Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, November 5, 2026 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) – Brutus Mining Inc. (“ Brutus ” or “the Company”) ( CSE : BRU ) ( FSE : ZI3 ) announced that on November 5, 2026, it signed a property option agreement (“Agreement”) with Benton Resources Inc. ( TSXV : BEX ) and Metals Creek Resources Corp. ( TSXV : MEK ) (collectively referred to as “the Option Parties”). Under the Agreement, the Company has obtained the option to acquire 100% of the interests in the Bay of Islands project (“Project”) in Western Newfoundland.
The project consists of 3 licenses, totaling 334 mining rights units over an area of 83.5 square kilometers, and is considered to be conducive to the occurrence of potential natural hydrogen.
Brutus CEO Christos Doulis stated: "The Bay of Islands project contains a large ultramafic unit with serpentinite, which is located near recorded structures and faults. These factors are considered favorable for the formation of natural hydrogen. Historical oil and gas exploration in the Little Port, Bottle Cove, Trumpet Cove, and Chimney Cove areas has discovered asphalt outcrops, pyrolyzed asphalt, as well as small amounts of free oil and oily tar, along with hydrocarbon staining. All of these are positive indicators for natural hydrogen exploration."
Figure 1: Geological Map of Hydrogen Project Areas in Western Newfoundland Bay, of, and Islands
Atlantic Canada is becoming a high-potential region for hydrogen exploration. There has been an increase in recent projects in Western Newfoundland, such as the Ophiolite-X project of First Atlantic Nickel and the Lewis Hills Hydrogen Claims project of Luma Hydrogen. Both projects are located near the Bay of Islands projects in Brutus, and they have similar geological environments.
A study assessing the potential of natural hydrogen in Quebec for 2024 indicates: "The potential of natural hydrogen in southern Quebec is not necessarily limited to these areas. Key regions of focus include: 1) Ophiolite complexes, which correspond to the Bay, of, and Islands complexes in Newfoundland; Szponar and others (in 2013) sampled strongly alkaline and highly reduced water sources there, which contained dissolved hydrogen."
Similarly, an article from 1985 titled “Tectonophysics” argued that the peridotites in the Bay of Islands granitoid bodies (the location of the Ophiolite-X project in First Atlantic Nickel) and in Coastal Complex (the location of the Bay of Islands projects in Brutus) were formed within the same main marine basin (i.e., the Early Paleozoic Iapetus ocean), and developed along the seafloor spreading centers and ridge-ridge transform faults respectively.
Planned work
The company will further evaluate the project by combining publicly available geoscience data and structural interpretations, and plans to conduct soil gas surveys and seismic mapping during the field season in 2027.
Agreement Terms
According to the agreement signed on November 5, 2026 (the "effective date"), the company has an option to obtain 100% undivided interests in the project by paying a total of $100,000 in cash to the option holder (of which $20,000 must be paid within 10 working days after the effective date, and another $30,000 and $50,000 must be paid before the first and second anniversaries of the effective date, respectively), as well as by issuing 1.2 million common shares of the company to the option holder ("shares"). The deemed issue price of the shares is $0.76 per share (of which 200,000 shares must be issued within 30 working days after the effective date, and another 400,000 shares and 600,000 shares must be issued before the first and second anniversaries of the effective date, respectively). The company may decide at its own discretion to pay any cash amount in advance or to issue shares in advance.
After exercising the option, the option holder will obtain a total 3% metal revenue right from the project ( GMR ), of which 1.5% of GMR can be redeemed by paying the option holder $1 million. If the option is not fully exercised, sufficient work expenses must be incurred by the project to ensure that the three licenses remain valid for at least another 6 months upon return.
In addition to the holding periods required by the Securities Act and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”), the shares issued under this agreement are also subject to contractual resale restrictions. The contractual resale restrictions for the first and second batches of shares will expire after 36 months from the date of issuance, with an exception of 100,000 shares per batch. The contractual resale restrictions for the third batch of shares will expire after 12 months from the date of issuance. This agreement must be approved by CSE.
Reference materials
1 - Large - Scale Screening for Natural Hydrogen : A Quebec ’s Perspective
2 - Geochemical and geological evidence bearing on the origin of the Bay of Islands and ophiolites of western Newfoundland
Regarding Brutus Mining Inc.
Brutus Mining Inc. (CSE : BRU) (FSE : ZI3) is a mineral exploration company that focuses on acquiring, exploring, and advancing high-potential copper and gold assets in top-tier mining regions. The company's flagship asset is the CW Copper project, which is a 2,894-hectare copper and gold project located about 100 kilometers north of Kamloops in British Columbia. Brutus is committed to unlocking value for shareholders through systematic exploration of large-scale projects that are expected to benefit from the growing global demand for key minerals. The company is also continuously evaluating other key mineral projects in Canada in order to build a well-structured portfolio, thereby providing investors with more new opportunities for mineral discoveries.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Christos Doulis Chief Executive Officer, Director +1 (604) 636-7335 info @ brutusmining.com
Forward-looking Information
This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” as defined by the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as well as “forward-looking information” under Canadian securities law. In this press release, words such as “expected,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “aims,” “plans,” “predicts,” “may,” “will,” “be able to,” “arranges,” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements or information.
Forward-looking statements and information related to the company's future mineral production, liquidity, value enhancement, capital market image, future growth potential, and future exploration plans are based on reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses, and opinions of management. These are in turn based on management's experience, judgment of trends, current circumstances, expected developments, and other factors that management deems relevant and reasonable. However, these factors may not be accurate. The assumptions made by the company include, but are not limited to, prices of copper, gold, and other metals; exploration and development costs; estimated costs for the development of exploration projects; the company's ability to operate in a safe and efficient manner; and the company's ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.
This press release contains “forward-looking information” as defined by Canadian securities law. Except for statements of historical fact, other statements may constitute forward-looking information, including but not limited to statements regarding the company’s ability to make cash payments and issue shares to exercise options, as well as obtaining approval for CSE; the project and its mineralization potential; the company’s objectives, purposes, or future plans regarding the project; and further exploration work to be carried out on the project in the future. With respect to the forward-looking information in this press release, the company has made a number of assumptions, including but not limited to that the geological, metallurgical, engineering, financial, and economic advice obtained by the company is reliable and is based on industry-standard practices and methods. Although the company believes these assumptions to be reasonable, they inherently involve significant uncertainties and contingencies. In addition, known and unknown risk factors could lead to significant differences between the company’s actual results, performance, or achievements and the future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking information in this press release. Known risk factors include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in commodity prices and exchange rates; uncertainties regarding drilling results and the interpretation of the geology, continuity, and grade of copper, gold, and other metal deposits; uncertainties in capital and operating costs, recovery rates, production estimates, and expected economic return estimates; the need for cooperation with government agencies and obtaining required permits for exploration and development projects; the need to obtain additional financing to develop projects, as well as uncertainties regarding the availability and terms of such financing in the future; delays in exploration or development plans, or construction projects, and uncertainties regarding whether project milestones can be achieved as anticipated; uncertainties regarding whether permits and other government approvals can be obtained in a timely manner; increased operating costs and restrictions due to compliance with environmental and other requirements; cost increases affecting the metal industry, and intensified competition in the metal industry in terms of projects, qualified personnel, and management.All forward-looking information in this document is subject to this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information, nor to publicly announce any revisions to such information to reflect future results, events, or developments.
The Canadian Securities Exchange assumes no responsibility for the sufficiency or accuracy of this press release.
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