Highland Copper Strengthens Leadership With Appointment of Trace Arlaud as Copperwood Project Director and Peter Hemstead as Interim CFO

About this update from Highland Copper Co., Inc.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highland Copper Company Inc. (TSXV: HI; OTCQB: HDRSF) ("Highland Copper" or the "Company" or “Highland”) is pleased to announce key hires as we continue to drive the Copperwood project (“Copperwood”) to a construction decision. Trace Arlaud has been appointed Project Director for the Copperwood project and Peter Hemstead has been appointed Interim CFO. The hires provide a clear path to achieving our 2026 engineering, construction readiness and project financing objectives. Project Director Appointment Trace Arlaud is a globally recognized mining executive with a proven track record of improving project economics through strategic mine planning and technical innovation, in addition to holding key mine development execution roles. A qualified geologist, mining and geotechnical engineer, with significant experience in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Trace is particularly well placed to continue project optimization efforts through detailed engineering, as well as prepare Copperwood from a construction and operational readiness perspective. Most recently, Trace was General Manager Execution of Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project where she led key mining and operational trade-offs, capital and operating cost reviews and evaluation of engineering partnership structures. At Rio Tinto, Trace also conducted a peer review of the Kennecott Utah Copper Division underground development strategy and contractor bids. Particularly relevant to Highland, Trace was a key contributor to the development of Upper Peninsula-based Eagle Mine, leading the underground feasibility, detailed engineering, and procurement for the greenfield underground mine, with a strong focus on infrastructure design, scheduling, and cost optimization. In addition to Trace’s strong technical background, she is a distinguished Board member with experience across multiple publicly listed mining companies, including IGO Limited and Seabridge Gold. Barry O’Shea, Chief Executive Officer of Highland Copper, stated: “At this pivotal point for Highland Copper, we could not be happier to have attracted someone of Trace’s caliber. Trace has worked at world-class mining companies like Rio Tinto, Freeport-McMoRan, South 32, in addition to considerable experience at global engineering firms like Hatch. Importantly, her experience a...

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