Agreement through Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium for Tungsten Exploration Adds Second Critical Mineral Pillar for Perpetua Resources

Program Focused on Drilling, Metallurgical Test Work and Construction of a Decline into Hangar Flats

Hangar Flats Decline to Access High-Grade Tungsten, 1.37 Million Ounces of Gold, and 95 Million Pounds of Antimony Not in Reserves

BOISE, Idaho, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA) (TSX: PPTA) ("Perpetua Resources" or "Perpetua" or the "Company") today announced a new 36-month, $40 million award through the U.S. Army's Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium ("DOTC") from the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Agile Sustainment & Ammunition ("PAE AS&A") located at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. This award will fund a program to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of producing tungsten concentrate at the historical Stibnite Mining District ("Stibnite") in Idaho. Structured as a cost-share program between the Company and the U.S. Government, funding will support drilling to define a potential tungsten mineral resource, collection of material for laboratory and bench-scale metallurgical testing and permitting and engineering of an exploration decline to access areas of known tungsten mineralization.

"Resilient mineral solutions start here in America," said Jon Cherry, Perpetua Resources President & CEO. "The U.S. Army's additional investment in a historically proven American tungsten source at Stibnite underscores the growing strategic value of Stibnite's mineral endowment and continues to strengthen the partnerships supporting Perpetua's future. Historical production and recent exploration results suggest Stibnite has the potential to be one of the world's highest-grade tungsten sources."

There has been no commercial tungsten mining in the United States since 2015. The U.S. is wholly reliant on imports from a small number of countries, with recent Chinese export controls and new federal sourcing restrictions adding to the defense and manufacturing supply risk. The Stibnite mining district has a history of antimony and tungsten production, supplying roughly half of the tungsten and 90% of the antimony used by the United States during World War II¹. When the war ended, mining for tungsten and antimony concluded, leaving identified mineralized materials behind.

Recent Perpetua exploration drilling at Stibnite has identified high-grade zones of antimony and tungsten mineralization. Specifically, Perpetua's drilling program at the Hangar Flats deposit returned significant tungsten-antimony mineralization, as previously reported, including:

• 9.8 meters grading 4.6% tungsten, 8.3% antimony
• 22.9 meters grading 1.2% tungsten, 3.2% antimony
• 3.4 meters grading 1.5% tungsten, 10.6% antimony

These encouraging results underpin the new DOTC award which will focus largely on the tungsten mineralization beneath the Hangar Flats pit. Perpetua's proposed program with the U.S. Army includes an initial surface exploration drilling program and metallurgical test work on an existing 550-kilogram sample compiled from prior exploration activities grading 9.2% antimony and 4.2% tungsten. Other work will include the design, permitting, and possible construction of an exploration decline to access the high-grade antimony, tungsten and gold mineralization beneath the Hangar Flats pit.

In addition to drilling for tungsten under the DOTC award, the Company intends to continue to advance its own ongoing exploration activities underneath the currently permitted Hangar Flats pit which contains approximately 1.37 million ounces of gold resources and over 95 million pounds of antimony resources not included in the current mine plan or in the Company's reported mineral reserves. The Company believes that accessing this material via underground mining may supplement the Company's existing production profile. Any activity outside the scope of the currently permitted mine plan will require additional regulatory review and permitting.

Perpetua will design and implement the tungsten exploration project and will match the U.S. Army's $40 million contribution in the joint investment. The initial 18-month phase is expected to cost approximately $18 million and be shared equally between Perpetua and the U.S. Army. The timing, scope and cost of subsequent phases are subject to ongoing development based on results of prior exploration, testing, engineering and permitting activities, as well as approval of each incremental phase of additional funding.

This new award brings total U.S. Government awards to Perpetua for critical minerals to $126 million since 2022. In addition to the announced DOTC grant, Perpetua has submitted proposals for additional grants to further expand its critical minerals program. While there can be no assurance that the Company will obtain additional funding, Perpetua believes its broader claim package is uniquely positioned to support U.S. government critical mineral initiatives.

Warrant Amendment

The Company has amended the outstanding warrants exercisable for an aggregate of 1,607,802 Common Shares at exercise prices of US$31.46 per share and US$38.93 per share, which were originally set to expire on October 28, 2026, December 1, 2026, and December 23, 2026, respectively. Each amendment extends the applicable expiry date to April 28, 2027 (the "Amendment"). The Company has relied on the exemption in section 602.1 of the TSX Company Manual in connection with the Amendment as an eligible interlisted issuer.

Website: www.perpetuaresources.com 

About Perpetua Resources and the Stibnite Gold Project

Perpetua Resources Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is focused on the exploration, site restoration, and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central Idaho. The Stibnite Gold Project is one of the highest-grade, open-pit gold deposits in the United States and holds the only identified domestic reserve of the critical mineral antimony, which is essential to the defense, energy, and manufacturing sectors. The Project is designed to apply a modern, responsible mining approach to restore a historic mine site and provide uplift to water quality, improve fish habitat access, and invest in river restoration while supporting local economic development in rural Idaho.

