VANCOUVER, British Columbia, November 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Imperial Metals Corporation (“Imperial” or the “Company”) (TSX:III) is pleased to announce that all nine holes of the 2025 Huckleberry diamond drilling program, totaling 1,743 meters in depth, intersected copper, molybdenum, silver and gold mineralization. Hole MZ-25-1 intersected an elevated gold interval of 22.6 meters grading 0.23 g/t gold from 73.7 to 96.3 metres.
The Huckleberry mine (100% owned by Imperial), located in west-central British Columbia, operated from 1997 until 2016, when it was suspended due to low copper prices. Although the mine is currently inactive, it remains an exploration target for the Company.
The 2025 diamond drilling program at the Huckleberry Mine tested little-explored territory southwest of the Main Zone pit. The inclined diamond drill holes were designed to intersect the southern contact between the Main Zone intrusive stock and the surrounding volcanic host rock. Historically, the bulk of the ore mined in the Main Zone was located near this contact in the volcanic rocks east and northeast of the Main Zone stock. Drilling in 2025 will expand and fill the Main Zone mineral resource in the southwest. The program was able to uncover some higher quality minerals at relatively shallow depths.
Historical drilling (prior to 2020) at the Huckleberry deposit did not test for gold or silver. However, gold and silver were recovered and present at estimated levels in all copper concentrate produced at Huckleberry. The gold and silver assay results from the 2025 drilling, as well as re-sampling from 18 historical holes from the Main Zone, will be incorporated into the Main Zone deposit block model and will allow gold and silver values to be integrated into mine planning.
Significant intervals include:
| Hole ID | From (m) | House) | Width (m) | Cu% | Mo% | Ag (g/t) | Au (g/t) |
| MZ-25-1 | 73.7 | 126.4 | 52.7 | 0.50 | 0.005 | 1.80 | 0.14 |
| including | 73.7 | 96.3 | 22.6 | 0.81 | 0.007 | 2.51 | 0.23 |
| MZ-25-2 | 48.0 | 157.5 | 109.5 | 0.21 | 0.020 | 1.18 | 0.08 |
| MZ-25-3 | 51.0 | 201.0 | 150.0 | 0.24 | 0.007 | 2.40 | 0.05 |
| MZ-25-4 | 42.5 | 132.0 | 89.5 | 0.37 | 0.011 | 1.07 | 0.06 |
| including | 42.5 | 105.0 | 62.5 | 0.48 | 0.011 | 1.41 | 0.08 |
| MZ-25-5 | 55.0 | 234.0 | 179.0 | 0.28 | 0.005 | 1.95 | 0.06 |
| including | 142.5 | 217.5 | 75.0 | 0.35 | 0.005 | 3.08 | 0.06 |
| MZ-25-6 | 45.0 | 87.0 | 42.0 | 0.22 | 0.002 | 0.79 | 0.05 |
| MZ-25-7A | 96.0 | 354.0 | 258.0 | 0.22 | 0.011 | 1.61 | 0.08 |
| including | 197.5 | 270.0 | 72.5 | 0.41 | 0.012 | 3.66 | 0.16 |
| MZ-25-8 | 100.0 | 234.0 | 134.0 | 0.32 | 0.010 | 1.54 | 0.07 |
| MZ-25-10 | 72.0 | 204.0 | 132.0 | 0.32 | 0.006 | 1.28 | 0.05 |
| including | 142.5 | 190.0 | 47.5 | 0.45 | 0.005 | 1.68 | 0.08 |
Most of the mineralization resulting from drilling in 2025 is concentrated in the volcanic rocks surrounding the Main Zone stock, but some mineralization, particularly molybdenum, is preserved in the stock itself.
Additional drilling is being considered for 2026.
Figure 1: Layout map showing the Huckleberry Core Zone expansion pit relative to the new 2025 diamond drilling holes. Also shown is the section line A – B', which defines the location of Figure 2.
Figure 2: Section A–B' showing the interpreted geology of the section with new drilling (MZ-25-1 and MZ-25-7a). Looking West.
The Whiting Creek deposit is part of Huckleberry and is a significant copper-molybdenum exploration target located in west-central British Columbia.
At Whiting Creek, located 8.5 km north of the Huckleberry plant, three directional holes were drilled during the 2025 exploration program to a total depth of 1,870 meters. The prospect is a classic calc-alkaline porphyry system associated with the Bulkley plutonic formation, similar in style to Huckleberry, and centered on the biotite-rich Whiting Creek stock.
Drillholes WC-25-1 and WC-25-2 were staggered and targeted a historical copper ground anomaly east of the Creek zone. Both holes intersected broad zones of low-grade copper-molybdenum mineralization.
Well CW-25-006, drilled west of the Creek Zone, continues the 2023 drilling effort. This hole intersected predominantly andesitic volcanic rocks, cut by diorite plagioclase porphyry dikes and granodiorite dikes.
Copper-molybdenum mineralization is widespread both within the Whiting Creek stock and in surrounding volcanic rocks. The system remains open to the east, west, south and at depth with locally elevated molybdenum grades, such as the 12.5 meter interval grading 0.16% mo at 352.5 meters in hole WC-25-002.
Jim Miller-Tate, P.Geo., Imperial's Vice President of Exploration, reviewed this press release as a qualified person as designated by National Instrument 43-101 for the Huckleberry and Whiting Creek exploration programs.
The reported samples were analyzed at Activation Laboratories Ltd., located in Kamloops. All diamond drill samples submitted to the laboratory were subject to a full quality assurance/quality control program using blanks, standards and duplicates. Significant analysis intervals reported are apparent widths. There is insufficient geological information to confirm the geological model and the true width of significant sampling intervals.
About Imperial
Imperial is a Vancouver-based mining exploration, development and operations company whose assets include the Mount Polly Mine (100%), the Huckleberry Mine (100%) and the Red Chris Mine (30%). Imperial also owns a portfolio of 23 exploration properties in British Columbia.
Company contacts
Brian Kinoch | President | 604.669.8959
Jim Miller-Tate | Vice President of Intelligence | [email protected]
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this press release is not a statement of historical fact but is intended to be a “forward-looking” statement. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future results and reflect the Company's management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's expectations with respect to current and planned exploration drilling programs at the Huckleberry Mine, including the Whiting Creek prospect; the planned inclusion of gold and silver assays from 2025 drilling and re-sampling of 18 historical holes from the Main Zone into the Main Zone block model, and the integration of associated gold and silver values into mine planning; the likelihood that surrounding altered volcanic rocks will contain mineralization; and expanding mineralization and exploration potential at the Huckleberry and Whiting Creek mines.
In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “expects”, “outlook”, “budget”, “planned”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “intends”, “expects” or “does not expect”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “will”, “could” or “would” accepted”, “will occur” or “will be achieved” or the negative meanings of these terms or comparable terminology. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In making forward-looking statements in this press release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions based on information currently available to the Company and the Company's current beliefs and assumptions. These factors, assumptions, beliefs and assumptions include risk factors that are described in detail from time to time in the Company's annual information form, interim and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of those reports, all of which are filed and viewable on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as expected, estimated or intended, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and all forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements.
The figures accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ecfd943c-90c4-4fcd-8a33-7df0ab0819ea
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ea4dcad3-fa6c-493e-99ab-1aadf9c3b6d5
