Magna Mining Announces Additional Footwall Drill Results from the Levack Mine in Sudbury, Ontario

SUDBURY, Ontario, Feb. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magna Mining Inc. (TSXV: NICU) (OTCQX: MGMNF) (FSE: 8YD) (“Magna” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on exploration activities and assay results from ongoing exploration at the past-producing Levack Mine, located in the North Range of the Sudbury Basin, Ontario, Canada (Figure 1). Today’s release incorporates the results from five diamond drill holes which targeted the prospective footwall environment at Levack, including the R2 Footwall Zone (the “R2 Zone”), as well as other priority targets. Additional assays were also received from two previously released drillholes from the R2 Zone. Drilling to date within the R2 Zone has intersected multiple veins containing high grade copper (“Cu”) and precious metals, including platinum (“Pt”), palladium (“Pd”), gold (“Au”), and silver (“Ag”), with mineralization intersected over a vertical extent of approximately 300 metres and 150 metres north-south. The R2 Zone remains open up dip towards the No. 3 Footwall Zone, at depth and to the southwest towards the Morrison Footwall Cu-PGE Deposit.

Highlights from the new assay results include:   

Dave King, SVP Exploration and Geoscience stated, “The intersections we announced today continue to demonstrate the high-grade nature of the copper and precious metal rich footwall mineralization at the Levack Mine. Most of the assay results released today are related to the R2 Zone, and continued drilling is further enhancing our understanding of the footwall vein system in this area. It is quite encouraging to have multiple metre scale intersections, demonstrating similar vein widths in the R2 Zone to those that were historically mined in some areas of the Morrison Footwall Copper-PGE Deposit. We are also pleased to announce additional intersections from two of the previously released drill holes at the R2 Zone, where only partial assay results were available at the time of previous news releases. In addition, today’s release also includes the results from the first three underground drill holes at Levack which targeted other prospective areas of the footwall environment, with each hole returning encouraging precious metals values that warrant follow up drilling.”

Diamond drill holes FNX6083-W5 and FNX6070-W1 in today’s news release were designed to continue to expand the known R2 Zone mineralization, both up dip and down plunge to the south (see news releases dated August 28, 2025, October 23, 2025, and December 9, 2025). Drill hole FNX6083-W5 targeted the area up dip from FNX6083-W1 and encountered four veins over 28.6 metres, approximately 50 metres above the massive sulphide veins intersected in FNX6083-W1. The massive sulphide vein mineralization in FNX6083-W5 returned assays up to 24.4% Cu, 0.9% Ni, 3.7 g/t Pt, 1.3 g/t Pd, 0.4 g/t Au, and 173 g/t Ag over 1.0 metre (Figures 2, 3 and Table 1). Additional wedge holes are in progress to further test the up dip potential of the R2 Zone towards the No. 3 Footwall Zone. Drill hole FNX6070-W1 was drilled from the same platform as FNX2026-W1 and FNX2026-W2 and targeted the area to the south and down plunge of the mineralization encountered in FNX2026-W2. Drill hole FNX6070-W1 intersected four mineralized intervals over 39.3 metres, including 5.7% Cu, 0.1% Ni, 7.0 g/t Pt, 18.8 g/t Pd, 2.5 g/t Au, and 33.3 g/t Ag over 1.1 metres, within a longer interval which returned 7.7 metres of 1.3% Cu, 0.1% Ni, 2.0 g/t Pt, 3.7 g/t Pd, 0.7 g/t Au, and 8.6 g/t Ag. The vein system which defines the R2 Zone has now been intersected over a vertical extent of approximately 300 metres and a north-south extent of approximately 150 metres. The R2 Zone remains open up dip towards the No. 3 Footwall Zone as well as at depth towards the Morrison Footwall Cu-PGE Deposit, located 600 metres to the southwest.

Additional assay results have been received for previously released drill holes FNX6083-W2 and FNX6083-W4 which also targeted the R2 Zone (Table 1). In addition to the previously reported intercepts, drill hole FNX6083-W2 also intersected 11.0% Cu, 0.9% Ni, 2.6 g/t Pt, 1.0 g/t Pd, 0.2 g/t Au, and 42.0 g/t Ag over 0.3 metres, and 1.4% Cu, 0.2% Ni, 9.0 g/t Pt, 2.0 g/t Pd, 9.1 g/t Au, and 24 g/t Ag over 0.3 metres. Drill hole FNX6083-W4 intersected an additional four occurrences of stringer to narrow vein mineralization over approximately 147.8 metres, including 24.1% Cu, 0.1% Ni, 0.6 g/t Pt, 4.8 g/t Pd, 0.8 g/t Au, and 114.0 g/t silver over 0.3 metres, between the previously reported intercepts. The occurrence of stringer and narrow vein mineralization in the periphery of the thicker massive sulphide veins is common in footwall copper-precious metals systems in the North Range of the Sudbury Basin and reflects the prospective but complex nature of the mineralization in the R2 Zone.

Drill holes MLV-25-42, MLV-25-43, and MLV-25-44 were initiated in the second half of 2025 from the underground infrastructure at Levack Mine to test other prospective footwall targets beyond the R2 Zone, in particular the underexplored area between the Morrison Footwall Cu-PGE Deposit and the Keel Cu-PGE Zone (Figure 2). Each of these drill holes encountered narrow zones of precious metals-rich footwall mineralization (Table 1) within the Sudbury Breccia host lithology and follow up drilling is planned.

