VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / September 29, 2026 / Formation Metals Inc. ("Formation" or the "Company") (CSE:FOMO)(FSE:VF1)(OTCQB:FOMTF), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Terry Salman, C.M., to the Company's Advisory Board as its Senior Strategic Advisor. Mr. Salman is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Salman Partners Inc. and is among the most recognized financiers in the Canadian resource sector, having helped raise more than $20 billion for over 400 exploration and mining companies. He joins Formation as the Company advances its flagship N2 Property ("N2" or the "Property") toward a maiden mineral resource estimate.

Mr. Salman will advise the Company on capital markets strategy, financing structure and corporate development, and will assist in broadening Formation's shareholder base by introducing the Company to institutional and strategic investors in Canada, the United States and Europe. His appointment comes as Formation moves from drilling into resource definition at N2, where a fully funded 75,000 metre drill program is underway and a maiden mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 is targeted for Q1 2027.

Mr. Salman has spent more than 35 years in exploration and mining finance. He began his career at Nesbitt Thomson (subsequently acquired by BMO), rising to Executive Vice-President and Director with responsibility for corporate and government finance across Western North America and the Pacific Rim, including underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, valuations and private placements. While there he and a few other partners built the firm's mining team and founded the mining conference that grew into BMO's flagship annual global metals and mining conference, today one of the sector's largest gatherings of mining companies and institutional investors. He founded Salman Partners in 1994 and has served the firm ever since, as its President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Salman was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2020 "for his contributions to mining exploration, and for his generous philanthropy and community activism." He received the 2016 Murray Pezim Award for an outstanding career in Canadian mining finance and was inducted into the Cambridge House Resource Hall of Fame in 2018. He is a former Chairman of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, past Chair of the St. Paul's Hospital Foundation, Chairman Emeritus of the Vancouver Public Library Foundation, Chairman of the Essential Needs Foundation, and Honorary Consul-General of the Republic of Singapore, from whose Office of the President he received the Public Service Star in 2021. Mr. Salman served with the United States Marine Corps and is a Vietnam veteran, and holds an MBA from the University of Hartford. Mr. Salman is the best-selling author of What We Give: From Marine to Philanthropist. His memoir is available at https://www.whatwegivebook.com/.

Mr. Salman remarked: "It is a privilege to join Formation Metals' Advisory Board. N2 is exactly the kind of asset this sector needs - an advanced, district-scale gold project in the Abitibi region near other recent discoveries, with historical ounces behind it and a great deal of untested ground still to drill. I look forward to a productive, progress-driven working relationship as the Company advances toward its next phase of growth."

"Terry has financed this sector through every cycle for more than three decades, and the companies he has backed read like a history of Canadian mining," said Deepak Varshney, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Formation Metals. "We have spent the past year drilling N2 hard and we now have a maiden resource in front of us. What matters between here and there is that the right institutional investors understand this asset before that resource lands. Bringing Terry onboard is how we intend to make that happen."

Project Summary

Formation's flagship N2 Property comprises 87 claims totalling ~4,400 hectares in the Abitibi sub-province of northwestern Québec, 25 kilometres south of the mining town of Matagami and approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the former-producing Vezza gold mine, which produced over 100,000 ounces of gold from 2013 to 2019. The Property is accessible year-round by provincial highway and logging road, sits within reach of grid power, skilled labour and established mining services, and lies in one of the most productive gold districts on earth - the Abitibi Greenstone Belt has yielded in excess of 200 million ounces of gold.

N2 hosts a global historic resource of ~871,000 ounces of gold, comprising 18 Mt grading 1.4 g/t Au (~810,000 oz Au) across four zones (A, East, RJ-East and Central)^2,3 and 243 Kt grading 7.82 g/t Au (~61,000 oz Au) at the RJ zone^2,4. Six mineralized zones are known on the Property, each open for expansion along strike and at depth, along a mineralized corridor with a potential of up to 8 kilometres of strike, of which only ~1.65 kilometres at the A-Zone and ~900 metres at the RJ Zone have been drilled historically. Compilation and geophysical work completed by Balmoral Resources Ltd. (now Wallbridge Mining) between 2010 and 2018 generated numerous targets that Formation is testing by diamond drilling for the first time.

