Aurion Intersects High Grade Gold at Kaaresselkä, Risti property

• Drill intercepts include 10.93 g/t Au over 5.00 m, 1.68 g/t Au over 13.00 m, 3.73 g/t Au over 4.45 m, 1.32 g/t Au over 9.35 m
• Results pending for over 15 holes, drilling ongoing
• KoBold Metals: USD$1,000,000 minimum exploration expenditure completed

ST. JOHN'S, NL, Jan. 19, 2026 /CNW/ - Aurion Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AU) (OTCQX: AIRRF) ("Aurion" or the "Company") announces results for five holes drilled at the Kaaresselkä area of the wholly owned Risti property, located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in northern Finland.

Summary

• Gold mineralized system at Kaaresselkä (Vanha prospect) continues to grow
  • 10.93 g/t Au over 5.00 m from 289.90 m and 1.68 g/t Au over 13.00 m from 308.90 m (KS25141)
    • Approximately 100 m below 1.06 g/t Au over 3.95 m from 202.50 m (KS25112) and 150 m below 2.96 g/t Au over 16.25 m from 135.75 m (KS24092)
  • 3.73 g/t Au over 4.45 m from 246.75 m (KS25142)
    • Approximately 80 m below 2.94 g/t Au over 1.50 m from 128.50 m and 1.58 g/t Au over 0.70 m from 157.10 m (KS25096)
  • 1.32 g/t Au over 9.35 m from 342.80 m (KS25143)
    • Approximately 120 m below 3.33 g/t Au over 2.70 m from 216.00 m and 3.07 g/t Au over 1.40 m from 232.00 m (KS24088)
  • All holes intersected gold mineralization within wide zones of altered and deformed metavolcanic and metasedimentary lithologies
  • High grade copper intercept: 4.87% Cu and 0.93 g/t Au over 1.90 m from 88.00 m (KS25132)
    • Copper-gold mineralization hosted within mafic intrusive rock south of the main gold mineralized trend at Vanha
• Results pending for over 15 holes, drilling ongoing
  • Focus on testing the potential extensions of the mineralized system at Kaaresselkä and selected scout drill targets within the 175 km² Risti property.
• KoBold Metals – Aurion Critical Minerals Exploration Agreement
  • USD$1,000,000 minimum exploration expenditure completed (see PR Mar 19, 2025)
  • An extensive base of till and bedrock sampling program ongoing (see PR Sep 24, 2025)

Comments
"The progress at the Kaaresselkä area during 2025 was highly encouraging. The strike of the mineralized system at the Vanha prospect was extended from 600 m to 1,400 m and high-grade gold has been intersected from surface to 250 m depth," commented Matti Talikka, CEO of Aurion. "The ongoing drill program is designed to provide further evidence on the scale of the Vanha mineralized system that remains open in multiple directions, and to test selected scout targets within the extensive Risti property."

To view figures associated with this release please go to: https://aurionresources.com/site/assets/files/1600/nr26-01figures.pdf

Kaaresselkä area
Results for five holes, totaling 1,596.40 m, drilled at the Vanha prospect in the Kaaresselkä area located in the southern part of Aurion's 100% owned Risti property (Figures 1-5) are being reported herein (Table 1). The holes targeted interpreted structural features with an aim to identify and/or extend the gold mineralized system. All holes intersected zones of strongly deformed and hydrothermally altered rocks associated with gold mineralization.

The recent results are interpreted to extend the mineralized system approximately 100 m below previously intersected mineralization in several profiles. The gold mineralized system at Vanha is interpreted to extend over 1,400 m along strike and to at least 250 m depth. The gold mineralization is open along strike and at depth. The results reported in this press release and the scout drill holes, which intersected gold 1.8 km to the west and 600 m to the east of the Vanha prospect (press release Nov 13, 2023), highlight the potential for an extensive gold mineralized system in the Kaaresselkä area.

The Kaaresselkä area is located 15 km east of the recent Vuoma discovery (28.64 g/t Au over 4.90 m) by Aurion-B2Gold JV, along the mainly unexplored, structural corridor that extends over 25 km within Aurion's fully owned Risti property and the JV property with B2Gold.

The gold mineralization at Vanha is mainly hosted by highly deformed and altered (silica, sericite, albite) mafic volcanic and metasedimentary rocks with minor to moderate amounts of fine-grained sulphide minerals including pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite and arsenopyrite in varying quantities. The higher-grade intervals are mainly hosted within silicified and brecciated zones with a moderate amount of sulphide minerals. Elevated levels of base metals and platinum-palladium have been encountered in several holes.

The initial mineralogical and metallurgical test work on two samples from the Vanha prospect (Kaaresselkä) demonstrated high recoveries (>93.6%) from bottle roll leaching tests, confirming predominantly free-milling gold and amenability to industry standard processing methods (press release June 3, 2025).

The geologic setting and the style of mineralization at Kaaresselkä resembles several recent and past discoveries such as Helmi (16 km from the Vanha prospect, Aurion-B2Gold JV) and Ikkari (14 km from the Vanha prospect, Rupert Resources) as well as the past producing Saattopora mine.

Drill hole descriptions
Drill hole KS25140 is located in the eastern Vanha area, collared 40 m north of KS25099, drilled to the south and targeted potential mineralization below hole KS25099 (1.71 g/t Au over 22.00 m from 126.20 m). KS25140 intersected two mineralized intervals including 0.61 g/t Au over 17.80 m from 216.80 m. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered. Mineralization in KS25140 was intersected approximately 75 m below mineralization in KS25099.

