NorthWest Reports Results from Two Holes at its Kwanika Property Highlighted by a High-Grade Intercept of 43 Metres Grading 1.83 % Cu, 1.28 G/T Au (3.01% CuEq) from 260 Metres TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Copper Corp. (“NorthWest” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NWST) is pleased to report drill results from two holes completed as part of its 2025 program at the Company’s 100% owned Kwanika project in British Columbia. Both holes returned higher-grade1 results, highlighted by an intercept in hole K-25-283 within the Central Zone of 43 metres grading 1.83% Cu and 1.28g/t Au (3.01% copper equivalent2, “CuEq”), and a significant near-surface intercept in K-25-273 of 123 metres grading 1.31% Cu and 0.83g/t Au (2.09% CuEq). Paul Olmsted, CEO of NorthWest stated: “These results continue to exceed our expectations and further demonstrate the merits of our strategy of prioritizing higher-grade zones within the existing mineral resource at Kwanika. Our 2025 drilling has consistently intersected higher-grade mineralization over significant widths, highlighting the quality of the system. Results from the fourteen holes completed to date, together with our targeted improvements in recoveries from ongoing metallurgical fine grinding test work, are expected to support a more capital-efficient and economically robust open pit and underground development plan in an updated preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”), improving on the 2023 PEA3.” The two holes intersected high-grade mineralization in both the Pit and Central Zones over significant widths. Hole K-25-283 successfully filled a gap in the Central Zone, intersecting a wide, high-grade interval that expands on the thickness of the zone in the area of the hole, further confirming the continuity of the mineralization. Hole K-25-273 intersected a broad, near-surface intercept with an estimated true width of 61 metres at the intersection between the copper-dominant Pit Zone 11 and the gold-dominant Central Zone. This result provides important clarity on the structural controls within a strongly mineralized area, highlighting the potential to enhance shallow open pit mineral resources. Drill Hole Highlights:K-25-283 Pit Zone 9: 36 metres of 0.75% Cu, 0.36g/t Au (1.09% CuEq) from 87 metresCentral Zone:43 metres of 1.83% Cu, 1.28g/t Au (3.01% CuEq) from 260 metres K-25-273 Pit Zone 11:123 metres of 1.31% Cu, 0.83g/t Au (2.09% CuEq) from 28 metresCentral Zone:82.2 metres of 1.07% Cu, 1.71g/t Au (2.62% CuEq) from 149 metres including 46 metres of 1.29% Cu, 1.88 g/t (2.99% CuEq) and including 30 metres of 0.66% Cu, 1.67 g/t (2.16% CuEq) Geoff Chinn, VP Business Development and Exploration added: “Hole K-25-273 cut across a late fault that juxtaposes the Central Zones against Pit Zone 11, returning two high-grade intercepts that extend both zones. Further south in the Central Zone, hole K-25-283 filled a gap in drilling in an area with limited access, returning a further strong copper-gold intercept. These results represent good progress towards expanding higher-grade zones and unravelling the structural controls on mineralization.” Kwanika Exploration Program On April 10, 2025, NorthWest announced a refined model for its flagship Kwanika project (“Target Model”), highlighting three key higher-grade zones: the Pit, Central and Western Zones. These zones target grades of 1.5% to 2.5% CuEq over combined true thicknesses of 30 to 45 metres, to be assessed against a more selective top-down bulk underground mining method. The 2025 exploration program is designed to confirm, define and expand on the Company’s understanding of higher-grade copper-gold mineralization within the near surface and underground portions of the current mineral resources. Results to date at Kwanika, including holes K-25-273 and K-25-283 demonstrate the merits of the program and indicate meaningful progress toward these objectives is being achieved. Hole locations for the program are presented in Figure 1 below. Figure 2 and Figure 3 illustrate cross sections of the position and context of holes K-25-273 and K-25-283 relative to the Target Model. Continuous mineralized intercepts and collar locations are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2. Figure 1: Plan View of 2025 Program Drill Hole Location Figure 2: Cross Section of Target Model at K-25-273 Drill Location Figure 3: Cross Section of Target Model at K-25-283 Drill Location A summary of the geological aspects of each hole is presented below. The two holes were drilled with NQ core size and sampled on approximately 2-metre intervals from sawn half core material. Hole K-25-273: The hole was drilled on 270° azimuth at a -77° dip to a depth of 251 metres. The primary objective of the hole was to test for the continuity of mineralization between the Central and Pit Zones. At 28 metres, the hole intersected a mineralized interval correlated to Pit Zone 11. The hole returned copper-dominant mineralization over 123 metres (65 metre true width) hosted