Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU) (OTCQB: GCUMF) (FSE: 3XS0) is pleased to announce that its Johnson Camp Mine in Cochise County, Arizona, achieved commercial production in September 2026, following record monthly copper production in August and continued production above the required operating threshold through the first half of September.

Johnson Camp produced 1,304,448 pounds of copper cathode in August 2026, representing the highest monthly production since operations restarted. Production continued at strong levels in September, with 894,767 pounds of copper cathode produced through September 17, 2026. The sustained operating performance achieved during September supports the Company’s determination that Johnson Camp has reached commercial production.

Production Highlights

• August 2026 copper cathode production: 1,304,448 lbs
• September 1–17, 2026 copper cathode production: 894,767 lbs
• Commercial production achieved: September 2026
• Johnson Camp has a nameplate production capacity of up to 25 million pounds of copper cathode per year, which the Company is ramping up to

Craig Hallworth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gunnison Copper, commented:

“Achieving commercial production at Johnson Camp is an important milestone for Gunnison and reflects the tremendous effort of our team and our partners at Nuton. Following record production of more than 1.3 million pounds of copper in August, the continued operating performance through September demonstrates the progress we have made in establishing sustained operations at Johnson Camp.

“More importantly, Johnson Camp is delivering on Gunnison’s mission to produce and reliably supply Pure American Copper from Southern Arizona. Our copper is mined and converted into finished copper cathode at site, providing domestically produced metal to support America’s defense, energy, and technology supply chains. We are proud of what the team has accomplished and look forward to continuing the ramp-up toward Johnson Camp’s full production capacity.”

Pure American Copper

Johnson Camp produces 99.999% pure copper cathode directly from American ore in Arizona, providing a domestic source of finished copper metal without the need for offshore smelting and refining.

Achieving commercial production at Johnson Camp represents another significant milestone for Gunnison, as the Company continues to ramp up operations toward its nameplate capacity of up to 25 million pounds of copper cathode annually, while advancing its flagship Gunnison Project toward development.

ABOUT GUNNISON COPPER

Gunnison Copper Corp. is a multi-asset pure-play copper developer and producer that controls the Cochise Mining District, containing 12 known deposits within an 8 km economic radius, in the Southern Arizona Copper Belt.

Its flagship asset, the Gunnison Copper Project, has a main pit Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource containing over 846 million tons with a total copper grade of 0.33% containing 5.19 billion pounds of copper (Measured Mineral Resource of 192 million tons at 0.37% containing 1.42 billion pounds of copper and Indicated Mineral Resource of 655 million tons at 0.31% containing 3.77 billion pounds of copper).

The Strong & Harris satellite deposit, located approximately 1.9 miles from the Gunnison processing facilities, is also included in the mine plan and hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 76 million tons grading 0.49% total copper (0.32% CuOx) at a 0.07% cutoff, 0.56% zinc and 0.12 oz/ton silver, containing approximately 740 million pounds of copper, including 483 million pounds of oxide copper, as well as zinc (856 million pounds) and silver (9.0 million ounces).

A preliminary economic assessment was completed in March 2026 for the Gunnison Project yielding robust economics including an NPV8% of $2 billion, IRR of 23%, and payback period of 3.9 years. It is being developed as a conventional operation with open pit mining, heap leach, and SX/EW refinery to produce finished copper cathode on-site with direct rail link. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

In addition, Gunnison’s Johnson Camp Asset, which is now in production, is fully funded by Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto Venture, with a production capacity of up to 25 million lbs of finished copper cathode annually.

Other significant deposits controlled by Gunnison in the district, with potential to be economic satellite feeder deposits for Gunnison Project infrastructure, include South Star, and eight other deposits.

For more information on the Company, please visit our website at www.GunnisonCopper.com.

For additional information on the Gunnison Project please refer to the technical report titled “Gunnison Project NI 43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Cochise County, Arizona, USA” with an effective date of March 18, 2026 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

For additional information on the Johnson Camp Mine please refer to the technical report titled “Johnson Camp Mine NI 43-101 Technical Report, Cochise County, Arizona, USA” with an effective date of March 18, 2026 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Dr. Roland Goodgame, Senior VP of Project Development of the Company is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Dr. Goodgame has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.