Drill hole KS25141 is located in the eastern Vanha area, collared 42 m north of KS24092, drilled to the south and targeted potential mineralization below holes KS24092 (2.96 g/t Au over 16.25 m from 135.75 m), KS25112 (0.95 g/t Au over 3.95 m from 202.50 m) and west of KS25111 (4.42 g/t Au over 32.55 m from 267.80 m and 4.29 g/t Au over 4.45 m from 308.55 m). KS25141 intersected several mineralized intervals such as 10.93 g/t Au over 5.00 m from 289.90 m (Figure 5) and 1.68 g/t Au over 13.00 m from 308.90 m. Visible gold grains were observed in several sample intervals. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered. Mineralization in KS25141 was intersected approximately 100 m below mineralization in KS25112, 150 m below mineralization in KS24092, and 40 m west of mineralization in KS25111 (Figure 3).

Drill hole KS25142 is located in the eastern Vanha area, collared 38 m north of KS25096, drilled to the south and targeted potential mineralization below hole KS25096 (2.94 g/t Au over 1.50 m from 128.50 m and 1.58 g/t Au over 0.70 m from 157.10 m). KS25142 intersected a mineralized interval of 3.73 g/t Au over 4.45 m from 246.75 m. Visible gold grains were observed in several sample intervals. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered. Mineralization in KS25142 was intersected approximately 80 m below mineralization in KS25096.

Drill hole KS25143 is located in the eastern Vanha area, collared 80 m north of KS25100, drilled to the south and targeted potential mineralization below KS24088 (3.33 g/t Au over 2.70 m from 216.00 m and 3.07 g/t Au over 1.40 m from 232.00 m). KS25143 intersected several mineralized intervals including 1.32 g/t Au over 9.35 m from 342.80 m. Visible gold grains were observed in several sample intervals. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered. Mineralization in KS25143 was intersected approximately 120 m below mineralization in KS24088.

Drill hole KS25144 is located in the eastern Vanha area, collared 50 m north of KS25114, drilled to the south and targeted potential mineralization below KS25114 (0.60 g/t Au over 2.85 m from 60.45 m). KS25144 intersected 0.24 g/t Au over 1.00 m from 209.90 m. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control
All drill core samples were delivered to the ALS preparation facility in Sodankylä, Finland where sample preparation work was completed. All analytical work was completed at ALS facilities in Loughrea, Ireland and Rosia Montana, Romania. ALS is an internationally accredited lab and is ISO compliant (ISO 9001:2008, ISO/IEC 17025:2005). Samples were analyzed for gold using either the Au-AA26 procedure (50 g fire assay with AAS finish: Lower Detection Limit ("LDL") 0.01 g/t gold; Upper Detection Limit ("UDL") 100 g/t gold) or they were analyzed for gold, platinum and palladium using the PGM-ICP24 procedure (50 g fire assay with ICP-AES finish: LDL 0.001 g/t gold, 0.005 g/t platinum, 0.001 g/t palladium; UDL 10 g/t gold, 10 g/t platinum, 10 g/t palladium) or the PGM-ICP23 procedure (30 g fire assay with ICP-AES finish: LDL 0.001 g/t gold, 0.005 g/t platinum, 0.001 g/t palladium; UDL 10 g/t gold, 10 g/t platinum, 10 g/t palladium). Select samples were analyzed by Au-SCR24 1kg, Screen Fire Assay Au (0.05-1,000 ppm) by 1kg screen fire assay (50 g nominal sample weight). The sample pulp (1kg) is passed through a 100-micron stainless steel screen. Any material remaining on the screen (>100 micron) is retained and analyzed in its entirety by fire assay with gravimetric finish and reported as the Au (+) fraction. The material passing through the screen (<100 micron) is homogenized and two sub-samples are analyzed by fire assay with AAS finish. The average of the two AAS results is taken and reported as the Au (-) fraction result. All three values are used in calculating the combined gold content of the plus and minus fractions. The gold values for both the (+) 100 and (-) 100 micron fractions are reported together with the weight of each fraction as well as the calculated total gold content of the sample. Multi-element analysis (ME-ICP61, four-acid digestion, 35 element ICP-AES) was completed on all samples. Certified standards and blanks were inserted every 10 samples. ALS has its own QA/QC protocol using standards, blanks and duplicates.

This news release has been reviewed by Andrew Hussey, P.Geo., GIS Geologist and Database Manager for Aurion Resources, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. For more information on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com.

About Aurion Resources Ltd.
Aurion Resources Ltd. (Aurion) is a well-funded, Canadian exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: AU) and the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: AIRRF). Aurion's strategy is to generate or acquire early-stage precious metals exploration opportunities and advance them through direct exploration by our experienced team or by business partnerships and joint venture arrangements. Aurion's current focus is exploring on its Risti project, as well as advancing its joint venture properties with B2Gold Corp., Kinross Gold and KoBold Metals in Finland.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Matti Talikka, CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 

SOURCE Aurion Resources Ltd.

For further information, please contact: Mark Santarossa, Vice President, Corporate Development, Cell: +1 (416) 371-1325, Email: msantarossa@aurionresources.ca