NorthWest Reports Results from Two Holes at Its Kwanika Property Highlighted by a Near Surface Intercept of 59.8 Metres of 0.70% Copper and 0.95 g/t Gold (1.57% CuEq) from 41 Metres TORONTO, Dec. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Copper Corp. (“NorthWest” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NWST) is pleased to report excellent near-surface drill results from two holes completed as part of its 2025 program at the Company’s 100% owned Kwanika project in British Columbia. Results from the two holes exceeded expectations within the Pit Zone, successfully expanding Pit Zone 10 down-dip, helping to define a newly recognized Pit Zone 12, and indicating that these zones remain open along strike and down-dip for further expansion. The two holes delivered strong results, intersecting multiple zones of near-surface mineralization, highlighted by an intercept in hole K-25-266 of 59.8 metres grading 0.70% Cu and 0.95 g/t Au (1.57% copper equivalent 1 , “CuEq”). The drilling results continue to improve on the quality and continuity of higher-grade near-surface mineralization, returning higher-grade intervals at shallow depths. Paul Olmsted, CEO of NorthWest stated: “We’re making excellent progress defining higher-grade zones at Kwanika. Results of the first twelve holes of our 2025 drill program are validating our targeting approach and improving our understanding of higher-grade mineralization within the current mineral resource in the Pit Zone. Together, with upcoming metallurgical results, we expect this work to support a higher-quality mineral resource estimate and lead to a more capital-efficient and economically robust development plan, improving on the 2023 PEA 2 .” These results, together with recently reported drilling results within the Pit Zone, reinforce the Company’s belief that a higher-grade open pit could provide a strong economic foundation for a future preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”). Collectively, the results highlight the potential to further define and expand higher-grade domains within the Pit Zone and continue to support the Company’s strategy of prioritizing higher-grade areas within the existing mineral resource to enhance economics of a new PEA. Drill Hole Highlights: K-25-266 Pit Zone 5: 59.8 metres of 0.70% Cu, 0.95g/t Au (1.57% CuEq) from 40.8 metres Pit Zone 10: 34.1 metres of 0.48% Cu, 0.48g/t Au (1.17% CuEq) from 140.9 metres including 22.1 metres of 0.62% Cu, 0.91g/t Au (1.46% CuEq) from 140.9 metres K-25-265 Pit Zone 5: 39.4 metres of 0.57% Cu, 0.73g/t Au (1.23% CuEq) from 55 metres Pit Zone 10: 33.9 metres of 0.67% Cu, 0.49g/t Au (1.12% CuEq) from 205 metres Pit Zone 12 : 65.2 metres of 0.54% Cu, 0.42g/t Au (0.92% CuEq) from 243.8 metres Geoff Chinn, VP Business Development and Exploration added: “As we followed the Central Zones towards the north and at depth with holes K-25-265 and K-25-266 we found the zones to be variably rotated across a late fault, referred to as Central Fault East. This has contributed to the down-dip expansion of Pit Zone 10 and the identification of a new zone beneath it, Pit Zone 12. Importantly, these zones remain open both along strike and down-dip for further expansion. Together with recently reported Pit Zone results, these results continue to reinforce our view that we are making meaningful progress in expanding higher-grade zones and improving our understanding of 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 resource. Results from the first twelve holes at Kwanika, including holes K-25-265 and K-25-266, continue to demonstrate progress toward these objectives. Hole locations for the program are presented in Figure 1 below. Figure 2 illustrates a cross section of the position and context of holes K-25-265 and K-25-266 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-25-265 and K-25-266 Drill Locations A summary of the geological aspects of each hole is presented below. Hole K-25-265: The hole was drilled with HQ core and sampled on 2-metre intervals from half sawn core and drilled on 246° azimuth at a -80° dip to a depth of 368 metres. The main purpose of the hole was to test the northern extension of the Central Zones and to infill other zones along the way. At 23 metres, the hole