VANCOUVER, BC — February 19, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Amarc Resources Ltd. (TSXV:AHR0(OTCQB:AXREF) has announced assay results from the TWINS Discovery, located about 17 km southeast of the AuRORA Deposit. TWINS is the third discovery of a new copper-gold (Cu-Au) porphyry system at the JOY District.
The TWINS sulphide system forms the largest porphyry lithocap in the JOY District, larger than that hosting the AuRORA Deposit, according to Dr. Diane Nicolson, President and CEO. Lithocaps represent the top of a volcanic or magmatic system and can conceal copper-gold porphyry targets below. Comprehensive, science-based airborne and ground exploration surveys are used to see through these lithocaps and guide discovery-focused drilling.
The AuRORA and TWINS Discoveries are proof of exploration concept for lithocap exploration across the JOY District. The Amarc team believes the growing AuRORA Deposit is a Tier One asset in the making, with outstanding potential for the emerging development of a world class district in the Toodoggone region that could be similar to the Golden Triangle. Planning for the 2026 season is underway to continue to realize the full potential of the JOY District.
JOY District drilling in 2024 and 2025 totals 75 drill holes (32,264 m). Of this total, 44 holes (17,586 m) were completed at AuRORA and 31 holes (14,678 m) across the District.
Thirty-five holes (15,381 m) were drilled at JOY in 2025. All assay data has been released from drilling at the AuRORA Deposit, which extends that deposit over an area of 1.4 km by 800 m. The AuRORA Deposit remains wide open to drill expansion. The release reports final assay results from 10 holes (5,208 m) drilled across the JOY District in 2025.
TWINS is located on the 10 km long PINE Porphyry Trend, which also includes the PINE Deposit and the CANYON Discovery. The highly prospective TWINS porphyry target sulphide system is defined by an 8.5 km2 Induced Polarization (IP) chargeability geophysical anomaly. The lithocap target’s large footprint, extensive veneer of glacial overburden cover, anomalous Au intercepts from reconnaissance drill holes, and the 2025 results highlight the exploration potential for discovery of another porphyry Cu-Au deposit.
A single scout drill hole completed in 2021 (JP21004), the first ever drilled into the TWINS Target, intercepted 42 m at 0.19 g/t Au and 0.11% Cu, discovering porphyry-type Cu-Au mineralization. Another early and relatively shallow scout hole (JP22020) tested a magnetic high within the IP chargeability anomaly and intersected a broad 210 m geochemically anomalous interval with 0.14 g/t Au and 0.03% Cu from 12 m and is considered to be in proximity to a porphyry Cu-Au deposit. Follow up hole JP24051, drilled in 2024, was set back 187 m to the northeast and drilled on the same section but below JP22020: it returned encouraging intercepts of 124 m at 0.35 g/t Au and 0.13% Cu, including 57 m at 0.31 g/t Au and 0.11% Cu from 441 m with alteration and mineralization strengthening with depth.
Hole JP25106 drilled in 2025 targeted underneath holes JP24051 and JP22020, intercepting at depth – 300 m at 0.51 g/t Au and 0.23% Cu, including 243 m at 0.59 g/t Au and 0.26% Cu, 135 m at 0.86 g/t Au and 0.38% Cu and 45 m at 1.08 g/t Au and 0.47% Cu (Table 1). This mineralization is associated with potassic alteration and chalcopyrite mineralization hosted within the lower Toodoggone Formation. The grades in these intercepts are approaching those in some of the earlier holes at the Kemess East deposit such as hole KH-13-08 that intersected 601 m of 0.50 g/t Au and 0.39% Cu and KH-15-02 that intersected 301 m of 0.47 g/t Au and 0.39% Cu.
All holes completed in the 8.5 km2 TWINS Target indicate the existence of an extensive Cu-Au enriched porphyry mineralized system with strong additional discovery potential. Additional drilling is required to build on this potential.
In addition to the drilling at TWINS, four holes were drilled at three discrete sites within the NUB Target in 2025. These holes also confirmed the presence of porphyry-style alteration system over a 6.5 km2 area (Table 2). All four drill holes returned significant (+100 m) intervals of strong potassic and/or phyllic alteration, representing the presence of a large-scale system and/or multiple porphyry centres. Hole JP25111 intercepted 45 m at 0.08 g/t Au and 0.14% Cu from 439 m. The other three drill holes did not intercept significant mineralization. Additional drilling is required to fully assess the potential at NUB.
Four other scout drill holes testing other sulphide systems distal to the CANYON Discovery and at the NWG and NWT Targets (Figure 1 and Table 2) were also completed at the JOY District in 2025. No significant intercepts were returned from these drill holes.
Amarc is advancing the JOY, DUKE and IKE porphyry Cu±Au Districts located in different prolific porphyry regions of northern, central and southern BC, respectively. Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. (Freeport), a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. at JOY and Boliden Mineral Canada Ltd. (Boliden), an entity within the Boliden Group of companies at DUKE, can earn up to a 70% interest in each District through staged investments of CAD $110 million and CAD $90 million, respectively. Together, this provides Amarc with potentially up to CAD $200 million in non-share dilutive staged funding for these Districts. In addition, Amarc completed self-funded drilling at its Empress Cu-Au Deposit in the IKE District in 2024. Amarc is the operator at the DUKE and IKE Districts.
The CAD $16+ million JOY exploration program expenditures in 2025 were 100% funded by Freeport. Freeport has completed Stage 1 requirements under the May 2021 JOY agreement, earning a 60% interest by spending CAD $35 million, and has elected to proceed to Stage 2to earn a further 10% interest by spending an additional CAD $75 million within 5 years at a rate of no less than CAD $10 million per year. The JOY District mineral rights and title are held in Aurora Minerals Ltd., a company in which Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. (Freeport) holds a 60% and Amarc a 40% shareholding interest, respectively. While Freeport is now the Operator of JOY, Aurora Minerals and Freeport have appointed Amarc as the primary contractor to manage JOY exploration programs under a separate Services Agreement.
Source: Amarc Resources Ltd.
