FinEx Metals Commences Drilling at Kero Gold Project, Finland

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FinEx Metals Ltd. (TSX-V: FINX) (“FinEx” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that diamond drilling has commenced at its 100%-owned, royalty-free Kero gold project (“Kero” or the “Project”) in northern Finland, located approximately 15 km southeast of Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä gold mine, Europe’s largest primary gold operation and 20 km northwest of the multi-million-ounce Ikkari gold deposit, now owned by Agnico Eagle following its acquisition of Rupert Resources Ltd.

Highlights:

• Drilling Underway at Kero: Diamond core drilling has commenced as part of a program comprising approximately 2,000 metres in addition to the collection of approximately 600 Top-of-Bedrock / Bottom-of-Till samples, across three priority target areas;
• Testing High-Grade Historical Results: Drilling is designed to test the geometry and continuity of gold-bearing structures associated with historical drill results, including a drill interval of 9.05 m grading 1.95 g/t Au (including 1.05 m grading 12.6 g/t Au) and a continuous trench channel sample interval which reportedly returned 6.2 m grading 7.5 g/t Au;
• Revised Drill Orientations: FinEx has reinterpreted historical drilling, geophysical and geochemical data and concluded that the majority of historical drilling was oriented sub-parallel to the main gold-bearing structures. The FinEx drill program is using revised azimuths intended to test these structures more effectively; and
• District-Scale Setting: Kero is strategically located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, between Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä mine and the Ikkari deposit, two major gold systems in one of Europe’s most important emerging gold districts.

Tero Kosonen, Chairman and CEO of FinEx, states: “We are very pleased to have drilling underway at Kero. This program is the first systematic drill campaign on the Project to apply our revised geological interpretation and is designed to test zones of historical gold mineralization and several exciting new targets.”

Dr. Petri Peltonen, Chief Geologist of FinEx, states: “At a district scale, the Kero project is positioned within a regional NNW-trending structural corridor that may represent a parallel expression of the Kiistala Shear Zone, the structure hosting Agnico Eagle's Kittilä gold mine. To the south, the WNW-ESE-trending deep-crustal Sirkka Shear Zone forms a major regional boundary that extends towards the Ikkari deposit. This places Kero in a favourable structural position between two regionally significant mineralized shear systems, within a complex deformation corridor known to have focused major gold systems elsewhere along strike.”

Figure 1: Diamond drill being set-up for drilling on the Kero Gold Project.

Kero Drill Program:

The planned drill program is expected to comprise of approximately 2,000 metres of diamond core drilling and approximately 600 Top-of-Bedrock / Bottom-of-Till samples. The program will test three target areas (A through C) prioritized through the integration of historical drill data, geophysical data, geochemical sampling and geological reinterpretation of the Project area. Targets A and B contain historical gold intersections and Target C is an undrilled geophysical-structural target.

FinEx’s structural interpretation suggests that most historical drilling completed at Kero by the Geological Survey of Finland (“GTK”) was oriented subparallel to key gold-bearing structures, shear zones and quartz-carbonate-sulphide vein sets. The Company believes these orientations limited the effectiveness of earlier drilling in testing the geometry and continuity of the gold-bearing structures. The 2026 program uses revised azimuths intended to directly intersect these structures at both the known and new target areas.

Drilling will also test new targets that have not been previously drill tested and were generated through the integration of property-wide geophysical data, geochemical sampling and structural mapping.

The principal target areas are as follow (Figures 2 and 3):

