Abcourt Mines Inc.: Abcourt intersects 170.9 g/t Au over 0.8 m at Sleeping Giant

ROUYN-NORANDA, Quebec, June 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abcourt Mines Inc. (TSX-V: ABI) (OTCQB: ABMBF) continues its work toward commercial production. The current 40,632 meters of this drilling campaign contributes to strengthening its assets and confirming the potential of the Sleeping Giant mine, its main project.

Highlights for Investors:

• Intensification of the drilling rate: 40,632 m completed in 370 holes since December 2023, including 15,371 m completed in 2026.
  
  
• Operational acceleration: Deployment of a third drill to reach a rate of 4,500 m per month.
  
  
• High-grade results: Notable intersections including 170.9 g/t Au over 0.8 m and 107.7 g/t Au over 0.5 m.
  
  
• Future progress: Definition work strengthens the mining plan and optimizes operations for 2027.
  
  

Drilling Strategy: Convert to Produce

Abcourt goes beyond drilling by preparing for its future operations. The distribution of the 40,000 m illustrates rigorous management focused on value creation:

Drilling Type	Footage	Strategic Objective
Development	27,418 m	Convert inferred resources into indicated resources
Definition	9,368 m	Optimize stope design for efficient extraction
Exploration	3,846 m	Test depth potential and lateral extensions.

Results confirming mining potential

Recent drilling has revealed high-grade mineralized zones outside target areas:

Significant intersections (not previously published):

• Zone 3A3B: 170.9 g/t Au over 0.8M (Hole 23-561)
• Zone A(HW): 138.5 g/t Au over 0.5M (Hole 14-127)
• Zone 15: 107.7 g/t Au over 0.5M (Hole 29-310)
• Zone 20: 73.3 g/t Au over 0.5M (Hole 23-583)
  
  

Next steps: Toward a resource update

Increasing the drilling pace (target of 4,500 m/month) combined with recent LiDAR and geophysical surveys will allow Abcourt to:

1. Refine the mine plan for increased operational flexibility.
2. Launch a new phase of deep exploration.
3. Publish a global mineral resource update integrating these convincing results.
   
   

Management statements:

Pascal Hamelin, P.Eng., President and Chief Executive Officer of Abcourt Mines, states:
"The success of this drilling campaign is a game-changer at every level. On the production side, discovering these very high-grade zones secures and significantly enriches our ore profile, which will directly optimize our profit margins. Furthermore, a rapidly expanding project and such spectacular results act as a powerful magnet for recruitment. In the current context, offering miners and industry professionals a stimulating environment, with long-term visibility and technical challenges of this magnitude, gives us a major competitive edge to attract and retain top talent."

Mohamed Haithem Bennia, Geology Superintendent, P.Geo., adds: "In a vein-type mine, increasing drilling density and pace improves resource precision, facilitates development monitoring, and optimizes mine planning. These results strengthen operational flexibility and support stable, sustainable production. We are very encouraged by the outcomes of this campaign, which reinforce our confidence in the high potential and promising future of the mine."

Figure 1: Evolution of the drilling rate and the number of since the start of the campaign

Figure 2: Main unpublished drilling results as well as areas and stopes drilled

Zone	Stope / Section	Hole ID		From (m)	To (m)	Interval (m)	Final Au (g/t)	Vein
DAC 5	29-DAC5	23-532		20	23	3	4.6	Target DAC5-V1
			Including	22	23	1	8
			and	28.5	29	0.5	58.1	Target DAC5-V8
		23-540		22	25.1	3.1	22	Target DAC5-V1
			Including	24.6	25.1	0.5	58.5
15	41-15-N397	41-436		72.5	73	0.5	36.9	Other vein
		41-442		100.7	101.2	0.5	45.9	Other vein
15	29-15-N400	29-310		5	5.5	0.5	107.7	Other vein
		29-320	and	63	64	1	10.9	Target vein 15
				70.2	72	1.8	24.3	Other vein
			Including	70.9	72	1.1	35.9
15	41-15-N419	41-422		112	113.6	1.6	34.1	Other vein
			Including	112.5	113	0.5	69.8
		41-435		29.2	30.5	1.3	28.3	Other vein
			Including	29.8	30.5	0.7	47.6
20	LT-23-20-N420	23-583		48.6	49.1	0.5	73.3	Other vein
		23-586		59	60.1	1.1	29.1	Target vein 20
			Including	59.6	60.1	0.5	61.6
		23-593		24	24.5	0.5	43.3	Other vein
			and	63	63.5	0.5	8.9	Target vein 20
3A3B	CP-29-3A3B	23-561		21.5	22.3	0.8	170.9	Other vein
			and	25	26.2	1.2	50.8	Target vein 3A3B
			Including	25.5	26.2	0.7	85.6
4_5	23-4_5-E327_E328 / 19-4_5-E325	23-505		48.7	51.7	3	14.7	Target vein 4_5
			Including	50.9	51.7	0.8	46.6
		23-520		6	6.5	0.5	66.8	Other vein
			and	82	83	1	3.5	Target vein 4_5
A(HW)	14-A(HW)-N369	14-127		48.9	49.4	0.5	138.5	Other vein
			and	59.9	60.4	0.5	17.5	Target vein A(HW)
		14-129		60.4	60.9	0.5	26	Target vein A(HW)

