Abitibi Metals appoints Bernier as COO

Executive Summary

• Abitibi Metals Corp. appointed David Bernier as Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately, to lead the advancement of its B26 polymetallic project.
• The company granted 400,000 incentive stock options to certain officers under its omnibus incentive plan.
• The release includes material project updates, detailing the B26 project's resource estimates and historical drilling intercepts at the Beschefer gold project.

Key Details

• COO Appointment: David Bernier appointed as Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.
• Bernier’s Background: Former COO of Foran Mining Corp. (led McIlvenna Bay deposit from PFS to construction); former Canadian country manager for Pan American Silver (oversaw Timmins region assets); previously general manager at Dumas Contracting serving major miners including Alamos Gold, Glencore, Vale, and Newmont; 30+ years of mine development and operational leadership.
• Stock Option Grant: 400,000 incentive stock options granted to certain officers. Exercisable at $0.55 per common share, 5-year term, vesting in accordance with company policy.
• B26 Polymetallic Project Resources:
• Indicated: 11.3M tonnes at 2.13% CuEq (1.23% Cu, 1.27% Zn, 0.46 g/t Au, 31.9 g/t Ag)
• Inferred: 7.2M tonnes at 2.21% CuEq (1.56% Cu, 0.17% Zn, 0.87 g/t Au, 7.4 g/t Ag)
• Beschefer Gold Project Drilling: Historical intercepts include 55.63 g/t Au over 5.57m (BE13-038) and 13.07 g/t Au over 8.75m (BE12-014), among four modelled zones.
• Strategic Context: B26 is located 5km north of the formerly producing Selbaie mine, providing infrastructure access. CEO Jonathon Deluce emphasized Bernier’s mine-building experience as critical for advancing B26 toward development and financing.
• COO Statement: Bernier stated his focus will be on strengthening technical, operational, and project foundations to move B26 from exploration success into a structured development pathway.