Highland Copper Closes Sale of 34% Interest in White Pine for US$30 Million

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Highland Copper Company Inc. (TSXV: HI; OTCQB: HDRSF) (“Highland Copper” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce, further to its press releases dated November 25, 2025 and January 13, 2026, that it has completed the sale (the “Transaction”) of the Company’s 34% interest in the White Pine North Project (“White Pine“) to its joint venture partner, Kinterra Copper USA LLC (“Kinterra“), for aggregate consideration of US$30.1 million, pursuant to a definitive Membership Interest Purchase Agreement dated January 12, 2026 (the “Agreement”).

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The total consideration consisted of US$18.3 million in cash, net of the outstanding principal and accrued interest on the loan made by Kinterra to the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Upper Peninsula Copper Holdings Inc., which was a total of US$11.8 million at closing.

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Proceeds from the sale of White Pine will be used to fund planned Copperwood Project activities, eliminate the existing debt to Kinterra, pay for the costs of the Transaction, and for general working capital.

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“In divesting our non-controlling stake in White Pine, we are pleased to demonstrate a clear focus on our 100% owned, fully permitted Copperwood Project,” said Barry O’Shea, CEO of Highland Copper. “The divestment serves to eliminate debt and capitalize Copperwood to a construction decision. With the proceeds, we look forward to progressing detailed engineering, construction readiness and project financing through 2026.”

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Concurrently with the Transaction the Company entered into an amendment to the Silver Royalty Option with OR Royalties Inc. on the Copperwood Project that is generally consistent with the Silver Royalty Option already in place. Pursuant to the Silver Royalty Option, OR Royalties has the option to increase its NSR royalty on silver produced from the Copperwood Project from 11.5% to 100% by paying the Company US$3.0 million on December 31, 2027, subject to certain conditions and the right of OR Royalties to extend the time for the payment by one year.

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Moelis & Company LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Company in connection with the Transaction and received a fee compliant with the TSXV policies. McMillan LLP acted as legal advisor to the Company.

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Refiling of Financial Statements

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On February 26, 2026 the Company refiled its interim financial statements for the three and six months ended December 31, 2025 to correct the comparative financial information in the Statement of Changes in Equity to include the balance as at December 31, 2024.

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About Highland Copper Company

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Highland Copper Company Inc. is a Canadian company focused on exploring and developing copper projects in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S.A. The Company also owns surface rights securing access to the Copperwood deposit and providing space for infrastructure at Copperwood as required. The Company has 738,188,122 common shares issued and outstanding. Its common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “HI” and trade on the OTCQB Venture Market under symbol “HDRSF”.

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