Historical highlights from the top two priority zones include:

• A-Zone: a shallow, highly continuous, low-variability historic gold deposit with ~522,900 ounces identified at a grade of 1.52 g/t Au. ~15,000 metres have been drilled historically across 1.65 km of strike, with 84% of historical drillholes intersected auriferous intervals including up to 1.7 g/t over 35 metres.
• RJ Zone: a high-grade historic gold deposit with ~61,100 ounces identified at a grade of 7.82 g/t Au, with high-grade intercepts from historical drill holes as high as 51 g/t Au over 0.8 metres and 16.5 g/t Au over 3.5 metres². This zone was the target of the most recent drilling at the Property by Agnico-Eagle Mines in 2008, when the price of gold was ~US$800/oz. Only ~900 metres of strike has been drilled, with 4.75+ km of strike remaining to be tested.

Formation's Phase 1 and Phase 2 drilling has confirmed geological continuity at the A-Zone and delivered wide, continuous, near-surface gold intercepts, including:

• N2-26-033: 0.98 g/t Au over 95.6 metres beginning at 8.4 metres downhole, 7.1 metres vertical, including 3.14 g/t Au over the first 10.0 metres (September 2026; extends the A-Zone 25 metres north over the upper 100 metres and up to 50 metres north at depth).
• N2-26-15A: 2.53 g/t Au over 11.8 metres beginning at 350.6 metres downhole, 341.6 metres vertical, including 5.42 g/t Au over 5.1 metres, in a newly identified vein set 200 metres south of the A-Zone, and 1.41 g/t Au over 20.6 metres beginning at 499.1 metres downhole, 486.3 metres vertical, including 2.63 g/t Au over 5.5 metres (September 2026).
• N2-26-021: 1.05 g/t Au over 31.0 metres beginning at 243.0 metres downhole, 203.8 metres vertical, including 1.89 g/t Au over 12.0 metres, 200 metres west of the historical resource boundary (June 2026).
• N2-25-012: 1.75 g/t Au over 30.4 metres beginning at 64.1 metres downhole, 45.3 metres vertical, including 3.51 g/t Au over 10.5 metres and 19.2 g/t Au over 0.51 metres.
• N2-25-010: 1.43 g/t Au over 19.4 metres beginning at 117.5 metres downhole, 101.8 metres vertical, including 2.23 g/t Au over 7.0 metres.
• N2-25-009: 1.37 g/t Au over 24.0 metres beginning at 168.9 metres downhole, 146.3 metres vertical, including 2.05 g/t Au over 13.3 metres.
• N2-25-008: 0.95 g/t Au over 61.1 metres beginning at 109 metres downhole, 94.4 metres vertical, including 1.68 g/t Au over 26.5 metres.
• N2-25-007: 1.3 g/t Au over 22.2 metres beginning at 139.9 metres downhole, 121.2 metres vertical, including 2.36 g/t Au over 10.5 metres.
• N2-25-006: 1.8 g/t Au over 21.9 metres beginning at 154.4 metres downhole, 133.7 metres vertical, including 3.4 g/t Au over 4.8 metres.
• N2-25-005: 0.91 g/t Au over 42.3 metres beginning at 14.0 metres downhole, 9.9 metres vertical, including 2.04 g/t Au over 8.1 metres and 1.31 g/t Au over 11.4 metres.
• N2-25-004: 0.83 g/t Au over 40.4 metres beginning at 180.0 metres downhole, 147.4 metres vertical, including 1.36 g/t Au over 9.0 metres.

Step-out drilling has now extended the A-Zone 200 metres to the west, 200 metres to the south - where a new vein set widened the mineralized envelope from ~100 metres to more than 300 metres across strike - and to the north beyond the limits of the ground covered by the historical estimate. Based on these results, the Company believes the A-Zone hosts a robust mineralized veining system that fluctuates between 20 and 75 metres, is potentially 300 metres wide, with a potential of up to 8 km in strike. The A-Zone remains open along strike (E-W) and down-plunge/depth (S).

The Company's internal view and evaluations suggest that N2 exhibits a strong geological potential possessing favorable characteristics to support a near-surface, open-pit resource development.

This optimism is driven by several key factors:

