Bathurst Metals Corp. Refocuses Strategy on Turner Lake Property, Divests Peerless Property

Vancouver, B.C. — October 1, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Bathurst Metals Corp. (TSXV: BMV) announced Thursday a strategic review of its mineral property portfolio has concluded, leading to the assignment of its option on the Peerless Property to Big Bear Gold Corp. (TSXV: BEAR) in exchange for 3,555,000 BEAR common shares. The company also cancelled its previously announced financing due to the divestment changing the intended use of proceeds and will now focus its efforts on advancing its flagship Turner Lake property while evaluating other potential projects that could complement it.

“The strategic review made it clear that Turner Lake is where we can create the most value for our shareholders,” said Lorne Warner, President of Bathurst. “Assigning Peerless to Big Bear removes significant future option commitments. It also keeps us exposed to the Bridge River camp through our BEAR shareholding. Most importantly, it lets us concentrate our capital and technical resources on our flagship asset.”

The divestment of the Peerless Property was finalized through an assignment and assumption of property option agreement dated September 25, 2026, between Bathurst, BEAR, and Stanley R. McClay, as bare trustee for BCT Holdings Corp. (the Owner). Under this agreement, BEAR will acquire Bathurst's option to gain a 100% interest in the Peerless Property, located in the Bridge River Mining Camp, British Columbia. BEAR will acquire all of Bathurst's rights, interests, and obligations under the original option agreement with the Owner, which was dated January 30, 2023, and amended on October 10, 2025, and February 18, 2026. In return, BEAR will issue 3,555,000 BEAR common shares to Bathurst.

Bathurst and BEAR will equally share the costs of an independent technical report on the Peerless Property compliant with National Instrument 43-101. Bathurst has also agreed to pay the Owner $25,000, which will reduce the outstanding cash payments required under the Option Agreement. Following Bathurst's payment to the Owner, BEAR will be responsible for the remaining obligations to acquire a 100% interest. These include future cash payments totaling $350,000 and expenditures of $2,000,000, alongside the issuance of 5,500,000 common shares by September 30, 2028. Upon completion of the assignment, Bathurst will have no further obligations under the Option Agreement.

The Peerless Property is subject to a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty in favour of the Owner, with BEAR holding the right to buy back 1.0% of this royalty for $1,000,000 within six months of the start of commercial production. All shares issued in connection with the transaction are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from their issuance date. The transaction's closing is contingent upon BEAR completing satisfactory due diligence within 90 days and obtaining approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.

Bathurst also announced the cancellation of a non-brokered private placement or flow-through financing that was previously announced. The original intent of the financing was partially to fund work on the Peerless Property. With the agreement to divest the property, the board determined that cancelling the financing was appropriate, and a new financing aligned with the company's refocused strategy may be considered at a later date.

Going forward, Bathurst's primary focus will be its 125 km² Turner Lake gold project in Nunavut. The property is situated in a greenstone belt setting comparable to those hosting major gold districts such as Agnico Eagle Mines Limited's Hope Bay project and B2Gold Corp.'s Goose Mine and Back River District. Despite this geological context, Turner Lake remains underexplored. Historical drilling conducted in 2008 and 2009 yielded several significant gold intercepts, including a 1.85m intercept grading 3.06 g/tonne in hole TL-08-008 and a 8.5m intercept grading 16.2 g/tonne in hole TL-08-012, which included a 2m interval at 31.85 g/tonne. In 2009, notable results included an 18m intercept grading 5.6 g/tonne in hole TL-09-26 and a 13m intercept grading 13.21 g/tonne in hole TL-09-29, which included a 1m interval at 75.6 g/tonne.

Additionally, Daryn Gordon will join the company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective October 1, 2026. Gordon, a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), brings over two decades of finance and accounting experience, including time at global auditing firms Grant Thornton LLP and PwC Canada, and has spent the last fourteen years providing CFO services to various Canadian companies. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Lethbridge.

Mr. Lorne Warner, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information within this news release. Mr. Warner also serves as President and Director of Bathurst Metals Corp.

Source: Bathurst Metals Corp.