VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Imperial Metals Corporation (TSX:III) (the "Company" or "Imperial") has reported its financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. The Company's consolidated production for the second quarter of 2026 totalled 8,759,242 pounds of copper and 11,226 ounces of gold. The quarter's permitting milestones come amid growing global demand for copper, a metal widely recognized as essential to electrification, renewable energy infrastructure, and electric vehicle manufacturing.

President Brian Kynoch said, "We completed a very strategic quarter for Imperial as both mines, Mount Polley and Red Chris, received key authorizations that extend their permitted mine life. At Mount Polley, we worked through some lower grade ore to position the operation for access to higher grade mineralization that will be exposed for mining later this year. Supported by good copper and gold prices, we continued investing in our operations even during this period of lower grades from both mines. The permits received for the tailing dam raise at Mount Polley and transition to block cave mining at Red Chris position the Company to deliver returns in the coming years."

Financial Results

Total revenue for the June 2026 quarter was $166.5 million, down from $175.8 million in the comparative quarter of 2025. During the quarter, the Mount Polley mine recorded 1.0 concentrate shipments, compared to 1.9 in the prior-year period. The Red Chris mine (on a 100% basis) recorded 4.0 concentrate shipments, compared to 5.0 in Q2 2025. Revenue fluctuations reflect the timing and volume of concentrate shipments, metal prices, exchange rates, and period-end revaluations of revenue tied to shipments whose copper and gold prices settle at future dates.

As of June 30, 2026, the Company had not hedged any copper, gold, or US/CDN dollar exposure.

Revenue revaluation for the June 2026 quarter was $4.6 million, up from $2.2 million in the comparative 2025 quarter. These revaluations result from metal price changes between initial revenue recognition and the settlement or balance sheet date, along with adjustments to payable metal quantities following final assay results.

Net income for the June 2026 quarter was $22.0 million ($0.12 per share), down from $40.6 million ($0.25 per share) in the 2025 comparative quarter. The $18.6 million decrease in net income was primarily driven by:

• Income from mine operations falling to $47.3 million from $81.3 million year-over-year, a decrease of $34.0 million, partially offset by:
  • Net interest expense decreasing to $3.6 million from $6.8 million, adding $3.2 million to net income.
  • Tax expense decreasing to $13.5 million from $26.5 million, adding $13.0 million to net income.

Capital expenditures, including leases, totalled $67.0 million in the June 2026 quarter, up $2.9 million from $64.1 million in the comparable 2025 period. The Q2 2026 spending included $29.8 million for exploration and development, $12.4 million for tailings dam construction, and $24.8 million for other capital expenditures.

Operations Overview

For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, Imperial's consolidated metal production was approximately 8.8 million pounds of copper (Q2 2025: 16.5 million pounds) and 11,226 ounces of gold (Q2 2025: 17,848 ounces).

Mount Polley Mine

Mount Polley produced 3.382 million pounds of copper and 6,848 ounces of gold in Q2 2026, compared to 9.496 million pounds of copper and 11,061 ounces of gold in Q2 2025. Copper production declined 64% and gold production fell 38% year-over-year, driven by lower grades, recoveries, and throughput. Throughput averaged 18,498 tonnes per day, down from 19,331 tonnes per day in Q2 2025. However, compared to Q1 2026, throughput improved 12%, though copper production was down 23% and gold production declined 10%.

Mill feed in Q2 2026 was sourced 44% from the Springer pit Phase 5 pushback, supplemented by 15% from Phase 4 and the C2 pit, with the remaining 41% drawn from lower-grade stockpiles. This high proportion of low-grade stockpile material resulted in reduced copper and gold grades being processed. The Company expects higher-grade Phase 5 material to reach the mill by the fourth quarter of 2026, which should reduce or eliminate the need to process lower-grade stockpiles.

Stripping for the Phase 5 pushback continued during the quarter, with approximately 6.032 million tonnes of rock mined from this area. Roughly 2.725 million tonnes of non-acid-generating rock from the pushback were delivered to the tailings storage facility embankment for buttress construction. The tailings dam raise permit is particularly significant for Mount Polley, which was the site of a tailings dam breach in August 2014 — one of the largest environmental mining incidents in Canadian history — and has since been subject to heightened regulatory and community scrutiny of its tailings infrastructure.

Exploration Program: Diamond drilling resumed in February 2026, following up on successful results from the first Mount Polley drilling campaign in over a decade, targeting the Bell Pit area. Since February, 41 diamond drill holes totalling 8,620 metres have been completed, focusing on the historic Bell Pit area and the lateral and depth expansion of the Cariboo Zone.

Exploration, development, and capital expenditures at Mount Polley for Q2 2026 were $30.3 million, compared to $33.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

Red Chris Mine

Red Chris is operated as a joint venture in which Imperial holds a 30% interest and Newmont Corporation holds the remaining 70%, acquired through Newmont's 2023 acquisition of Newcrest Mining. Red Chris production (100% basis) for Q2 2026 was 17.924 million pounds of copper and 14,591 ounces of gold, down from 23.479 million pounds of copper and 22,624 ounces of gold in Q2 2025. Copper production declined 24% and gold production fell 36% year-over-year.

The copper production decrease was driven by an 18% decline in copper grade (0.45% vs. 0.55%), partially mitigated by higher recovery and offset by lower throughput. Gold production fell due to lower gold grade in mill feed (0.35 g/t vs. 0.49 g/t) and lower throughput, with gold recovery remaining comparable (59.4% vs. 60.0%).

