Nine Mile Metals mobilizes second drill rig at Tribag-West Wedge

Rig now on site, approximately 3.0 km northwest of the Wedge Mine, with drilling expected to commence at Tribag in the coming days; Phase 3 drilling continues at the Wedge Mine

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / October 1, 2026 / Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (CSE:NINE)(OTCID:VMSXF)(FSE:KQ9) (the "Company" or "Nine Mile") is pleased to announce that its second drill rig has mobilized and is now on site at the Tribag-West Wedge target area of its Wedge VMS Project in the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick. The rig will test the high-priority Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) VMS targets first announced by the Company on January 6, 2025, with drilling expected to commence at Tribag in the coming days. Drilling at the Wedge Mine continues in parallel as part of the Company's 10,000-metre 2026 drill program.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Second rig on site: The Company's second drill rig, previously announced on June 24, 2026, has mobilized and is now on site at the Tribag-West Wedge target area, with drilling expected to commence at Tribag in the coming days.

High-priority targets: Seven modelled TDEM conductor plates (A1, B1, C1, C2, C3, C4 and D1) associated with the Tribag (Pb-Zn) and West Wedge (Cu-Pb-Zn) VMS occurrences, on the same magnetic trend as the historic Wedge Mine.

Program progress: As of September 21, 2026, the Company had completed 18 drill holes and 4,934.50 metres of its 10,000-metre program at the Wedge Mine.

What's next: Eight borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) surveys are commencing on perimeter holes at the Wedge Mine to guide a second round of drilling on the depth and lateral extent of the Wedge lenses, while drilling gets underway at Tribag.

Moving from Targets to Drilling

The Tribag-West Wedge targets have been part of the Company's 10,000-metre 2026 drill program since it was announced in May, with drilling planned to follow Phase 3 work at the Wedge Mine. The second drill rig, first announced on June 24, 2026, now allows the Company to begin testing the target area, starting at Tribag, while drilling continues at the Wedge Mine.

"We are pleased to finally have our second drill rig on site at the Tribag-West Wedge targets. The rig was contracted for this season, but with the demand for drill rigs right now, it took longer to arrive than we had planned. It's here now, and having a second rig means we can keep drilling at the Wedge Mine while we start testing the exploration potential along the Wedge VMS Trend, beginning at Tribag. These targets have been a priority since the TDEM survey was completed, and this is the kind of exploration drilling we have been waiting for. The whole team is excited to finally put a drill into them. We look forward to updates from the drill site." - Patrick J. Cruickshank, MBA, CEO & Director

The Tribag-West Wedge TDEM Targets

EarthEx Geophysical Solutions Inc. ("EarthEx") reprocessed legacy MegaTEM and Aerodat airborne data across the Company's Western Portfolio and, using late-time conductance analysis, defined eleven priority VMS trends. Priority Targets 3 and 4 lie approximately 3.0 kilometres northwest of the Wedge Mine and correspond directly to the West Wedge and Tribag VMS occurrences. Target 7 lies approximately 6 kilometres northwest of the Wedge Mine along the same Wedge VMS Trend, which extends for approximately 6.5 kilometres (Figure 1).