Hannan Metals updates first-ever drilling at back-arc porphyry and epithermal targets, Peru

Hannan Metals Limited [TSXV: HAN; OTC Pink: HANNF; FSE: C8MQ] reported the restart of drilling in early February 2026 and provide results from two drill holes (HDDRH001 and HDDRH002) at the Ricardo Herrera prospect from its maiden drilling campaign at the 100%-owned Belen prospect, located within the permitted Valiente Declaracion de Impacto Ambiental (DIA) area in Peru. These first-ever drill holes represent an important milestone in systematically exploring this new Miocene-aged porphyry-epithermal mineral belt in a back-arc setting.

Five high level takeaways: First ever drill program advances: Six holes totalling over 2,600 metres have now been completed across three prospects at Belen, with Ricardo Herrera results reported today and Sortilegio assays pending, with results systematically building understanding of this new district.

Drilling restarts in February: After a short wet season pause, drilling resumes in early February with follow-up holes at Sortilegio and Vista Alegre, where high-grade gold boulders up to 2.7 g/t Au remain unexplained and untested.

Complex system confirmed at Ricardo Herrera: Drilling has confirmed a low grade and complex, multi-phase intrusive system with multiple mineralizing events, including early copper-molybdenum overprinted by later gold-silver.

Previsto shapes up as the Main Event: An independent expert review confirms our flagship Previsto target shares striking similarities to globally-significant alkaline gold deposits like Cripple Creek (+28 Moz) and Porgera (+34 Moz). With 69 m at 2.4 g/t Au in channel sampling, drill permitting is advancing now.

Well-funded to execute: With over C$9 million in working capital and six geologists on the ground at Previsto, the company has the team and the capital to aggressively advance this new belt through 2026.

Michael Hudson, CEO, states: “These first drill results at Belen represent an important milestone for Hannan with drill results from Ricardo Herrrera from what we believe is a significant new Miocene-aged porphyry-epithermal belt in Peru. While the grades intersected at Belen to date are modest, this is typical of early-stage exploration in a new district. What’s encouraging is the confirmation of a complex, multi-phase intrusive system with multiple overprinting hydrothermal events, exactly the geological ingredients needed for significant mineral systems.

“At Ricardo Herrera, we’ve confirmed evidence for an early copper-molybdenum event overprinted by a later gold-silver event, with vein stages similar to Au-rich porphyry copper systems. At Sortilegio, initial drilling intersected the deep roots of the magmatic system, with textures indicating the intrusions had capacity to generate hydrothermal fluids – a positive sign for the broader belt.

“The real excitement lies at Previsto, where Dr. Alan Wilson’s expert review has confirmed striking similarities to major alkaline epithermal deposits like Cripple Creek and Porgera – systems that host tens of millions of ounces of gold. The roscoelite-adularia-fluorite alteration assemblage and Au-Ag-Te-V geochemistry at Previsto are textbook indicators of these vertically extensive, high-grade systems. With six geologists now on the ground advancing field programs and the DIA drill permit application to be submitted shortly, we are positioning Previsto as our highest-priority target. The Company is well-funded with over C$9 million in working capital to aggressively explore this exciting new belt.”

Drilling Program at Belen: Belen is located 23 km SW of Previsto Central and contained within the permitted Valiente DIA area. The initial phase of drilling at Belen began in May 2025 and was paused for the wet season. Six drillholes have been completed for 2,607.55 metres to date. The status of results is as follows: Vista Alegre: three holes completed – results released August 21, 2025. Ricardo Herrera: two holes completed – results reported here. Sortilegio: one hole completed – assays pending. Drilling will restart in early February 2026.

At Ricardo Herrera, two diamond drillholes have been completed. Both holes targeted a coherent copper soil anomaly exceeding 500 ppm Cu (pXRF), developed above a composite intrusive complex emplaced into sediments of the Palaeogene Huayabamba Formation. Drilling confirmed the presence of a multiphase intrusive system, ranging in composition and texture from fine-grained hornblende-biotite monzodiorite porphyry, crowded plagioclase-biotite-hornblende diorite porphyry, through to a series of possible syn-mineral monzonite to quartz monzonite porphyries.

These intrusions have produced hornfelsing in adjacent siltstone units, consistent with emplacement at relatively shallow crustal levels. Highest individual assays in both drillholes were: 0.6 g/t Au over 1.1 m, 0.63% Cu over 0.1 m, 862 ppm Mo over 0.6 m.

One drill hole has been completed at the Sortilegio prospect (HDDSL001). The geology of the target area comprises a composite mafic to felsic intrusive complex of broadly equigranular nature, suggesting these rocks formed at some depth (5-6 km), below that typically associated with porphyry deposits (1-3 km).

