Xali Gold Continues to Demonstrate the Scale and Grade of Gold Mineralization at Pico Machay

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xali Gold Corp. (TSXV:XGC) (“Xali Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to report the completion of assay results from its initial underground and surface channel and rock chip sampling program (the “Program”) at its Pico Machay Gold Project (“Pico Machay” or the “Project”) in Central Peru. Highlights: High grades continue to be confirmed within historical resource area Gold mineralization and alteration characteristic of a high-sulphidation epithermal system have been identified in underground workings across an area measuring 1.35km by 0.83km 67 of 119 surface samples returned more than 0.50 g/t gold, helping refine exploration targets 2.92 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”) over 31.5 meters (“m”) from Surface Channel 1 including 13.76 g/t Au over 4.5m The historical resource (surface expression) area extends over approximately 750 m east-west by 150 m north-south. Within its core, Surface Channel 1 returned 2.92 g/t Au over 31.5 m, including 13.76 g/t Au over 4.5 m. Surface Channel 1 is located approximately 40 m vertically above UG Channel 3A, supporting the presence and vertical continuity of higher-grade gold mineralization in this central area. As previously reported, UG Channel 3 NS returned 1.49 g/t Au over 41.1m, including 3.44 g/t Au over 8.0m. See Figures 1 and 2 below as well as Tables 1, 2 and 3 for complete results. See the Company’s news release dated June 25th, 2026, for previously reported results. A total of 13 underground (“UG”) workings are now known to have been excavated since 2020, of which 11 have now been mapped and sampled. All 11 UG workings expose gold mineralization and alteration characteristic of a high-sulphidation epithermal system, including vuggy silica and advanced argillic alteration. The workings occur across an area extending approximately 1.35 kilometres (“km”) in a northeast-southwest direction along the main structural trend and approximately 825m in a northwest-southeast direction. UG Channel 8, the northeastern most working, is located approximately 800m northeast of the centre of the historical resource area and returned 1.18 g/t Au over 4.3m. At UG Channel 9, 2.10 g/t Au was returned over 1.35m from vuggy silica. UG Channel 10, the southwestern most working, returned three samples ranging from approximately 0.68 to 4.14 g/t Au. Exploration Targets Aquiline Resources (“Aquiline”) previously identified nine exploration targets outside of the resource area at Pico Machay. Surface sampling has helped identify and refine Xali Gold’s current exploration targets, with 67 of the 119 surface samples collected during the Program returning gold values above 0.5 g/t Au. Xali Gold has now defined ten exploration targets, four of which overlap with targets previously identified by Aquiline. The five remaining Aquiline targets will be reviewed in greater detail as part of future exploration work. “These results continue to build our confidence in Pico Machay,” stated Joanne Freeze, President and CEO of Xali Gold. “The consistency of the results, including indications of potentially higher grades within the historical resource area, is very encouraging. Equally important are the numerous anomalous gold results returned from underground workings and surface samples outside the resource area. While several of these areas are beyond the scope of the upcoming resource update, the results highlight the potential to expand the known mineralized system and provide compelling targets for future exploration.” Figure 1: Map Showing Location of Sampling Program at Pico Machay Figure 2: Detailed Map Showing Location of Sampling Program at Pico Machay The Company has received assay results for all 197 samples collected during the Program (see Table 1 below for data highlights). The Program included both systematic channel sampling within previously unsampled underground workings and rock chip sampling across surface areas within the resource area of Pico Machay and surrounding exploration targets. The samples are comprised of 78 underground channel samples and 119 surface samples, collected to support the Company's efforts to validate, update and potentially upgrade the historical mineral resource estimate at Pico Machay. Investor Update Webinar Joanne Freeze, President & CEO of Xali Gold, will participate in an investor update webinar hosted by Adelaide Capital at 2pm ET today (Tuesday July 28th). Management will provide an update on the Company’s recent progress, key corporate developments, and upcoming initiatives, followed by Q&A. Questions can be submitted during the session or in advance to [email protected]. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SktRZuGISyGjIfScmfPeSQ The webinar livestream will also be available to watch on the Adelaide Capital YouTube Channel, where a replay will be posted after the event: https://bit.ly/adcap-youtube. Table 1: Results from Surface Channel Sampling at Pico Machay Sample Number Dimensions (m) Sample Location Au (g/t) 62 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 0.276 63 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 0.425 64 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 0.286 65 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 13.760 66 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 1.015 67 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 0.303 68 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 0.917 69 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 0.965 70 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 1.759 71 4.50 X 0.30 Surface Channel 1 1.728 Table 2: Results from Surface Sampling at Pico Machay Sample Number Dimensions (m) Sample Location Au (g/t) 54 2.00 x 0.30 in Resource 1.045 55 2.60 x 0.20 in Resource 1.329 56 2.80 x 0.30 in Resource 1.204 57 3.00 x 0.30 in Resource 0.694 58 3.00 x 0.20 in Resource 0.865 59 2.80 x 0.20 in Resource 0.693 60 3.00 x 0.30 in Resource 2.687 61 3.00 x 0.30 in Resource 1.823 92 2.00 x 0.30 in Resource 1.231 188 3.00 X 0.30 In Resource 4.472 89 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 5 2.538 90 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 5 3.787 97 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 5 2.849 91 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 5 0.530 98 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 5 0.789 192 3.00 X 0.34 Exploration Target 6 2.452 99 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 6 4.208 100 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 6 2.570 101 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 