Hercules Metals Announces the Appointment of Former Arizonan Sonoran Management Team Led by George Ogilvie

Renowned Mining Executive Appointed as President and CEO: Effective September 1, 2026, George Ogilvie, P.Eng., will assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, and join the board of directors of Hercules Metals. He brings more than 36 years of mining, operations and development expertise and a proven track record of generating significant returns for shareholders by transforming high quality, undervalued mining assets into high-value development opportunities. Fully-Integrated Leadership Team : Concurrent with the appointment of George Ogilvie, six additional senior executives and mining professionals from the successful Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. team (collectively, the "Arizona Sonoran Team" ) will join Hercules Metals on a full-time basis, complementing the in-place exploration team with capabilities across project development, geology, permitting, environmental management, finance, capital markets, corporate development and investor relations. In addition to Mr. Ogilvie, the incoming team consists of: Nicholas Nikolakakis , Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer; Nicholas Hayduk , Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary; Travis Snider , Vice President, Sustainability and External Relations; Alison Dwoskin , Vice President, Investor Relations; Kevin Canario , Vice President Finance; and Anthony Bottrill , Senior Resource Geologist. For full bios of the incoming members of the Hercules leadership team, see Exhibit A at the end of this press release. Recent C$2.0 Billion Copper Transaction: The Arizona Sonoran Team most recently advanced the Cactus Project from project acquisition in 2020 as a private entity, with an implied equity value of approximately C$125 million in July 2021, through its public listing later that year, to its acquisition by Hudbay Minerals for an implied equity value of approximately C$2.0 billion in 2026, representing an increase of more than 1,500% in the company's value under their leadership. Repeated Track Record of Building Shareholder Value: Prior to Arizona Sonoran, Mr. Ogilvie and several members of the team have an established track record of generating significant shareholder value through successful operational turnarounds and corporate transactions at companies including Battle North Gold, Kirkland Lake Gold, Rainy River, Klondex Mines and Rambler Metals. Hercules Founder Chris Paul Transitions to Senior Vice President, Exploration: Hercules founder and current Chief Executive Officer Chris Paul will transition to leadership of the newly consolidated exploration team, positioning the Company to better leverage his core strengths and porphyry copper discovery experience to unlock further value at Leviathan and other potential new discoveries across the Company's district-scale land position. Focus on Continued Growth, Near-Surface Development Potential and Ongoing Discoveries: The new team will prioritize aggressive expansion of the Leviathan discovery, with particular emphasis on the near-surface open-pit potential, high-grade enrichment blanket, and other near-term discovery targets, with the objective of advancing the Company from a successful junior explorer to a leading U.S.-focused copper exploration and development company. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 30, 2026) - Hercules Metals Corp. (TSXV: BIG) (OTCQB: BADEF) (FSE: C0X) (" Hercules " or the " Company ") is pleased to announce the appointment of the now former Arizona Sonoran Team, to lead the Company and its Leviathan copper-silver porphyry discovery through its next phase of growth. Effective September 1, 2026 (the " Effective Date "), the full incoming leadership team will assume key positions within the Company, while its founder, Chris Paul, will transition to Senior Vice President, Exploration. The incoming former Arizona Sonoran Team led by George Ogilvie is comprised of Nick Nikolakakis, Nick Hayduk, T...