related to the ability to access acid supply on commercially reasonable terms, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the construction or mining process, regulatory risks including the risk that permits may not be obtained in a timely fashion or at all, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interests, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/314551

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

When will the additional mineralized material be mined under the revised Stage 2 plan?

Under the revised mine plan, the approximately 3 million tons of additional mineralized material are expected to be mined within the planned demonstration period between 2027 and 2029.

When does Gunnison expect to receive the US$8 million payment from Nuton?

Gunnison expects to receive the US$8 million payment from Nuton in Q4 2026.

What does Gunnison say the revised mine plan will support operationally?

The revised mine plan is expected to preserve Gunnison's critical operational capabilities and experienced workforce throughout the demonstration period, supporting operational continuity and future project opportunities.

What decision did Gunnison make regarding U.S. Department of Energy 48C tax credits?

Gunnison elected not to proceed with claiming the Department of Energy 48C Tax Credits that were conditionally awarded on January 10, 2025, and will continue to evaluate U.S. Federal tax incentive opportunities.