U.S. Government Becomes an Approximately 10% Shareholder of Trilogy Metals, Advancing Domestic Copper Supply from Alaska's Ambler Mining District

VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 11, 2026 /CNW/ -- Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ) (TSX:TMQ) ("Trilogy Metals", "Trilogy" or the "Company") announced today that it has completed the previously announced strategic equity investment by the U.S. Department of War (the "DOW" or "U.S. Government").

The investment, totaling approximately US$35.6 million across transactions with Trilogy Metals and South32 Limited ((ASX, LSE, JSE: S32, OTC:SOUHY) ("South32"), is being deployed in full to advance exploration and development of the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects ("UKMP") in northwestern Alaska. The UKMP asset portfolio, which encompasses approximately 190,929 hectares and hosts both the high-grade Arctic polymetallic deposit (the "Arctic Project" or "Arctic") and the Bornite carbonate replacement (copper-cobalt) deposit (the "Bornite Project" or "Bornite"), is being advanced by Ambler Metals LLC ("Ambler Metals"). Ambler Metals is a 50/50 joint venture operating company equally owned by Trilogy and South32.

For more information on the transaction, see Trilogy's news release dated August 28, 2026.

Use of Proceeds and Next Steps

Trilogy Metals and South32 have each committed the full proceeds of the DOW investment to Ambler Metals to advance exploration and development of the UKMP.

The DOW has committed to work in good faith to help facilitate financing required for construction of the proposed 211-mile, industrial-use-only Ambler Road in coordination with the State of Alaska and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority ("AIDEA"), which holds the project.

Closing follows two significant federal permitting milestones for the Arctic Project – the April 2026 filing of a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the May 15, 2026 acceptance of the Arctic Project as a "Covered Project" under Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act ("FAST-41"), which established a transparent, enforceable permitting timetable published on the Federal Permitting Dashboard at permits.performance.gov.

U.S. Securities Act Disclaimer

The offer and sale of the securities described above were made in a transaction not involving a public offering and the securities have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be reoffered or resold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

Early Warning Disclosure

Based upon the daily average C$/US$ exchange rate quoted by the Bank of Canada as of the date hereof, the consideration of US$17,827,787 for the transaction between the DOW and South32 is equivalent to approximately C$24.7 million or C$3.01 per share.

Prior to the closing of the transaction, South32 had beneficial ownership of, or control and direction over, 18,595,311 common shares of Trilogy, representing approximately 10.7% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Trilogy on a non-diluted basis. As a result of, and immediately following, the transaction, South32's beneficial ownership, control and direction was reduced to 10,379,741 common shares of Trilogy, representing approximately 6.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Trilogy on a non-diluted basis as of the date hereof.   

South32 advises that the common shares of Trilogy were disposed of pursuant to the definitive agreements for investment purposes. Pursuant to the definitive agreements, for a period of ten (10) years following closing, the DOW will have the option to purchase 6,161,678 common shares of Trilogy from South32 at a price of US$0.01 per share subject to certain terms and conditions, and South32 will be obligated to hold such shares at all times during that period and to sell them to the DOW upon exercise of the option. In addition, South32 may, depending on market and other conditions, increase or decrease its beneficial ownership of Trilogy's securities, whether in the open market, by privately negotiated agreements or otherwise, subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and other available investment and business opportunities. South32's head office is located at Level 2, 100 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000, Australia.