Forward-Looking Information

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations of such words and phrases or statements such as "anticipate", "expect", "plan", "likely", "believe", "intend", "forecast", "project", "estimate", "potential", "could", "may", "will", "would" or "should". Forward-Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, planned exploration and development for the project, including with respect to antimony and tungsten; expected timing and outcomes of the tungsten exploration program under the DOTC grant; the expected outcomes and benefits of the Project, including production rates and mineral reserves and mineral resources; and the potential for development of any additional resources and reserves and the permitting requirements with respect to any such additional resources and reserves. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, Perpetua Resources has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, that the DOTC grant will be funded at the times and in the amounts expected, and that the Company will be able to fund its matching portion of the exploration program; that the current exploration, development, environmental and other objectives concerning the Project can be achieved and that the Company's other corporate activities will proceed as expected; that the Company will satisfy or will continue to satisfy the requirements of applicable permits and the requirements of various governmental approvals; and assumptions made in the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits. Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Perpetua Resources to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other factors include, among other things, risks related to unforeseen delays in the review and permitting process, including as a result of legal challenges to the ROD or other permits; risks related to increased or unexpected costs in development, construction, operations or the permitting process; risks that necessary financing will be unavailable when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, as well as those factors discussed in Perpetua Resources' public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and its Canadian disclosure record. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Because it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, this list cannot be considered a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business and liquidity, see the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities regulators, which are available at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update the Forward-Looking Information herein.

Investors should be aware that only the first phase of funding has been committed in connection with the DOTC grant, and approval will be required for each incremental phase of additional funding. There is no assurance that such additional funding will be approved when expected or that it will be sufficient to conduct the proposed exploration activities or that such exploration will produce positive results.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Technical Information

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the mining property disclosure rules specified in Regulation S-K subpart 1300 ("S-K 1300") promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), and has been reviewed and approved by Christopher Dail, CPG, Director, Exploration, and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 and in S-K 1300. Mr. Dail is not independent of the issuer.

Except for the exploration results presented herein, the technical and reserves information in respect of the Stibnite Gold Project in this news release is based upon information contained in the technical report titled "Stibnite Gold Project, S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary, Valley County, Idaho, USA," dated as of December 31, 2025 (the "TRS"), developed for the Stibnite Gold Project in accordance with S-K 1300 and published on March 31, 2026. Such information is as of December 31, 2025 and is subject to the assumptions, exclusions and qualifications set forth in the TRS. For additional information regarding the TRS, investors are encouraged to refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2026. Data regarding domestic antimony and tungsten production are based on U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, dated as of January 2026.

There can be no assurance that exploration activities will result in the discovery of additional resources or reserves and isolated exploration results may not be indicative of the occurrence of a mineral deposit. Such results do not provide assurance that further work will establish sufficient grade, continuity, metallurgical characteristics and economic potential to be classed as a category of mineral resource. Exploration results are inherently uncertain and subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including geological factors, market conditions, and regulatory changes. Furthermore, development of any additional resources and reserves discovered would be subject to any applicable NEPA and permitting requirements.

Quality Assurance

The exploration activities at the Stibnite Gold Project site were carried out under the supervision of Richard Moses, C.P.G., Christopher Dail, C.P.G., Austin Zinsser, SME-R.M., and Kent Turner, SME-R.M., all Qualified Persons as defined in NI 43-101 and in S-K 1300.

All gold assays are by a 30g Fire Assaycharge followed by an atomic absorption finish (with a 0.005g/t lower reporting limit). Samples reporting values > 6g/t gold are re-analyzed using a 30g Fire Assay charge followed by a gravimetric finish. Silver is analyzed via a 4-acid digestion followed by an ICP finish (with a 0.5g/t lower reporting limit). Samples reporting values > 10g/t silver are reanalyzed using a 50g Fire Assay charge followed by a gravimetric finish. Antimony is analyzed via a 4-acid digestion with ICP finish with a 5 g/t lower reporting limit. Samples reporting values >500g/t antimony are reanalyzed using XRF fusion. Some intervals may not add or subtract correctly due to rounding, but differences are deemed insignificant.

Samples were handled, shipped via Chain of Custody Procedures. Analyses were carried out by ALS Global Laboratories in their Reno and Elko, Nevada and Vancouver, British Columbia laboratories. Umpire samples are routinely submitted to third party labs and blank and standard samples are inserted at appropriate intervals for quality assurance and quality control. A review of the results of analyses of blanks, standards and duplicates by the Company's Qualified Person indicates values are within normal and acceptable ranges.

Analyses for antimony and tungsten in metallurgical samples were completed at Hazen Research, ALS Global, and SVL laboratories. Antimony was analyzed using wet chemistry AAS and titration methods and by fusion followed by XRF analysis. Tungsten was analyzed by fusion followed by XRF analysis. 

Antimony and tungsten analysis for Hangar Flats drill holes SB519-SB527 were performed with a Vanta Portable XRF in the field. Multiple readings were collected and averaged. The XRF protocol entailed analysis of reference standards and a blank sample throughout the use of the instrument. Overall, 99 non-duplicate analyses with appropriate data formatting were collected from QA/QC samples, representing approximately 5% of total analyses. Generally, the XRF QA data is considered sufficient for the objectives of the program.

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SOURCE Perpetua Resources Corp.