King Copper Advances Drilling Contract for Initial Phase of the 36,000m Diamond Drilling Program at Colquemayo

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- King Copper Discovery Corp. (“King Copper” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: KCP, OTCQB: TBXXF, FSE: 3RIO) has completed site visits and the required technical reviews with the selected drilling contractors bidding on the Company’s fully-funded diamond drilling program at its Colquemayo Copper Project (“Colquemayo” or the “Project”) in Moquegua, southern Peru. The completion of the contractor selection process will position the Company to proceed toward the commencement of a fully-funded drill program. The Company recently announced the approval of its Declaración de Impacto Ambiental (“DIA”) permit that allows for 36,000 metres of diamond drilling from 40 drill platforms across 59 drill holes.

Highlights:

• Fully-funded 36,000m diamond drilling program
• Drilling contractors identified and competitive evaluation process well advanced following the completion of site visits and detailed technical and logistical planning
• Priority porphyry targets defined across the approximately 12-kilometre by 4-kilometre Colquemayo system, including the Amata-Cairani, Coripuquio and Yanarico targets, following extensive relogging and reinterpretation of approximately 20,000 metres of historical drilling and other geological data.
  

The drilling contractors, all of whom have immediate drill rig availability, were identified and selected to bid on the program based on their technical capabilities, experience drilling to similar depths, and their established track records. The process included site visits, technical evaluations and detailed planning related to site conditions, drilling requirements, equipment and logistics.

In accordance with King Copper’s sustainable development policies and commitments, bidders are being evaluated on their proposals for local employment and procurement of goods and services from local suppliers. These aspects will be addressed through a Social Management Plan, submitted as part of each bidder’s proposal.

Each bidder has also been required to provide details of its proposed approach to community engagement, including how it intends to interact with local communities during the execution of the drilling campaign.

With the contractor selection process well advanced, King Copper continues to complete the remaining pre-mobilization requirements to commence drilling.

Jonathan Richards, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The Company continues to advance towards our inaugural 36,000-metre drill program at Colquemayo. This program represents our first opportunity to systematically test the broader potential of a large mineralized system that has already demonstrated significant high-grade copper mineralization through historical drilling. Over the past year, our technical team has defined the initial priority porphyry targets that warrant comprehensive testing. With the drill program fully funded and the DIA permit achieved, we are completing the remaining pre-mobilization requirements to commence drilling. This next phase of work is targeted to be transformational for King Copper and we are excited to be entering this period in such a strong position.”

Drill targets:

The initial drill holes are designed to step out from the strongest Cu/Au/Ag intersections, including those encountered in hole 36 at Amata-Cairani target (Figures 1 and 1A). It will also test down-dip targets where spectral data and presence of porphyry style veining indicate the proximity of a potential porphyry intrusion, such as in Coripuquio (Figures 2 and 2A). Besides Amata-Cairani and Coripuquio, 4 other targets have been defined as priority in the initial drilling.

Unlocking the Porphyry Potential at Colquemayo

King Copper’s planned exploration program builds on an extensive technical review and reinterpretation of the Colquemayo system. The program will follow up on multiple zones of high-grade copper mineralization identified through historical drilling while testing the broader porphyry potential at depth. Historical results include:

• 237.3 metres of 2.4% Cu from 306.2 metres in COQ-10-36, including 161.2 metres of 3.4% Cu and 15.5 metres at 27% Cu
• 100.25 metres at 1.11% Cu from 208 metres in AM-02, including 58 metres at 1.64% Cu, 0.23 g/t Au and 30 g/t Ag
• 55.5 metres at 1.25% Cu from 264.55 metres in COQ-11-44, including 16.6 metres at 2.0% Cu
  

The planned 36,000 metre program is designed to follow up on this established mineralization while systematically testing the deeper porphyry targets identified through King Copper’s geological reinterpretation of the Colquemayo system.

Figure 1 – Interpreted alteration at level 4,050m amsl and panned drillhole A1 for testing downdip potential of hole COQ10-36 intersections and potential deeper Cu porphyry target.

Figure 1A – Copper values in historic drilling and interpreted geology at level 4,250m amsl

Figure 2 – Gold values in historic drilling, interpreted alteration at level 4,100 amsl and planned drill holes C1 and C11, to test potential Cu porphyry target at depth, indicating by transition to pyrophyllite alteration and presence of B-type veinlets.

Figure 2A – Copper values in historic drilling and interpreted geology at level 4,300 amsl.

On Behalf of the Company,
Jonathan Richards, Chief Executive Officer and Director.

Contact Information:
Harp Gosal | Director of Capital Markets & Communications
E: hgosal@kingcopperdiscovery.com
Website: www.kingcopperdiscovery.com
Address: #1212-1030 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC V6E 3M5

For Investor Relations enquiries, please contact +1 604 218 1142

Statements

About King Copper Discovery Corp and Our Projects: King Copper is a TSXV-listed exploration company focused on the Colquemayo copper-gold project in South America. The Company is led by a team responsible for multiple copper-gold-silver discoveries.

Forward Looking Statement: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements, including the expected closing date of the Financing, the investor’s expected ownership interest in King Copper and the expected use of proceeds from the Financing. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the receipt of regulatory approvals, market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions, as well as legal, social, and economic conditions in Argentina and Peru, where the Company’s mineral exploration properties are located. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release or has in any way approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Qualified Person: The scientific and technical information contained in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Douglas Kirwin, M.Sc., FGS, FAusIMM (CP), FSEG, a technical advisor to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).

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