Winton Led the Successful Restart of America’s Newest Copper Mine, Johnson Camp, Within One Year of Breaking Ground

Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU) (OTCQB: GCUMF) (FSE: 3XS0) America’s newest copper producer, is pleased to announce the promotion of Robert Winton to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately.

Mr. Winton has been with the Company since August 2020, serving as Senior Vice President Operations and General Manager. He has played a pivotal role in transforming the Johnson Camp Mine from care-and-maintenance into a fully operational mine, culminating in first copper production and commercial sales in 2025, establishing Gunnison as a new U.S. copper producer.

“Robert’s promotion is a well-deserved recognition of his exceptional leadership and operational expertise,” stated Stephen Twyerould, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gunnison Copper. “Under his direction, the team brought the Johnson Camp Mine into production within a year of breaking ground – an extraordinary achievement that reflects his unwavering dedication to operational discipline, safety, and execution excellence. His leadership has been instrumental in embedding a culture of accountability, performance, and safety across our operations.”

As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Winton will oversee all site operations, project development, and integration of upcoming work programs across the Company. He will also continue to advance collaboration with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture, with first copper production using their advanced bio-leaching technologies expected later this year.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the Johnson Camp team deliver America’s newest source of copper cathode,” said Robert Winton, Chief Operating Officer. “I’m proud of the disciplined foundation we’ve built and excited to lead Gunnison’s next phase of growth as we expand production and help secure America’s domestic copper supply.”

Mr. Winton brings more than 25 years of experience in mining operations, technical services, and project execution, having previously held senior operational roles with several North American base-metal producers, including Hudbay Minerals, prior to joining Gunnison Copper.

ABOUT GUNNISON COPPER

Gunnison Copper Corp. is a multi-asset pure-play copper developer and producer that controls the Cochise Mining District (the 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 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource containing over 831.6 million tons with a total copper grade of 0.31% (Measured Mineral Resource of 191.3 million tons at 0.37% and Indicated Mineral Resource of 640.2 million tons at 0.29%), and a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) yielding robust economics including an NPV8% of $1.3Billion, IRR of 20.9%, and payback period of 4.1 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 Strong and Harris, South Star, and eight other deposits.