NorthWest Copper Adopting Phased Development Approach at Kwanika-Stardust

Press Release

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 25, 2025 NorthWest Copper (“ NorthWest ” or the “ Company ”) (TSX-V: NWST) announces Geoff Chinn, VP Business Development and Exploration has begun the process to execute on the Company’s plan to enhance the value of the existing PEA ¹ on its 100% owned Kwanika-Stardust project.

The Company’s plans for 2025 are to execute its strategy to enhance the value of the PEA at Kwanika-Stardust through a phased development approach by: i) targeting higher grade sub-domains within the current mineralization at Kwanika, ii) targeting near surface drill-ready exploration opportunities proximal to the existing Kwanika mineral resource, and iii) considering a hub and spoke development scenario for additional mineral resources, including the Kwanika South and Lorraine mineral resources ^{2 , 3} . The Company’s 2025 strategy is set out in the corporate presentation located on the Company’s website at www.northwestcopper.ca .

CEO Paul Olmsted stated, “A phased approach to development will likely provide investors with a more economic alternative to the development approach presented in the current PEA on the Kwanika-Stardust project. This staged approach would see an initial phase focussing on higher-grade copper and gold domains at Kwanika. Combining this new approach at Kwanika with the Stardust project, it has the potential to enhance the economics of the current PEA with higher-grades, and lower capital costs during the initial phase of development. Copper and gold prices used to estimate Mineral Resources in the PEA have increased significantly, by 43% and 84% respectively relative to current spot prices ⁴ . Given these increases, and when combined with our new planned phased development approach, we believe updating the PEA is warranted and likely to yield significantly improved economics.”

Newly appointed VP Business Development and Exploration Geoff Chinn, P. Geo, stated, “Having reviewed the Mineral Resource at Kwanika, I see potential to refine the geology model by modelling and targeting higher-grade estimation sub-domains within Kwanika’s broad, lower-grade mineralization. Considering Kwanika’s underground Mineral Resource gold to copper ratio of 1.2: 1 (Au g/t: Cu %) our focus will be on targeting broad higher-grade gold-copper zones guided by a natural break in gold values at a 1 g/t threshold to better support the evaluation of more selective underground mining methods. I can also see moving away from defining estimation domains based on copper equivalent grades, which are complicated by later groundwater movements that have partially remobilized copper. Kwanika’s gold values, on the other hand, are likely more resilient and therefore a better indicator of original fluid pathways that emplaced gold-copper mineralization. Relying on gold values will also help us map potential extensions of the higher-grade zones. Copper equivalent grades from the PEA depended on metal price assumptions at the time, which have changed significantly since. Further to this, I can see an additional, parallel focus on developing a follow-up metallurgical test program looking at improving metal recoveries relative to the current PEA, particularly for gold, where average recoveries ranged from 60% for open pit material to 71% for underground material in the PEA mine plan ⁵ .”

The Company will provide additional updates on its progress in advancing the plan for the coming year.

Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Geoff Chinn, P.Geo., VP Business Development and Exploration of NorthWest, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects.

About NorthWest Copper:

NorthWest Copper is a copper-gold exploration and development company with a pipeline of advanced and early-stage projects in British Columbia, including Kwanika-Stardust, Lorraine-Top Cat and East Niv. With a robust portfolio in a tier one jurisdiction, NorthWest Copper is well positioned to participate fully in a strengthening global copper market. We are committed to responsible mineral exploration which involves working collaboratively with First Nations to ensure future development incorporates stewardship best practices and traditional land use. Additional information can be found on the Company’s website at www.northwestcopper.ca .

On Behalf of NorthWest Copper Corp.
“Paul Olmsted”
CEO, NorthWest Copper

For further information, please contact:
604-683-7790
info@northwestcopper.ca

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