BQE Water Signs 20-year Contract with BC Government for Operation & Maintenance of Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 18, 2025 /CNW/ - BQE Water Inc. (TSXV: BQE), a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, is pleased to announce that following a competitive procurement process administered by Infrastructure BC on behalf of the BC government, BQE  was awarded the contract to provide long-term operations and maintenance services for the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant.

Located 50 kilometres north of Vancouver next to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, the Britannia Mine was once the largest copper producer in the British Commonwealth before closing in 1974. The existing twenty-year-old facility is a High-Density Sludge (HDS) lime treatment plant that neutralizes acidity and removes heavy metals, primarily copper and zinc, from the mine water collected in the legacy underground workings prior to its discharge into Howe Sound. The facility treats on average 4 to 5 million cubic meters per year of mine-impacted water and prevents approximately 600 metric tonnes of heavy metal contaminants from entering the marine environment each year. This is on par with several other plants that are currently in the BQE's portfolio of active operations.

Under the terms of the agreement, BQE Water will assume the responsibility for all aspects of the plant operation and maintenance as of January 13, 2026, for a term of 20 years. This will require an on-site team of six including two supervisors who will be supported by locally based engineers, technicians, and automation specialists. As an important part of the scope of work, BQE is implementing a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to help reduce life cycle costs and risks. As well, there are a series of planned capital projects to replace and/or upgrade the existing infrastructure over the course of the contract term. Finally, the contract includes a provision that would share potential savings with the government on reduction of the operating cost achieved by BQE Water compared to the baseline that had been established over the last 20 years.

"We are honoured to be entrusted by the Province of British Columbia with the operation of this important asset that protects a coastal ecosystem." said David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water. "As a Vancouver-based company focused on mine water, we end up working at sites often far away from home. The Britannia Mine water treatment plant operation gives us a truly unique opportunity to leverage our knowledge and experience towards protecting and restoring marine environment in our home, and all of us at BQE are excited about this. From the corporate perspective, this is the largest contract signed by the company in its history."

About BQE Water
BQE Water is a service provider specializing in water treatment and management for metals mining, smelting and refining. We are helping to transform the way the industry thinks about water in the context of natural resource projects by offering services and expertise which enables more sustainable water management practices and improved overall project performance at reduced risks. BQE Water invests in innovation and has developed unique intellectual property through the commercialization of several new technologies at mine sites around the world for organizations including Glencore, Jiangxi Copper, Freeport-McMoRan and the US EPA. BQE Water is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BQE. Visit www.bqewater.com for more information.

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

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain information contained herein may not be based on historical fact and therefore constitutes "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. This includes without limitation statements containing the words "plan", "expect", "project", "estimate", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "may", "will" and other similar words or expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the Company's dependence on key personnel and contracts, uncertainty with respect to the profitability of the Company's technologies, competition, technology risk, the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property and proprietary information, fluctuations in commodity prices, currency risk, environmental regulation and the Company's ability to manage growth and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators at www.sedarplus.ca (including without limitation the factors described in the section entitled "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2024). Given these risks and uncertainties, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking information contained herein is based on management's current expectations and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

SOURCE BQE Water Inc.