6 2.135 103 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 1 1.248 104 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 1 1.256 118 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 1 1.256 121 2.00 x 0.30 Exploration Target 1 5.781 197 3.00 X 0.39 Exploration Target 1 1.001 114 1.10 x 0.10 Exploration Target 3 2.607 117 1.0 Exploration Target 9 3.349 Table 3: Results from Underground Sampling at Pico Machay Sample Number Dimensions (m) Sample Location Underground Area Au (g/t) 127 1.00 x 0.20 Resource UG 5 3.225 126 5.00 x 0.20 Exploration Target 5 UG 6 2.748 140 0.90 x 0.20 SE UG 7 0.888 141 0.70 x 0.20 SE UG 7 0.292 142 0.55 x 0.30 NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 2.992 143 3.05 x 0.20 NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 0.852 144   NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 0.614 145 0.70 x 0.30 NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 0.974 151 0.70 x 0.30 NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 1.020 152 1.15 x 0.20 NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 1.102 153 0.90 x 0.20 NE 650m from Resource Centre UG 8 1.078 156 0.45 x 0.30 NE 1,000m from Resource Centre UG 9 2.570 159 0.40 x 0.30 NE 1,000m from Resource Centre UG 9 1.409 161 0.50 x 0.30 NE 1,000m from Resource Centre UG 9 2.229 166 0.60 x 0.30 SW ~500m from Resource Centre UG 10 4.138 167 1.30 x 0.20 SW ~500m from Resource Centre UG 10 0.681 168 1.30 x 0.30 SW ~500m from Resource Centre UG 10 0.847 128 3.50 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.230 129 3.80 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.357 130 0.90 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.386 131 3.80 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.855 132 4.00 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.480 133 4.00 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.820 134 5.00 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 1.031 135 1.30 x 0.20 Resource UG 12 0.386 136 0.90 x 0.20 Exploration Target 6 UG 13 1.953 137 1.50 x 0.20 Exploration Target 6 UG 13 0.284 138 1.40 x 0.20 Exploration Target 6 UG 13 1.045 139 1.50 x 0.20 Exploration Target 6 UG 13 0.669 Technical Information All scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Joanne Freeze, P.Geo. Ms. Freeze is the President and CEO of the Company and is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Ms. Freeze has verified the data disclosed in this news release, including the assay and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in this news release. Ms. Freeze has verified the data disclosed in this news release by reviewing imported and sorted assay data; reviewing the variance in field duplicate results; and reviewing grade calculation formulas. Ms. Freeze detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data and is not aware of any sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to in this news release. The 197 samples were submitted to SGS in Lima, Peru for gold and silver analysis using fire assay and atomic absorption methods, along with multi-element Inductively Coupled Plasma (“ICP”) for 36 elements. Additional overlimit analyses were completed where required. See more details about the sampling program in the Xali Gold news release dated June 4, 2026. About Pico Machay Located within the Southern Peru Epithermal Gold-Silver Belt, Pico Machay sits in a historically productive mining district in the Western Cordillera Andes (click here for location map). The Project benefits from existing infrastructure and a mining-friendly community eager to partner on sustainable development. Xali Gold remains confident in the significant upside potential at Pico Machay, which hosts a historical resource and several untested targets on the Project. Various historical engineering studies at Pico Machay were also completed and targeted an open-pit heap-leach operation, which was expected to be low-cost and with a low strip ratio. Given that those studies were based on a long-term gold price of $700/oz and several exploration targets remain untested, Xali Gold considers the upside potential to be very strong. About Xali Gold Xali Gold is a gold and silver exploration company focused on advancing opportunities in the Americas. The Company is focused on the exploration and development of Pico Machay, an advanced exploration-stage gold project in Peru with a near-term production goal.  The Company's approach to community engagement and responsible development is guided by strong governance principles and Board oversight that support long-term stakeholder relationships. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. On behalf of the Board of Xali Gold Corp. “Joanne Freeze” P.Geo. President, CEO and Director For further information please contact: Joanne Freeze, President & CEO Tel: + 1 (604) 512-3359 [email protected] Forward-looking Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation: the timing to advance the Project; the timing to conduct updated exploration work on the Project; the timing of receiving assay results; timing to complete an updated mineral resource or PEA, if at all; and timing to bring the Project into production, if at all. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Known risk factors and assumptions include risks associated with exploration and project development; accessing further funding and related dilution: continuing its projected growth, or being fully able to implement its business strategies; the calculation of mineral resources and additional work required to convert historical resources to current mineral resources; the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located on the project; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices and assumptions including costs; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary consents, authorizations, licenses and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; local community opposition; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; variations in market conditions, and the volatility of our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risk factors described in Xali Gold’s MD&A and other filings with Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sedarplus.ca. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Xali Gold expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a879478e-7997-4d23-a19b-c7e17ea60833 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dbf43bd7-bb6d-4db4-9bed-6f16f3ab36f7 Figure 1 Map Showing Location of Sampling Program at Pico Machay Figure 2 Detailed Map Showing Location of Sampling Program at Pico Machay © 2026 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.