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TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2026 /CNW/ - Arizona Metals Corp. (TSX: AMC) (OTCQX: AZMCF) (the "Company" or "Arizona Metals") is pleased to announce assay results from nine drill holes from Kay Mine project (the "Kay Project") located in Yavapai County, Arizona.

Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO of Arizona Metals, comments: "We are encouraged by the continued intersection of mineralization in drill holes targeting areas beyond the Kay deposit. This is characteristic of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) systems, which commonly occur in clustered deposits, and supports our exploration strategy to systematically test the largely unexplored 10-kilometre strike length of highly prospective stratigraphy across the project. In addition, the Kay deposit continues to demonstrate strong geological continuity, and these latest drill results have the potential to meaningfully expand the overall resource volume."

David Smith, VP Exploration for Arizona Metals, said: "We continue to explore the extensive strike length of the prospective horizons at Kay, and we are pleased by the widespread evidence of mineralized systems on the property. These recent results show that the Northwest target warrants more drilling, and we have additional holes planned and underway."

Kay Deposit

• Within the Kay deposit, drill hole KM-25-195 intersected 22.4 m @ 1.1% CuEq in a shallow portion of the deposit where the MRE indicated that additional drilling was warranted (Figure 1). This drill hole proved continuity in this area of the deposit, which has the potential to add additional tonnage.

Kay North Extension

• KM-25-190 intersected 2.4 m @ 0.7% CuEq along the northern extension of the Kay mineralized horizon (Figure 2).

Northwest Target

• On the Northwest target, drill hole KM-25-197 intersected 0.3 m @ 0.9% CuEq. This hole was drilled to the east from Pad 15, into a previously untested portion of the prospective horizon on the property. It targeted a surface sample within a mapped mineral horizon that returned 3.2% Cu (Figure 3). Although narrow, this is an encouraging result in an unexplored area of the property.

The Company is fully funded and on track to deliver a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for its Kay Mine deposit during the first quarter of 2026. Ongoing exploration on the Kay project includes 2,000 m of drilling in the first quarter, a property-wide hyperspectral airborne survey, and AI studies to refine exploration targeting. Total drilling on the Kay project to date is approximately 145,000 meters.

Additionally, assays are pending for six drill holes from the Company's 5,000-meter reverse circulation drilling at the Company's Sugarloaf Peak Gold Project (the "Sugarloaf Peak Project") in La Paz County, Arizona. Results received to date have been positive, returning broad intervals of mineralization that have significantly expanded the deposit footprint along strike, at depth, and laterally. Building on these initial positive results, the Company is advancing a comprehensive exploration program designed to further evaluate existing data while incorporating modern exploration techniques. This work will include geophysical surveys (IP-resistivity, magnetics, and radiometrics), geochemical programs (systematic surface rock sampling and hyperspectral airborne survey) and AI -driven data analysis. The objective of the integrated exploration program is to combine all past data with new, consistent, deposit-scale data in order to optimize drill targeting for programs planned later in 2026.

Table 1. Results of Phase 3 Drill Program at the Kay Project, Yavapai County, Arizona announced in this news release.

About Arizona Metals Corp

Arizona Metals Corp owns 100% of the Kay Project in Yavapai County, which is located on 1669 acres of patented and BLM mining claims and 193 acres of private land that are not subject to any royalties. The Kay Mine Project contains a current mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 9.28 million tonnes grading 1.39 g/t Au, 27.6 g/t Ag, 0.97% Cu, 0.33% Pb, and 2.39% Zn in the Indicated category, and 0.86 million tonnes grading 1.06 g/t Au, 15.4 g/t Ag, 0.87% Cu, 0.20% Pb, and 1.68% Zn in the Inferred category, at a base-case cut-off grade of 1.00 % CuEq. Copper equivalent MRE grades are 9.28 million tonnes @ 3.18% CuEq in the Indicated category and 0.86 million tonnes @ 2.44% CuEq in the Inferred category. The Kay Project is a steeply dipping VMS deposit that has been defined from a depth of 60 m to at least 900 m. It is open for expansion on strike and at depth.

The Company also owns 100% of the Sugarloaf Peak Project, in La Paz County, which is located on 4,400 acres of BLM claims. The Sugarloaf Peak Project is a heap-leach, open-pit target and has a historic estimate of "100 million tons containing 1.5 million ounces gold" at a grade of 0.5 g/t (Dausinger, N.E., 1983, Phase 1 Drill Program and Evaluation of Gold-Silver Potential, Sugarloaf Peak Project, Quartzsite, Arizona: Report for Westworld Inc.)

The historic estimate at the Sugarloaf Peak Project was reported by Westworld Resources in 1983. The historic estimate has not been verified as a current mineral resource. None of the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare the historic estimate were reported, and no resource categories were used. Significant data compilation, re-drilling and data verification may be required by a Qualified Person before the historic estimate can be verified and upgraded to a current mineral resource. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify it as a current mineral resource, and Arizona Metals is not treating the historic estimate as a current mineral resource.

Qualified Person and Quality Assurance/Quality Control

All of Arizona Metals' drill sample assay results have been independently monitored through a quality assurance/quality control ("QA/QC") protocol which includes the insertion of blind standard reference materials and blanks at regular intervals. Logging and sampling were completed at Arizona Metals' core handling facilities located in Phoenix and Black Canyon City, Arizona. Drill core was diamond sawn on site and half drill-core samples were securely transported to ALS Laboratories' ("ALS") sample preparation facility in Tucson, Arizona. Sample pulps were sent to ALS's labs in Vancouver, Canada, and Reno, Nevada, for analysis.

Gold content was determined by fire assay of a 30-gram charge with ICP finish (ALS method Au-AA23). Silver and 32 other elements were analyzed by ICP methods with four-acid digestion (ALS method ME-ICP61a). Over-limit samples for Au, Ag, Cu, and Zn were determined by ore-grade analyses Au-GRA21, Ag-OG62, Cu-OG62, and Zn-OG62, respectively.

ALS Laboratories is independent of Arizona Metals Corp. and its Vancouver and Reno facilities are ISO 17025 accredited. ALS also performed its own internal QA/QC procedures to assure the accuracy and integrity of results. Parameters for ALS' internal and Arizona Metals' external blind quality control samples were acceptable for the samples analyzed. Arizona Metals is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.

The qualified person who reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this release is David Smith, CPG, a qualified person as defined in National Instrument43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Smith supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has reviewed and approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Smith is the Vice-President, Exploration of the Company. Mr. Smith supervised the drill program and verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical and QA/QC data, underlying the technical information in this news release, including reviewing the reports of ALS, methodologies, results, and all procedures undertaken for quality assurance and quality control in a manner consistent with industry practice, and all matters were consistent and accurate according to his professional judgement. There were no limitations on the verification process.

Disclaimer

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the expansion potential of the Kay Project, statements regarding drill results and future drilling of targets on the Kay Project, statements regarding Kay Project mineralization , statements regarding being fully funded to complete drilling at the Kay Project, statements regarding exploration activity, including drilling, at the Sugarloaf Peak Project,, and statements regarding the completion of the PEA in Q1 of 2026, or at all. In making the forward- looking statements contained in this press release, the Company has made certain assumptions. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: availability of the Company to stay well funded; delay or failure to receive required permits or regulatory approvals; and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward- looking statements or otherwise.

THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NEITHER REVIEWED NOR ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

www.arizonametalscorp.com

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SOURCE Arizona Metals Corp.

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