As shown in the table, several working areas were drilled for development and definition purposes. However, these drillings often intersect off-target mineralized intersections, which are not always integrated into the resources. In some cases, these new targets may prove more promising than the main targets.

Their progressive modeling, as results are received, contributes to increasing resources, even when drilling was initially aimed at definition or development.

Figure 3: The longitudinal of production stopes

The longitudinal shows the sites planned for 2027, already converted into indicated resources and, for the most part, sufficiently defined thanks to a drilling grid ensuring a good level of confidence. It also shows the sites already drilled or which will be drilled in the coming months. The same stope can be drilled in several stages - first for conversion, then for definition - until reaching the level of confidence required for its integration into the mining plan. The other sites resulting from the preliminary economic study will be subject to additional drilling to achieve the level of confidence necessary for their integration into the mining plan until 2034.

Figure 4: Photos of cores from the best drilling intersections

The photos of the cores highlight the strong presence of sulphides in the mineralized veins as well as their characteristic geometry. They also illustrate their width, generally between 20 and 50 cm, which corresponds to the vein style observed at Sleeping Giant.

Quality Control Measures (QA/QC)

Technical supervision: The drilling and core description work was carried out under the supervision of Mohamed Haithem Bennia, geo., superintendent of geology and qualified person within the meaning of Regulation 43-101.

Sampling protocols

• In accordance with the analytical quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program, blank samples, duplicates, and certified reference materials were inserted among the core samples prior to shipping.

• The preparation of the half-cores was carried out at the Sleeping Giant mine's internal laboratory, in strict compliance with industry standards.

Analysis Process and Timeline Optimization

In order to accelerate the receipt of the results required for this press release, the samples were distributed as follows:

• Internal Laboratory (Sleeping Giant Mine): Analyses were performed by fire assay with an atomic absorption (AA) finish. Samples showing a grade higher than 10 g/t Au were systematically re-analyzed using a gravimetric finish.
  
  
• External Laboratory (MSALABS, Val-d'Or, Quebec): A portion of the samples was sent there as pulps to be analyzed using the Photon Assay method. MSALABS is a global network accredited to ISO-17025, specifically for this photonic analysis method.
  
  

Scientific Rigour and Validation

To validate the accuracy of the internal laboratory results, check assays were performed by Techni-Lab S.G.B. Abitibi inc. (a division of ActLabs) in Sainte-Germaine-Boulé, Quebec. This independent external laboratory is ISO 9001 registered and ISO/IEC 17025 certified by the SCC (lab707) and the MELCCFP (lab375).

Verification Results: The external check assays demonstrate a high degree of correlation with the internal laboratory data, confirming the reliability and precision of the published results.

Qualified Persons:

Mohamed Haithem Bennia, P.Geo., Geology Superintendent at the Sleeping Giant mine, drafted, collected, verified, and approved the technical information contained in this press release.

Pascal Hamelin, P.Eng., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, verified and approved the technical information contained in this press release.

Mr. Hamelin and Bennia are Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Abcourt Mines Inc.

Abcourt Mines Inc. is a Canadian gold development company with properties strategically located in northwestern Quebec, Canada. Abcourt owns the Sleeping Giant mine and mill and the Flordin property, where it focuses its activities.

For further information about Abcourt Mines Inc., please visit our website at www.abcourt.ca and the documents filed under our profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.

Pascal Hamelin	Dany Cenac Robert
President and CEO	VP Communication and Corporate Development
T: [phone]	T: [phone], ext 456
email: [e-mail]	email: [e-mail]

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain information contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "aims", "expects", "projects", "intends", "anticipates", "estimates", "could", "should", "likely", or variations of such words and phrases, or statements specifying that certain acts, events, or results "could", "should" occur, "will occur", or "will be achieved", or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on Abcourt's estimates and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of Abcourt to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic factors and uncertainties, as well as other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including the relevant assumptions and risk factors set forth in Abcourt's public documents available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Although Abcourt believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. Unless required by applicable securities laws, Abcourt disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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 press release.

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