• Target Area A: Two short drill holes will test the orientation of mineralization discovered in GTK trench M372106U6 where continuous channel sampling reportedly returned 6.2 m grading 7.5 g/t Au. Three additional core holes are planned: one near historical drill hole M372105R402, which returned 9.05 m grading 1.95 g/t Au from 142.5 m downhole, including 1.05 m grading 12.6 g/t Au; and two approximate 250 m step-out holes to test the lateral continuity of this gold-bearing structure.
• Target Area B: Five historical drill holes, totalling approximately 700 metres, were previously drilled by the GTK, returning multiple gold intercepts including 2.37 g/t Au over 1.00 m (hole M372105R399) and 1.89 g/t Au over 1.00 m (hole M372105R396), together with a strong arsenic-bismuth-antimony-tellurium (As-Bi-Sb-Te) pathfinder signature associated with the gold mineralization. Two 200 m long drill holes are planned to test this target.
• Target Area C: Three drill holes each approximately 200 m long will test an approximate 300 m wide, WSW trending break within a prominent NNE trending magnetic geophysical anomaly. The break is interpreted by FinEx to represent a brittle deformation zone associated with potential hydrothermal alteration. This target has not previously been drill tested.
  
  

Figure 2: Kero Project tenement map with selected historical GTK drill intervals and channel sample results. Map includes data from the GTK and the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (“TUKES”).

Figure 3: Kero Project area. Map 1 (left) shows the locations of historical drill intercepts, 2026 drill target areas A–C, the area being tested by the 2026 Bottom-of-Till / Top-of-Bedrock sampling program and interpreted deformation zones. Map 2: (right) shows total magnetic intensity, reduced to pole (“TMI-RTP”) geophysical, data for the Project area and tenements. Maps include data from the GTK and TUKES.

The Company intends to collect approximately 600 Top-of-Bedrock / Bottom-of-Till samples to test the extensions of known, historical gold mineralization and areas with little or no exploration data that are covered with a veneer of glacial till masking the underlying geology.

About the Kero Project:

The Kero Project is 100%-owned by FinEx and is located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of northern Finland, within the same district as Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä gold mine and the Ikkari deposit. Pursuant to a news release dated February 5, 2026, the Company announced that an exploration license was granted for Kero. Further information regarding the geological setting and historical work completed on Kero can be found in that news release on the FinEx website and at www.sedarplus.ca.

About FinEx Metals Ltd.:

FinEx Metals Ltd. (TSX-V: FINX) is a gold, nickel and PGE-focused mineral exploration company advancing a portfolio of 100%-owned, royalty-free projects in northern Finland, strategically located in the Central Lapland and Eastern Lapland Greenstone Belts. FinEx's projects are located near existing mining operations and benefit from strong infrastructure, a stable jurisdiction and a proven exploration model, supporting multiple targets with clear discovery potential in one of Europe's most prospective and underexplored regions. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.finexmetals.net. 

FinEx Metals is part of the NewQuest Capital Group, a discovery-driven investment group that builds value through the incubation and financing of mineral projects and companies. Further information about NewQuest can be found on the company website at www.nqcapitalgroup.com. 

Qualified Person:

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Petri Peltonen, MAusIMM(CP), EurGeol, a Qualified Person (“QP”) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Dr. Peltonen is not independent by reason of being a contractor and shareholder of the Company. The historical exploration data referenced in this release was generated by the GTK and has not been independently verified by FinEx Metals; such data should not be relied upon as current and does not conform to the requirements of NI 43-101. The Company's planned work programs include drilling, data verification and confirmatory sampling to support future NI 43-101 compliant disclosure.

The historical drill and channel-sample results referenced above were generated by the GTK and have not been independently verified by FinEx. Reported drill intercepts are considered down-hole core lengths and the true widths of the mineralized zones are not known. The proximity of Kero to the Kittilä mine and Ikkari deposit does not imply that similar mineralization or results will be obtained at Kero. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors: Tero Kosonen Chairman and Chief Executive Officer +1 (604) 681-9100 tero@finexmetals.net	For further information, please contact: Brennan Zerb Investor Relations Manager +1 (778) 867-5016 brennan@nqcapitalgroup.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the planned drilling and sampling program at the Kero project, the Company's revised structural interpretation and drill targeting, the anticipated results and interpretation of the program, future capital expenditures, exploration activities and the specifications, targets, results, analyses, interpretations, benefits, costs and timing of them, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as “pro forma”, “plans”, “expects”, “may”, “should”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “potential” or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Company's exploration plans and the proposed expenditures for exploration work thereon, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, the ability of the Company to obtain the required permits, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated June 13, 2025 and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.

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