Diamond drilling continues at Levack with two surface and two underground drill rigs with several objectives, including expansion of the R2 Zone, testing for the potential faulted offset of the R2 Zone east of the Fecunis fault and testing other prospective targets in the footwall environment. In addition, rehabilitation of existing drifts at Levack Mine is underway to provide further underground drilling platforms that will allow additional infill and expansion drilling of the R2 zone with significantly shorter drillholes. A Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) based on the recent NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate published on Levack Mine is underway with completion targeted for the fall of 2026.

Figure 1: Location of Magna Mining’s Properties, Including the Levack Mine and Key Sudbury Infrastructure

Figure 2: 3D Longitudinal View Looking North, Showing the Levack Mine Mineralized Zones in Relation to the R2 Zone and Current Drilling

Figure 3: Diamond Drill Core, Illustrating Massive Sulphide Vein Within Sudbury Breccia

Table 1: Summary of Drillhole Results

^{* Previously reported see news releases dated October 23, 2025 and December 9, 2025. All lengths are downhole length. True widths are highly variable and uncertain at this time. Ni Eq % = (Ni% x 85% Recovery 2204 x Ni Price $/lb) + (Cu% x 96% Recovery x 2204 x Cu Price $/lb) + (Co% x 56% Recovery x 2204 x Co Price $/lb) + (Pt g/t x 69% Recovery / 31.1035 x Pt $/oz) +(Pd g/t x 68% Recovery / 31.1035 x Pd $/oz) + (Au g/t x 68% Recovery / 31.1035 x Au $/oz))/2204 x Ni $/lb. Cu Eq % = (Ni% x 85% Recovery 2204 x Ni Price $/lb) + (Cu% x 96% Recovery x 2204 x Cu Price $/lb) + (Co% x 56% Recovery x 2204 x Co Price $/lb) + (Pt g/t x 69% Recovery / 31.1035 x Pt $/oz) +(Pd g/t x 68% Recovery / 31.1035 x Pd $/oz) + (Au g/t x 68% Recovery / 31.1035 x Au $/oz))/2204 x Cu $/lb. Metal prices in US$: $7.72/lb Ni, $4.88/lb Cu, $18.12/lb Co, $1,410/oz Pt, $1,156/oz Pd and $3,815/oz Au.?}

Table 2:  Drillhole Collar Coordinates

*Drillhole Coordinates are in Coordinate System NAD 83 Zone 17

Qualified Person for Technical Information

The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by David King, M.Sc., P.Geo. Mr. King is the Senior Vice President, Exploration and Geoscience for Magna Mining Inc. and is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

Quality Assurance and Control

Sample QA/QC procedures for Magna have been designed to meet or exceed industry standards. Drill core is collected from the diamond drill and placed in sealed core trays for transport to Magna’s core facilities. Levack drilling utilizes NQ sized core and McCreedy West utilizes BQTK sized core. The core is then logged, and samples marked in intervals of up to 1.5m. Levack drill core is split and sampled ½ core, and McCreedy West is whole core sampled. Samples are then put into plastic bags with 10 bagged samples being placed into rice bags for transport to SGS Laboratories in Garson, Ontario for preparation, which are then shipped to Lakefield, Ontario for analysis. Samples are submitted in batches of 50 with 4 QA/QC samples including, 2 certified reference material standards and 2 samples of blank material.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may”, “might”, “potential”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “believe”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “will”, “continue”, “intend”, “plan”, “forecast”, “prospective”, “significant” or other similar words or phrases or variations thereof and are included in this press release, without limitation, as the production and costs guidance given under the heading “Highlights”. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, economic, technical and other risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties relating to the failure of additional drilling to support assumptions, expectations or estimates of potential mineralization, metal tonnes or grade, the failure of additional drilling to support additional expansion or delineation of estimated resources, the failure to have accurately estimated declared mineral resources or mineral reserves, the failure of additional drilling to support medium to long-term production planning or replenish production or mined ore, the failure to maintain an adequate rate of development or access to stopes to maintain production, the failure to meet production, cost, cash flow or development expectations, forecasts or guidance, the lack of availability of drill rigs to implement exploration or other programs or the failure to proceed as quickly as planned with additional exploration, development, production or other drilling, continued delays for assay results, the failure to bring the Levack and Crean Hill mines back into production subsequent to the completion of the current preliminary economic assessment and pre-feasibility study now underway, and other risks disclosed in the Company’s most recent annual management discussion and analysis, available on the SEDAR+ website (at: www.sedarplus.ca). Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties, contingencies and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements, there can be no certainty or assurance that the Company has accurately or adequately captured, accounted for or disclosed all such risks, uncertainties, contingencies or factors. Readers should place no reliance on forward-looking statements as actual results, performance or achievements may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Resource exploration and development, and mining operations, are highly speculative, characterized by several significant risks, which even a combination of careful evaluation, experience and knowledge will not eliminate. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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

About Magna Mining Inc.

Magna Mining Inc. is a producing mining company with a strong portfolio of copper, nickel, and Platinum Group Metals (PGM) assets located in the world-class Sudbury mining district of Ontario, Canada. The Company’s primary asset is the McCreedy West Mine, currently in production, supported by a pipeline of highly prospective past-producing properties including Levack, Crean Hill, Podolsky, and Shakespeare.

Magna Mining is strategically positioned to unlock long-term shareholder value through continued production, exploration upside, and near-term development opportunities across its asset base.

Additional corporate and project information is available at www.magnamining.com and through the Company’s public filings on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Jason Jessup
Chief Executive Officer

or

Paul Fowler, CFA
Executive Vice President
705-482-9667
Email: info@magnamining.com