Hudbay and JOGMEC Sign Option Agreement to Expand the Existing Flin Flon Exploration Partnership with Marubeni

Press Release

TORONTO, Jan. 22, 2026  — Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) (TSX, NYSE: HBM) is pleased to announce the signing of an amended and restated option agreement (the “Agreement”) with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (“JOGMEC”) and Marubeni Corporation (“Marubeni”), pursuant to which Hudbay has granted JOGMEC an option (the “JOGMEC Option”) to acquire a 10% interest in three projects located within trucking distance of Hudbay’s processing facilities in Flin Flon, Manitoba, as shown in Figure 1 and further described below. In order to exercise the JOGMEC Option, amongst other things, JOGMEC will be required to fund at least C$6 million in exploration expenditures over a period of approximately three years, with Hudbay acting as the operator carrying out the exploration activities.

This Agreement is an amendment and restatement of the option agreement Hudbay entered into with Marubeni in March 2024, pursuant to which Marubeni’s wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary was granted an option to acquire a 20% interest in the three projects, provided it, amongst other things, funds at least C$12 million in exploration expenditures over the designated earn-in period (the “Marubeni Option” and, together with the JOGMEC Option, the “Options”). For further information, please refer to Hudbay’s news release dated March 13, 2024.

Upon successful completion of both Marubeni’s earn-in obligations and JOGMEC’s earn-in obligations and if both parties elect to exercise their respective Options, a three-party joint-venture will be formed to hold the selected projects with Hudbay, acting as operator, holding a 70% interest, Marubeni holding a 20% interest and JOGMEC holding the remaining 10% interest.

“This expanded exploration partnership for the Flin Flon region, which now welcomes JOGMEC alongside our valued partners at Marubeni, represents a significant milestone towards unlocking potential future value in the Flin Flon region,” said Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This arrangement allows us to partner with both Marubeni and JOGMEC, while leveraging our operational and exploration expertise to test our large Flin Flon land package for a potential new discovery in the region to utilize Hudbay’s idle processing infrastructure in Flin Flon. Hudbay has discovered and operated 29 mines in our nearly 100-year history in Manitoba, and we have the potential to continue that success with our continued focus on exploration.”

Highlights of the Agreement

• During the earn-in period, JOGMEC will be required to fund exploration expenditures of at least C$6 million across three highly prospective projects over a period of approximately three years, while Marubeni will be required to fund the remainder of its $12 million commitment.
• Upon successful completion of both Marubeni’s earn-in obligations and JOGMEC’s earn-in obligations, the parties may exercise the Option to form a joint venture with Hudbay for any of the designated projects.
• If a three-party joint venture is formed, the joint venture will allow all parties to jointly pursue development of the projects, with Hudbay holding a 70% interest, Marubeni holding a 20% interest and JOGMEC holding the remaining 10% interest.
• After formation of the joint venture, all subsequent costs for exploration and development of the properties will be funded by each member in proportion to their respective participating interest.
• Hudbay will act as the joint venture operator and manage work programs to progress the exploration and development efforts. Should any of the projects advance to production, the parties may discuss the utilization of Hudbay’s idle Flin Flon milling complex to process ore.

Flin Flon Projects

The Agreement focuses on three projects in the Flin Flon region, namely Cuprus-White Lake, Westarm and North Star, which were selected by Marubeni prior to the original March 2024 agreement and following a period of detailed due diligence. All three properties hold past producing mines that generated meaningful production with attractive grades of both base metals and precious metals. The properties remain highly prospective with potential for further discovery based on the attractive geological setting, limited historical deep drilling and promising geochemical and geophysical targets. Cuprus-White Lake, Westarm and North Star are all within 20 kilometres of Hudbay’s Flin Flon milling complex. The JOGMEC Option is in respect of the same three projects.

Cuprus-White Lake

The Cuprus-White Lake project is located about 10 kilometres southeast of Flin Flon, consisting of 3,384 hectares including 94 claims. Historically, the area included the Cuprus mine, which produced 463,000 tonnes at grades of 3.25% copper and 1.3 grams per tonne gold in the early 1950s and the White Lake mine, which produced 850,000 tonnes at grades of 1.98% copper and 0.72 grams per tonne gold over ten years in the 1970s and 1980s. The geology in the area hosts favourable juvenile arc rocks on several parallel horizons, and most historical drilling was done without modern geophysical targeting.

Westarm

The Westarm project is located 14 kilometres south of Flin Flon, with three primary claims covering 727 hectares. The region saw production of over 1.4 million tonnes from the 1970s to 1990s, with average grades of 3.2% copper and 1.58 grams per tonne gold. A compilation of historical work programs outlined 210 surface drillholes with only 16% of the holes at depths below 300 metres, and numerous VTEM anomalies.

North Star

The North Star area is located 17 kilometres east of Flin Flon and includes 22 claims consisting of 406 hectares. The region had two historical producing mines, the North Star mine with production of over 242,000 tonnes with average grades of 6.11% copper and 0.34 grams per tonne gold, and the Don Jon mine with production of 79,000 tonnes at 3.09% copper and 0.96 grams per tonne gold. Both were in operation in the 1950s, with the region having seen limited modern exploration techniques. The area has had an IP survey of over half the property with favourable chargeability anomalies that warrant further investigation.

Next Steps

The exploration work will continue in the winter of 2026 with several geophysical programs and up to 5,600 metres of drilling. The 2026 summer exploration program will see surface programs (structural & regional mapping) as well as an additional 5,400 metres of drilling.

Figure 1: Map of Three Projects Selected for the Option Agreement

Hudbay has granted JOGMEC an option to acquire a 10% interest and previously granted Marubeni an option to acquire a 20% interest in three projects located within trucking distance of Hudbay’s processing facilities in Flin Flon, Manitoba. The exploration activities will be funded by Marubeni and JOGMEC, while carried out by Hudbay. All three properties hold past producing mines that generated meaningful production with attractive grades of both base metals and precious metals. The properties remain highly prospective with potential for further discovery based on the attractive geological setting, limited historical deep drilling and promising geochemical and geophysical targets.

For further information, please contact:
Candace Brûlé
Senior Vice President, Capital Markets & Corporate Affairs
(416) 814-4387
investor.relations@hudbay.com

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