Both copper and gold production remain on track to meet 2026 budgeted output. The 2026 guidance for Red Chris (100%) is maintained at 60.0–66.0 million pounds of copper and 47,500–52,500 ounces of gold.

Imperial's 30% share of Red Chris production for Q2 2026 was 5.377 million pounds of copper and 4,377 ounces of gold. Imperial's 30% share of exploration, development, and capital expenditures was $35.0 million, up from $30.2 million in the 2025 comparative quarter.

Block Cave Feasibility Study: The Red Chris block cave expansion feasibility study is advancing, with key permits secured through approval from both the Province of British Columbia and the Tahltan First Nation. Block cave mining is a high-volume underground method that enables extraction of large, lower-grade ore bodies that may be uneconomic with conventional open-pit techniques. Completion of the feasibility study and, subject to outcomes, joint venture approval are expected in the second half of 2026.

Exploration Program: Three diamond drills operated at Red Chris during the quarter — one underground rig for geotechnical data and two surface rigs conducting geotechnical work for the proposed block cave and exploration in the Far West zone. Additional surface drilling will continue in the Far West zone before the rig moves to explore the South Boundary fault offset Main zone target. Surface exploration will also continue outside known zones along the strike of the Red Chris porphyry stock.

Huckleberry Mine

Huckleberry has remained on care and maintenance since operations ceased in August 2016.

Following a successful 2025 drilling program southwest of the Main Zone Pit — where all nine drillholes intersected copper, molybdenum, silver, and gold mineralization — a re-assaying program of available historic core for gold and silver was completed. A follow-up 2026 drilling program added 22 diamond drill holes, all of which intersected significant copper, molybdenum, silver, and gold mineralization.

The Company has begun preliminary work on restart costs and is targeting a completed reopening plan by the end of 2026, incorporating a mine plan optimized with the new drilling data.

For the June 2026 quarter, Huckleberry incurred $2.6 million in idle mine operating costs, compared to $1.7 million in operating costs and $0.3 million in depreciation expense in Q2 2025. Exploration, development, and capital expenditures were $0.9 million, up from $0.1 million in Q2 2025.

Technical Information

The technical and scientific information related to the Company's mineral projects has been reviewed and approved by Steve Robertson, P.Geo., Imperial's Vice President of Corporate Development and a designated Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company reports four non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA, cash earnings, and cash cost per pound of copper produced. These measures are not standardized under IFRS Accounting Standards and may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other issuers.

Adjusted Net Income: Adjusted net income, derived by removing gains or losses from property acquisition and disposal (net of tax), unrealized foreign exchange gains or losses on long-term debt (net of tax), and other non-recurring items, was $22.6 million ($0.13 per share) in Q2 2026, compared to $40.6 million ($0.25 per share) in Q2 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA: Defined as net income before interest expense, taxes, depletion and depreciation, adjusted for certain other items, Adjusted EBITDA was $70.0 million in Q2 2026, down from $99.5 million in Q2 2025.

Cash Earnings: Cash earnings, defined as cash flow from operations before the net change in non-cash working capital balances, income and mining taxes paid, and interest paid, totalled $69.2 million ($0.39 per share) in Q2 2026, compared to $97.7 million ($0.60 per share) in Q2 2025.

Cash Cost Per Pound of Copper Produced: Management uses this measure to monitor operating costs and profitability at Mount Polley and Red Chris (30% share), as well as on a composite basis. Period-to-period variations reflect factors including grade, metal recoveries, stripping charged to operations, mine and mill conditions, labour and cost inputs, transportation and warehousing costs, treatment and refining costs, by-product revenues, the US$ to CDN$ exchange rate, and copper production volumes.

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For detailed information, refer to Imperial's 2026 Second Quarter Management's Discussion and Analysis, available on imperialmetals.com and sedarplus.ca.

About Imperial

Imperial is a Vancouver-based exploration, mine development, and operating company with holdings including the Mount Polley mine (100%), the Huckleberry mine (100%), and the Red Chris mine (30%). The Company also holds a portfolio of 23 greenfield exploration properties in British Columbia.

Company Contacts:
Brian Kynoch, President, 604.669.8959
Darb S. Dhillon, Chief Financial Officer, 604.669.8959
Steve Robertson, Vice President Corporate Development, 604.669.8959

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information in this news release constitutes "forward-looking" statements that reflect management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. These include, but are not limited to: the extension of permitted mine life at Mount Polley and Red Chris following amendments to key authorizations; the expected delivery of higher-grade Phase 5 material to Mount Polley's mill in Q4 2026; expectations that Mount Polley will meet its 2026 production guidance; the expected completion of the Red Chris feasibility study and potential joint venture approval in the second half of 2026; planned drilling at Red Chris in the Far West zone and South Boundary fault offset Main zone target; ongoing work toward a Huckleberry reopening plan by end of 2026; and general expectations regarding business operations, metal pricing and demand, revenue fluctuations, production guidance, and the usefulness of non-IFRS financial measures.

Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "plans," "expects," "budget," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," or variations thereof. By their nature, these statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. The Company has based these statements on currently available information and current beliefs and assumptions, including hazards and risks disclosed in the "Risk Factors" section of its current Annual Information Form and other public filings available on SEDAR+ at sedarplus.ca. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated.