Formation Metals Mobilizes Second Rig to Accelerate 14,000 Metre Drill Program at its Advanced N2 Gold Project VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / January 29, 2026 / Formation Metals Inc. ("Formation" or the "Company") (CSE:FOMO)(FSE:VF1)(OTCQB:FOMTF), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company, is pleased to announce the mobilization of a second drill rig to its flagship N2 Gold Property ("N2" or the "Property") to accelerate its fully funded 30,000 metre drill program.The Company has working capital of ~C$12.1M with zero debt. Inclusive of provincial tax credits from the Quebec government, Formation's exploration budget for 2025-2026 is set at ~$8.1M.N2 is host to a global historic resource of ~871,000 ounces comprised of 18 Mt grading 1.4 g/t Au (~810,000 oz Au) across four zones (A, East, RJ-East, and Central)2,3 and 243 Kt grading 7.82 g/t Au (~61,000 oz Au) across the RJ zone2,4.Phase 1, comprised of 14,000 metres, is designed to:Resource confidence and conversion: Infill shallow gaps to improve confidence in near-surface mineralization.Resource growth: Test down-dip extensions and step-outs along strike to the west beyond the historic resource limits.Metallurgy: Collect representative core for confirmatory test work to validate recoveries.Targeting a conceptual open-pit resource, Formation is aiming to deliver a maiden mineral resource estimate post-Phase 1 in Q3, incorporating nearly 70,000 metres of drilling. The second rig will be deployed to systematically test priority targets at the "A" and "RJ" Zones across over eight kilometres of strike, accelerating its program while evaluating multiple discovery targets across the corridor.Over the coming months, the Company plans to outline a focused and exciting exploration program at N2, reflecting the broader depth of opportunities across the Project and supporting sustained, disciplined exploration activity beyond the current drilling phase.Deepak Varshney, CEO of Formation, commented: "Momentum continues to build at N2. Drilling at the A-Zone is progressing well, and we are very encouraged by what we are seeing in the core to date. Given the visual continuity of mineralization, accelerating Phase 1 with a second rig was an easy decision to make and we look forward to sharing updates as we progress with our winter campaign."Assay results from the initial holes advanced are expected to be announced shortly. The Company will provide ongoing updates as drilling progresses.Highlights of the program to-date:The Company has completed 16 drill holes totalling 4,743 metres to-date. Significant intervals identified to-date include:N2-25-008: 208.8 metres of target mineralization intercepted beginning at 28.6 metres downhole, with multiple intervals over 40 metres in width including up to 70.0 metres.N2-25-011: 166.8 metres of target mineralization was intercepted beginning at 60.0 metres downhole, with multiple intervals over 20 metres in width including up to 70.6 metres.The mineralization intercepted to-date has been shallow and wide, with 9 out of 13 drillholes intercepting target mineralization within the first 25 metres, and 10 drillholes each intercepting over 80 cumulative metres of target mineralization.The intense quartz-carbonate veining and sulfide mineralization observed visually is directly comparable to the material that yielded long gold intervals in historical drilling including 245-91-151, which intercepted 1.7 g/t Au over 35.0 metres.Other historically significant drill results from similar material include:"A" Zone: 1.48 g/t Au over 13.7 metres, 1.41 g/t Au over 14.3 metres and 2.02 g/t Au over 15 metres."RJ" Zone: 48.4 g/t Au over 0.5 metres, 24.5 g/t Au over 0.9 metres, 16.5 g/t Au over 3.6 metres, 11.14 g/t Au over 3 metres, and 8.94 g/t Au over 5.1 metres.Project SummaryComprising 87 claims totaling ~4,400 ha within the Abitibi sub province of Northwestern Quebec, Formation's flagship N2 Gold Project is an advanced gold project with a global historic resource of ~871,000 ounces comprised of 18 Mt grading 1.4 g/t Au (~810,000 oz Au)2,3 and 243 Kt grading 7.82 g/t Au (~61,000 oz Au)2.There are six primary auriferous mineralized zones in total, each open for expansion along strike and at depth. Compilation and geophysical work by Balmoral Resources Ltd. (now Wallbridge Mining) from 2010 to 2018 generated numerous targets that are being investigated for the first time by Formation with diamond drilling.Historical highlights from the top two priority zones include:A Zone: a shallow, highly continuous, low-variability historic gold deposit with ~522,900 ounces identified at a grade of 1.52 g/t Au. ~15,000 metres have been drilled historically across 1.65 km of strike, with 84% of historical drillholes intercepted auriferous intervals including up to 1.7 g/t over 35 metres.RJ Zone: a high-grade historic gold deposit with ~61,100 ounces identified at a grade of 7.82 g/t Au, with high-grade intercepts from historical drill holes a