Drilling Intersects 152.5 Metres Grading 0.46% Copper and 0.97 g/t Gold at Mount Polley

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperial Metals Corporation (“Imperial” or the “Company”) (TSX:III) reports initial diamond drill results from the Mount Polley 2025 exploration program with a notable interval of 152.5 metres grading 0.46% copper and 0.97 g/t gold starting from a depth of 282.5 metres, including 85.0 metres grading 0.67% copper and 1.56 g/t gold starting at 285.0 metres in C2 Zone diamond drill hole C2-25-121.

The C2 Zone is located immediately south of the Cariboo Pit and, similar to the Cariboo and the WX zones, gold values in the mineralization of the C2 Zone exceed copper values. Also, much of the copper mineralization near surface and along faults in this zone is oxidized which results in lower copper recovery in processing. Given the recent increase in gold price, exploration priority has been given to the C2 Zone. This year’s drilling in the C2 Zone has been designed to fill gaps in the historic drilling to provide the information required to design an expanded pit in this area, and to target a higher-grade zone at depth.

The significant mineralization intercepts are highlighted below.

Hole ID	From (m)	To (m)	Width (m)	Copper (%)	Gold (g/t)	Copper Oxide Ratio(% )*
C2-25-116	165.0	200.0	35.0	0.31	0.62	52%
including	185.0	200.0	15.0	0.45	1.09	60%
C2-25-117	165.0	213.0	48.0	0.41	1.10	66%
C2-25-118	290.0	381.2	91.2	0.53	1.10	9%
including	347.5	381.2	33.7	0.79	2.02	8%
C2-25-121	282.5	435.0	152.5	0.46	0.97	7%
including	285.0	370.0	85.0	0.67	1.56	4%

*Copper Oxide Ratio % = (CuOx%/Total Cu%)*100