Atico Produces 2.24 Million Pounds of Cu and 1,906 Ounces of Au in Third Quarter 2025

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atico Mining Corporation (the “Company” or “Atico”) (TSX.V: ATY | OTCQX: ATCMF) announces its operating results for the three months ended September 30, 2025 from its El Roble mine. Production for the quarter totaled 2.24 million pounds of copper and 1,906 ounces of gold in concentrates, a decrease of 23% for copper and 8% for gold, respectively, over the same period in 2024.

“During the period, higher metal prices enabled profitable mining of ore from lower mine zones previously excluded from reserves, leading to a quarterly revision of the mine plan to incorporate this out-of-reserve material. These areas of the deposit are in the final months and are being prioritized to maximize overall ore recovery. The lower grade, newly converted reserves, offset the contribution from the higher-grade upper zones, which percentage of feed to the mill has been consistently increasing as development continues and more stopes enter production. Given the change in the mine plan, results for the quarter were below budget, in particular for the copper head grade, which increased from the previous quarter but not as much as initially forecasted,” stated Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO. “We anticipate production for the following quarter will improve driven by higher copper head grade, even though we will continue to maximize ore recovery in the lower zones, as this strategy, coupled with the current drill program, should help us increase the reserves and the life of mine.”

Third Quarter Operational Highlights

• Production of 2.24 million pounds of copper contained in concentrates; a decrease of 23% over Q3 2024.
• Production of 1,906 ounces of gold contained in concentrates; a decrease of 8% over Q3 2024.
• Average processed tonnes per day of 741, a decrease of 3% over Q3 2024.
• Copper head grade of 1.82%, a decrease of 14% over Q3 2024.
• Gold head grade of 1.53 grams per tonne; no significant change over Q3 2024.
• Copper and gold recovery of 91% and 63%; no significant change for copper and gold, respectively, over Q3 2024.

Third Quarter Operational Review

The El Roble mine has been undergoing a transition from the lower areas of the mine towards the new higher-grade reserves in upper areas. This planned transition schedule has been changed to take advantage of higher metal prices and accommodate adding lower grade ore not included in the current reserves report. Despite this change, new stope development in the upper higher-grade areas continues to advance and improvement in head grades should continue quarter over quarter. These changes will be reflected in the production and cost guidance for this year and revision to the same for 2025 will be as follows:

Copper (000s pounds)	9,000 to 9,500
Gold (ounces)	7,500 to 8,500
C1 Cash Cost ($US)(1)	$1.70 to $1.80

Note: Please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” at the end of this release. C1 cash cost per pound of payable copper produced net of by-product (gold) credits and selling costs.

The planned concentrate shipment, originally scheduled for September, was postponed to October due to limited vessel availability during the quarter. Since the company recognizes revenue upon shipment of the concentrate, this development will cause all expected revenue from this period to be recorded in the fourth quarter, alongside the planned revenue for that period.

Third Quarter Operational Details

	Q3 2025 Total	Q3 2024 Total	% Change
Production(Contained in Concentrates)
Copper (000s pounds)	2,241	2,912	-23%
Gold (ounces)	1,906	2,072	-8%
Mine
Tonnes of ore mined	61,005	67,869	-10%
Mill
Tonnes processed	61,392	67,354	-9%
Tonnes processed per day	741	856	-3%
Copper grade (%)	1.82	2.13	-14%
Gold grade (g/t)	1.53	1.52	Nil
Recoveries
Copper (%)	91.2	92.3	Nil
Gold (%)	62.9	62.9	Nil
Concentrates
Copper and Gold Concentrates (dmt)	5,721	7,248	-21%
Payable copper produced (000s lbs)	2,102	2,737	-23%

Note: Metal production figures are subject to adjustments based on final settlement. The reported results are preliminary in nature and are awaiting independent lab verification.

Concentrate Inventory

The number of shipments the Company can export in any given quarter depends on several variables some of which the Company does not control, hence there may be an inherent variability in tonnes shipped quarter to quarter.

	Q3 2025 Total
Amounts in dry metric tonnes
Opening inventory	969
Production	5,721
Sales	0
Adjustments	(71)
Number of shipments	0
Closing inventory	6,619

Note: Concentrate figures are subject to adjustments based on final settlement.

El Roble Mine

The El Roble mine is a high grade, underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day, located in the Department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper-gold concentrate.

Since obtaining control of the mine on November 22, 2013, Atico has upgraded the operation from a historical nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day.

El Roble’s reserves estimate, with an effective date of March 12, 2024, includes Proven and Probable mineral reserves of 828 thousand tonnes averaging 2.49% Cu, 2.20 g/t Au and a life of mine until Q1-2027. A full NI 43-101 technical report is available on SEDAR+. For more information on the reserves estimate refer to SEDAR+ and on the Company’s website.

Mineralization is open at depth and along strike and the Company plans to further test the limits of the deposit. On the larger land package, the Company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey pelagic sediments and cherts that has been traced by Atico geologists for ten kilometers. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified numerous target areas prospective for VMS type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the current surface drill program at El Roble. 

Qualified Person

Mr. Thomas Kelly (SME Registered Member 1696580), advisor to the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 standards, is responsible for ensuring that the technical information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico.

About Atico Mining Corporation

Atico is a growth-oriented Company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company generates significant cash flow through the operation of the El Roble mine and is developing its high-grade La Plata VMS project in Ecuador. The Company is also pursuing additional acquisition of advanced stage opportunities. For more information, please visitwww.aticomining.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fernando E. Ganoza
CEO
Atico Mining Corporation

Trading symbols: TSX.V: ATY | OTCQX: ATCMF

Investor Relations
Igor Dutina
Tel: +1.604.633.9022

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ‘‘U.S. Securities Act’’), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act) unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This announcement includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs; the need to obtain additional financing to maintain its interest in and/or explore and develop the Company’s mineral projects; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Company’s mineral projects; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the AIF of the Company dated September 4, 2024 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.com

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The items marked with a "(1)" are alternative performance measures and readers should refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed on SEDAR+ and as available on the Company's website for further details.