Amendment and exercise of option on Kechika North Project

  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – TheNewswire - July 16, 2026 – ZincX Resources Corp. (“ZincX” or the “Company”, TSX Venture Exchange: ZNX : FRA: A2JLRM ) announces that, as detailed in the Company's news release of Aug. 10, 2023, the Kechika North project was optioned to an arm's-length third party (the "Optionee") based in British Columbia. The Optionee was provided an option to acquire 100-per-cent ownership of 103 contiguous mineral claims that make up the Kechika North project, the northern extension of the Company's contiguous, district-scale landholdings that cover 140 kilometres northward from the Company's flagship Akie property.      The deal granted the Optionee an option to acquire an undivided 100-per-cent legal and beneficial right, title and interest in and to the Kechika North project for a cash payment of $3-million. Per the Company's news release in August 2025, the parties extended the exercise date of the option by one year to August 11, 2026 (the "Option Period").   The Optionee also made a $100,000 payment to the Company, which then reduced the balance required to exercise the option to $2.9-million.

The Kechika N orth project represents a contiguous group of claims that covers part of the Kechika trough and comprises six properties identified by past historical exploration, named from south to north: Kwad, Weiss, Bear/Spa, Driftpile South, Saint and Thro. On July 15 , 2026, the parties agreed to further amend the option agreement such that the Optionee could exercise the option by making a $1 million payment at any time during the Option Period and such that the Optionee will make an additional cash payment of $1,900,000 (the “Deferred Payment”) to the Company upon the formal designation of the Kaska conservation area by the Province of British Columbia, as evidenced by a public order, regulation, or official government decision, and the Deferred Payment shall become due and payable immediately upon such designation or earlier at the Optionee’s election. The Company is pleased to announce that the Option has been exercised and $1,000,000 has now been received by the Company.

The Company's flagship Akie Project is host to the large National Instrument 43-101-compliant Cardiac Creek deposit and remains, along with the southern Kechika regional properties, the primary corporate focus. In addition to the Akie project, the company's southern Kechika regional properties include the 100-per-cent-owned highly prospective Mount Alcock property, which consists of 21 claims covering 9,173 hectares and is located approximately 40 kilometres to the northwest of the Akie property and 20 kilometres from Teck Resources/Korea Zinc's Cirque property. The Mount Alcock property remains a high priority and is host to a prominent, highly visible barite kill zone that has been subject to historical drilling.

The limited and extremely shallow drilling by previous operators intersected mineralization with significant grade such as 9.30 per cent combined zinc plus lead and 1.20 ounces per ton silver over a downhole thickness of 8.8 metres in drill hole AK-89-3, including 14.20 per cent combined zinc plus lead and 1.60 ounces per ton silver over 3.6 metres hosted in Gunsteel formation shale. Facies models derived by the Company from close examination of the Cardiac Creek deposit can be applied to the Mount Alcock prospect and greatly assist in vectoring future targeted drilling at depth and down dip of prospective lithology. Zinc has now been designated as a critical mineral in both Canada and the United States.

Similar to copper or lithium, zinc will be crucial for the ever-demanding and ever-increasing green economy (solar, wind and battery storage applications). The recognition of zinc as a critical mineral has led to significant investments in the Canadian zinc junior space. Fireweed Metals' (TSX.V: FWZ) Macmillan Pass project has attracted significant investment from the Lundin family and Osisko Metals' (TSX: OM) Pine Point project received a large investment from Appian Capital ($100-million).

These projects, along with the Akie project, are all at the preliminary economic assessment stage of development.  Zincx Resources is a Canadian exploration and development company creating value in the critical metals space -- with a focus on zinc. Zinc is a versatile and essential material for the energy transition to a lower-carbon economy. It is already one of the most used metals in the world behind iron, aluminum and copper but also has applications in energy storage.

It also plays a vital role in enabling other clean energy technologies such as solar and wind.  The primary uses of zinc are the galvanization of steel protecting against corrosion due to weather conditions, the production of brass and bronze, and in die casting to produce a wide range of metal products. In agriculture, zinc can also increase crop yields and crop quality and is an essential nutrient in human development and disease prevention. Zincx Resources is well positioned to take advantage of the worldwide looming shortfall in zinc production with the development of its Cardiac Creek (Akie property) deposit -- which can help Canada meet its need for the critical mineral zinc and the global push toward decarbonization to combat climate change.

The Akie Zn-Pb-Ag Project   The 100% owned Akie property is situated within the Kechika Trough, the southernmost area of the regionally extensive Paleozoic Selwyn Basin and one of the most prolific sedimentary basins in the world for the occurrence of SEDEX zinc-lead-silver and stratiform barite deposits.   Since 2005, drilling on the Akie property by ZincX Resources has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead SEDEX mineralization known as the Cardiac Creek deposit. The deposit is hosted by siliceous, carbonaceous, fine-grained clastic rocks of the Middle to Late Devonian Gunsteel Formation.   Kechika Regional Project   In addition to the Akie Project, the Company owns 100% of eight of eleven large, contiguous property blocks that comprise the Kechika Regional Project including the advanced Mt. Alcock prospect. The remaining three contiguous blocks (Pie, Yuen and Cirque East) are owned 49% by ZNX and 51% by Cirque Operating Corporation which is a 50/50 joint venture between Teck Resources Limited and Korea Zinc Co., Ltd. Six additional blocks which constitute the Kechika North project have been optioned to an arm’s length third party.

All of these properties collectively extend northwest from the Akie property for approximately 140 kilometres covering the highly prospective Gunsteel Formation shale; the main host rock for known SEDEX zinc-lead-silver deposits in the Kechika Trough of northeastern British Columbia. The Kechika Trough represents tremendous potential for additional discoveries. These properties are located approximately 260 kilometres north-northwest of the town of Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada.    The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS   ZINCX RESOURCES CORP.   “PEEYUSH VARSHNEY”         pEEYUSH vARSHNEY, LL.B CEO & CHAIRMAN   Contact:        Investor Relations        Thursday, July 16, 2026         Phone (604) 684-2181        (No.2026-07-03)         info@zincxresources.com    Copyright (c) 2026 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. TheNewsWire July 16, 2026 - 12:05 AM PDT News by QuoteMedia www.quotemedia.com