• Open at Depth and Along Strike: All zones remain open, with historical drilling limited to shallow depths (~350 m), leaving considerable vertical upside in a proven gold camp.
• Wide, Continuous Near-Surface Intercepts: Recent drilling has confirmed thick zones (100-200+ m) of target mineralization starting near surface, ideal for bulk-tonnage open-pit scenarios with low strip ratios and high tonnage potential.
• Significant undrilled strike length: The A-Zone corridor has a potential of up to 8 kilometres of strike, of which only ~1.65 kilometres has been drilled historically, while the RJ Zone has more than 4.75 kilometres remaining untested - substantial room for lateral expansion of known mineralization.
• Regional pedigree: The Property lies along the Casa Berardi mine trend, which hosts multiple million-ounce gold deposits. The Casa Berardi mine, approximately 50 kilometres away, has produced in excess of 2 million ounces and carries proven and probable reserves of 14.3 Mt grading 2.75 g/t Au, and the Douay/Joutel project reported 905,000 ounces of indicated resources grading 1.48 g/t Au and 4,297,000 ounces of inferred resources grading 1.03 g/t Au with an effective date of April 24, 2026. N2 shares the geology and structural controls of that trend. Nearby Vezza produced from higher-grade underground mining, while N2's shallower, wider zones are more amenable to open-pit methods.¹
• Untested targets: Compilation work has identified numerous geophysical anomalies (IP, EM and VTEM) that remain undrilled, providing discovery potential beyond the known zones.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing describes the Company's exploration rationale and not a mineral resource. No mineral resource or mineral reserve has been estimated for the Property in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, no economic study of any kind has been completed on the Property, and there is no certainty that further exploration will result in the delineation of a mineral resource, that any portion of the Property will prove to be economically viable, or that mining by open-pit or any other method would be feasible.

The surrounding region hosts several operating mills, and regional processing capacity may over time offer alternatives to constructing a mill on site, although the Company has no agreement with respect to any third-party facility.

The Company also sees significant base metal potential at N2. A re-evaluation of historical drill hole data completed by Formation returned copper values ranging from 200 to 4,750 ppm and zinc values ranging from 203 to 6,700 ppm within intervals grading above 1 g/t Au, principally at the A and RJ zones, indicating potential for elevated copper-zinc concentrations across the Property. Property-wide geology features volcanic and sedimentary rocks formed in regional anticlinal and synclinal flexures, with three principal deformation structures oriented along the NW-SE to WNW-ESE structural trends typical of the volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits of the Matagami region acting as the critical geologic controls on mineralization. The base metal results are early-stage, have not been the subject of any mineral resource estimate, and no assurance can be given that they represent economically recoverable mineralization.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Babak V. Azar, P.Geo., géo (OGQ#10876) an independent contractor and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Historical reports provided by the optionor were reviewed by the qualified person.

About Formation Metals Inc.

Formation Metals Inc. is a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on drill-ready properties with high upside and expansion potential. Its flagship asset is the N2 Property, an advanced, road-accessible gold project in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Québec hosting a global historic resource of ~871,000 ounces (18 Mt grading 1.4 g/t Au (~810,000 oz Au) across four zones (A, East, RJ-East and Central)^2,3 and 243 Kt grading 7.82 g/t Au (~61,000 oz Au) across the RJ zone^2,4) within six known mineralized zones, each open for expansion along strike and at depth. Formation is drilling N2 under a fully funded 75,000 metre program, with a maiden mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 targeted for Q1 2027.

FORMATION METALS INC.

Deepak Varshney, CEO and Director

For more information, please call 778-899-1780, email dvarshney@formationmetalsinc.com or visit www.formationmetalsinc.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notes and References:

1. Readers are cautioned that the geology of nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of the geology of the Property.
2. The above referenced resource estimates do not have a category, are considered historical in nature, and are based on prior data prepared by a previous property owner, and do not conform to current CIM categories.
   
   While the Company considers the estimates to be reliable, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current resources in accordance with current CIM categories and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as a current resource. A 0.5 g/t Au cut-off was used in the preparation of the historical estimates with a minimum 2.5 metre mining width.
   
   Significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling and data verification may be required by a qualified person before the historical estimates can be classified as current resources. There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resources, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company is not aware of any more recent estimates prepared for the N2 Property.
   
3. Needham, B. (1994), 1993 Diamond Drill Report, Northway Joint Venture, Northway Property; Cypress Canada Inc.; 492 pages.
4. Guy K. (1991), Exploration Summary May 1, 1990 to May 1, 1991 Vezza Joint Venture Northway Property; Total Energold; 227 pages.

Forward-looking statements:

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including, without limitation, statements regarding the appointment of Mr. Salman to the Company's Advisory Board and the anticipated benefits of that appointment; the Company's plans for N2 and the expected timing and scope of the drilling program at N2; the expected timing of a maiden mineral resource estimate; and the Company's ability to broaden its shareholder base and access capital.

Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date of this news release. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the proposed drilling program at N2; the risk that final regulatory approvals may not be obtained in a timely manner or at all; market conditions; changes in commodity prices; availability of financing; exploration results; and general economic, market, business, political and social conditions.

Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and that actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Company is presently an exploration stage company. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks, requires substantial expenditures, and may not result in the discovery of mineral deposits that can be mined profitably. Furthermore, the Company currently has no reserves on any of its properties. As a result, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

SOURCE: Formation Metals Inc.