Three drill holes were completed at Vista Alegre testing IP chargeability and geochemical anomalies. As reported in August 2025, drilling intercepted peripheral/leakage structures rather than the main mineralized zone, returning up to 0.4 g/t Au interpreted as surficial enrichment restricted to the upper 90 m regolith profile. The source of 21 mineralized boulders (0.15 g/t to 2.72 g/t Au, up to 1,475 ppm As) located 300 m to 500 m east of drilling remains undiscovered.

The main exploration target at Vista Alegre remains the source of these auriferous boulders in several drainages over a strike length of 1.5 km. Boulders are strongly silicified and pyritic, commonly displaying cemented breccia textures with grey cryptocrystalline quartz intergrown with fine-grained disseminated pyrite. The geochemical association of these boulders is Au-Ag-As-Bi-Sb-Te, indicating an epithermal environment of formation.

Extensive resistivity anomalies immediately east of the boulder trains remain to be targeted and will be the focus for follow-up drilling. These results, combined with untested high-resistivity targets identified for Stage 2 drilling, suggest the current holes are peripheral to a potentially significant epithermal system that requires additional drilling to locate the main mineralized structures.

At Previsto, located 23 km NE of Belen, field work continues with a team of six geologists conducting systematic mapping, sampling and geological interpretation. An independent expert review by Dr. Alan Wilson (GeoAqua Consultants) has identified clear similarities in alteration assemblages and mineralization styles to major alkaline epithermal deposits globally, providing an important framework for understanding the system.

The geology of Previsto comprises two main geological domains separated by a regional-scale NNW-striking fault. The Western Domain contains alkaline intrusive rocks including syenite porphyry and possible nepheline syenite (indicated by pseudoleucite phenocrysts), to which epithermal Au-Ag and Cu-Mo mineralization appear associated.

Three mineralized zones have been identified. Las Helenas Zone: An extensive zone (at least 2 km x 1.5 km) of Au-Ag-Te-V anomalies associated with adularia-white mica-pyrite alteration and roscoelite-adularia veining/breccia cement. The highest grade Au-Ag mineralization is associated with roscoelite-adularia-cemented breccias that are largely devoid of sulphides. Fluorite is a locally abundant alteration phase. Previous channel sampling returned exceptional results including 69.1 metres at 2.4 g/t Au (including 26.0 m at 5.4 g/t Au) with peak assays of 3.0 m at 12.7 g/t Au.

North Copper Zone: A 1.3 km x 0.5 km zone of anomalous Cu ± Mo associated with phengitic white mica alteration and relict secondary biotite. Host rock is an orthoclase-megacrystic monzonite to syenite stock, with local pseudoleucite phenocrysts indicating silica-undersaturated ultrapotassic rocks (comparable to Galore Creek, BC). Channel sampling has returned consistent intervals of >0.1% Cu.

South Gold Zone: A ~1 km x 1 km zone of Au ± Cu anomalism hosted by Cretaceous sandstone, associated with goethite-rich quartz veinlets and silicified, pyrite-rich breccias.

The expert review notes that all comparative alkaline epithermal examples (Cripple Creek, Porgera, Emperor) display regional structural association with major arc-transverse structures and/or transient periods of extension, mineralization spatially and temporally associated with alkaline intrusive complexes, and vertically extensive ore zones (>700 m to >1,000 m). Multiple vein and breccia zones are likely to be present at Las Helenas, and understanding structural controls on mineralization will be key to unlocking discovery potential.

The DIA drill permit application at Previsto will be submitted Q2-2026, advancing this high-priority target toward its maiden drilling program.

The 100%-owned Valiente project is in central eastern Peru, east of the city of Tingo Maria. The area is characterized by steep topography on the eastern flank of the Central Cordillera with elevations between 800 m and 2,000 m above sea level.

The project was found in 2021 during an extensive greenfields prospecting program initiated by Hannan for back-arc porphyry copper-gold systems. The company has been prospecting on the project since 2021 and has successfully gained social permits progressively in all areas of interest.

During 2021 Hannan staked and still holds 1,002 km² of 100%-owned mining concessions at Valiente covering unexplored terrain for potential mineralized porphyry targets in central eastern Peru. The Valiente Project has rapidly evolved from a greenfields prospect to a multi-prospect opportunity.

Early surface prospecting identified two outcropping copper-gold porphyry targets and one epithermal target at Belen. Porphyry areas quickly followed at Serrano Norte, Serrano and Pucacunga. The focus more recently has been on Previsto. At Previsto and Belen, a district-scale porphyry cluster within an area of 25 km by 10 km, with eight porphyry and/or epithermal targets now identified in more detail with up to 10 earlier stage targets awaiting further work.

The company is executing a multi-year strategy to systematically explore and drill test its extensive land package in this emerging Miocene-aged, linked porphyry-epithermal mineral belt.

Hannan Metals is focused on the discovery of large gold and copper mineralizing systems in Peru. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Australia, Europe and South America.