Aston Bay receives upfront royalty payment of C$1.38 million for Storm Copper project, Canada

First payment received of a total of C$3.46 million allocated to Aston Bay without restriction on use of proceeds

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2024 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY) (OTCQB:ATBHF) (“Aston Bay” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received seed funding of $1 million (C$1.38 million)¹) in the financing as part of an agreement with the Company’s joint venture partner, American West Metals Limited (“American West”) and TMRF Canada Inc., an affiliate of Taurus Mining Royalty Fund LP (“Taurus” ), whereby Taurus will provide financing of up to US$12.5 million (C$17.3 million(1)) under a royalty package for the Storm Copper project.

Aston Bay and American West have formed an unincorporated 20/80 joint venture in respect of the Storm project property, with Aston Bay retaining a free interest pending a decision to mine following completion of a bankable feasibility study. Aston Bay will be allocated 20% of the gift package funding (C$3.46 million(1)) with no restriction on use of proceeds.

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• The first payment of US$5 million (C$6.9 million).¹) under the gift package has made progress in the American West and Aston Bay

• Other payments in the gift package are:

  • US$3.5 million (C$4.9 million)¹) following delivery of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for Storm and submission of development authorization documents to Storm

  • US$4 million (C$5.5 million)¹) following the announcement of a JORC-compliant resource increase for Storm to at least 400,000 tonnes of contained copper with a resource grade of at least 1.00% Cu

• The funding of the gift package will be allocated to American West and Aston Bay in accordance with their respective interests under the non-Storm joint venture, with 80% for American West and 20% for Aston Bay.

• There are no restrictions on the use of funds for Aston Bay, providing an undiluted source of funds to advance the company’s other projects and contribute to Aston Bay’s strong balance sheet.

• The funding has enabled an expansion of the exploration and development activities carried out by American West at Storm, which include:

  • Expansion of the 2024 drilling program, which will support an initial resource that is currently being built to Canadian Institute of Mining standards, as well as a significant planned update to the American West JORC-compliant estimate .

  • An investment in 2025 field activities with bulk supplies delivered to site via vessel charter, saving approximately C$4 million in potential logistics costs for the 2025 program.

  • Completion of environmental, mining and development studies, including detailed test work supporting the potential for a drop-ship operation, which will support delivery of a PFS expected in early 2025

Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay, commented:

“We are very pleased with the efforts of our partner American West and with this investment in Storm by Taurus. The recognition of the value of the Storm project by such a respected mining royalty company is a strong endorsement of the potential of the Storm project Project.

“The royalty funding provides significant funding and is structured to promote the rapid advancement of the Storm Copper project. American West continues to actively advance the project, with goals set to meet the remaining two milestones of the royalty financing agreement in the next six to twelve months.

“This could bring an additional $2 million to Aston Bay for a potential total of $3.46 million in non-dilutive funds to advance our other gold and critical mineral exploration projects.”

For more details on the Taurus deal royalty package, see Aston Bay’s press release dated 24 June 2024.

About Aston Bay Holdings

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring high-grade critical and precious metal deposits in Nunavut, Canada and Virginia, USA.

The company is currently exploring the Storm Copper property and the Cu-Ag-Zn-Co Epworth property in Nunavut. The company is also in the advanced stages of negotiations on other lands with high-grade precious and critical metals potential in North America.

The Company and its joint venture partners, American West Metals Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tornado Metals Ltd. (collectively, “American West“), have formed an unincorporated 20/80 joint venture in respect of the Storm Project property, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit. Under the unincorporated joint venture, Aston Bay will have a free interest until American West has made a decision to mine after a bank feasibility study is completed, meaning American West will be solely responsible for financing the joint venture until such a decision is made , Aston Bay will be diluted in the event that it does not elect to contribute its proportionate share and its interest in the Storm Project property will become a 2% net smelter royalty if its interest is diluted below the 10%

About American West Metals Limited

AMERICAN WEST METALS LIMITED (ASX:AW1) is an Australian clean energy mining company focused on growth through the discovery and development of major base metal ore deposits in Tier 1 jurisdictions in North America. The company’s strategy focuses on developing mines that have a low footprint and that support the global energy transformation. AW1’s portfolio of copper and zinc projects in Utah and Canada includes significant existing resource inventories and high-grade mineralization that can generate strong mining propositions. AW1’s core focus is a commitment to the ethical extraction and processing of minerals and making a meaningful contribution to the communities where its projects are located.

Led by a highly experienced leadership team, AW1’s strategic initiatives lay the foundation for a sustainable business that aims to deliver high multiplier returns on shareholder investment and economic benefits to all stakeholders.

For more information on American West, visit: www.americanwestmetals.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this press release, including those relating to the participation in the joint venture and each party’s interest in the project pursuant to the agreement with respect to the joint venture, management objectives , forecasts, estimates, expectations or predictions of the future may constitute “forward-looking statements”, which can be identified by the use of conditional or future tenses or by the use of verbs such as “believe”, “expect”, “may,” “must,” “should,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” and words of similar import, including their variations and negative forms. This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this press release, Aston Bay’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding its operations, the mining industry and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this press release that are not supported by historical facts are forward-looking statements, meaning they involve risk, uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by securities legislation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation service provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

For more information contact:

Thomas Ullrich, CEO
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(416) 456-3516

Sofia Harquail, IR and Corporate Development
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(647) 821-1337