Finlay Minerals, Backed by Freeport, Unlocks Key BC Porphyry Targets

VANCOUVER, BC – February 25, 2026 – Junior explorer Finlay Minerals Ltd. has announced a significant breakthrough at its PIL property in British Columbia, advancing three substantial copper-gold targets to a drill-ready stage. The achievement, resulting from an extensive 2025 exploration program, is powerfully underscored by the full financial backing of its partner, Freeport-McMoRan, one of the world's largest mining companies. The results signal renewed potential in the highly prospective Toodoggone district and position Finlay for a pivotal 2026 drill season.

Finlay confirmed that its Reef, PIL South, and Gold targets are now primed for drilling following a comprehensive campaign of geophysical surveys and geochemical sampling. The program successfully delineated large-scale anomalies characteristic of major porphyry systems, the very type of deposit that has made British Columbia a global mining powerhouse. Porphyry deposits are a critical source of the world's copper, a metal essential for global electrification and the transition to a green economy.

This milestone is a direct result of an earn-in agreement established in 2025, where Freeport-McMoRan can acquire up to an 80% interest in the property by funding $35 million in exploration. The partnership provides Finlay not only with capital but also with immense technical validation for its assets.

"Our 2025 exploration program, with Freeport's funding support, delivered on several fronts: taking three targets - the Reef, PIL South and Gold, to the drill-ready stage, expanding two further targets and identifying multiple new regional targets," stated Ilona B. Lindsay, Finlay's President & CEO, in a press release. "The PIL continues to be one of the gems in Finlay's property portfolio."

The Freeport Effect: A Major's Vote of Confidence

The involvement of a global copper titan like Freeport-McMoRan cannot be overstated. For a junior explorer like Finlay, such a partnership is transformative, effectively de-risking the costly and high-stakes business of mineral exploration. Freeport's strategy often involves forming joint ventures or earn-in agreements with junior companies to gain early entry into promising new districts, leveraging local expertise while deploying its vast financial and technical resources.

This model is consistent with Freeport's recent activities elsewhere, including partnerships in Jamaica with C3 Metals and in Colombia with Max Resource Corp. The company's focus is squarely on securing a pipeline of large-scale, long-life copper assets to meet surging global demand. By investing in the Toodoggone, Freeport is placing a strategic bet on the district's potential to host the next generation of major porphyry discoveries.

For Finlay, which remains the project operator, the arrangement provides the necessary funding to aggressively test its geological theories without diluting shareholder value through repeated equity financings. It allows the company to focus on what it does best: systematic, science-driven exploration.

From Anomaly to Target: A Systematic Hunt for Buried Treasure

The 2025 results are a testament to a methodical exploration strategy. Finlay completed 46 line-kilometers of Induced Polarization (IP) surveys, a 1,533 line-kilometer airborne magnetic survey, and collected thousands of soil and rock samples. This wealth of data has painted a detailed picture of the geology hidden beneath the surface.

The Reef target has emerged as a top priority. The IP survey defined a massive buried chargeability anomaly measuring 2,000 by 1,200 meters, starting 200 to 425 meters below surface. Chargeability anomalies are a key indicator for porphyry exploration, as they often detect disseminated sulfide minerals that host copper and gold. Crucially, surface mapping at Reef identified alteration patterns characteristic of a lithocap—a large, altered zone of rock that frequently forms directly above a mineralized porphyry center. The anomaly also appears to trend towards a nearby drill hole by Freeport and Amarc Resources that bottomed in significant copper and gold mineralization, providing a tantalizing clue to what may lie within Finlay's property boundary.

At the PIL South target, the 2025 program expanded an existing chargeability anomaly to an impressive 1,200 by 2,300 meters. This geophysical feature is coincident with both a magnetic high and a significant copper-gold signature in surface soil samples. The company noted that historical drilling in the area failed to test the necessary depths, suggesting previous operators may have stopped short of reaching the main mineralized system that the new data now points towards.

Meanwhile, the Gold target revealed a 900 by 1,400-meter chargeability and resistivity anomaly that corresponds with a distinct multi-element soil signature of copper, gold, molybdenum, and other pathfinder elements typical of a porphyry source. This modern data builds on historical drilling from 1986 that encountered elevated gold at a shallow depth, hinting at a larger system below.

Reviving the Toodoggone: A District on the Cusp of a Comeback

Finlay's success is not happening in a vacuum. It adds to a growing body of evidence that the Toodoggone district is re-emerging as one of Canada’s premier exploration frontiers. Situated within BC's famed "Golden Horseshoe," the district has long been recognized for its geological potential but has been relatively underexplored compared to other regions.

Recent major discoveries, most notably the AuRORA copper-gold deposit by Amarc Resources and Freeport, have reignited interest and investment in the Toodoggone. The fact that Finlay's Reef target lies just northeast of the AuRORA discovery highlights the regional scale of the mineralizing systems at play. The airborne magnetic survey identified major northwest-trending faults, which are believed to create favorable structural zones for the intrusion of mineral-rich porphyry bodies.

This renewed focus on the Toodoggone comes at a critical time. As the world transitions to cleaner energy, the demand for copper is projected to soar. Jurisdictions like British Columbia, with their stable political climate and established mining expertise, are poised to play a crucial role in meeting this demand. The discoveries being advanced by Finlay and its neighbors could represent a significant step toward securing a domestic supply of these critical metals.

The Path Forward: Drills, Data, and Discovery

With a portfolio of compelling, de-risked targets and a deep-pocketed partner, Finlay Minerals is now preparing for the most crucial phase of exploration: drilling. The company has announced that planning for the 2026 season is already underway, with the drill-testing of the high-priority Reef target at the top of the agenda. This will be the ultimate test of the geological model built from the 2025 data.

In parallel, further geological mapping and IP surveys are planned for the Gold, Copper Ridge, and Spruce targets to refine them for future drilling. The methodical, phased approach ensures that exploration funds are deployed effectively, maximizing the potential for a significant discovery.

The coming months will be pivotal for Finlay Minerals as it transitions from generating targets to testing them. The 2026 drill program will not only probe the potential of the Reef target but will also serve as a broader referendum on the newly unlocked potential of the entire PIL property.