Midland Signs Definitive Agreement With Barrick for the Lewis Gold Property

On November 17, 2025, Midland Exploration Inc. announced it has signed a definitive option agreement with Barrick Mining Corporation for its Lewis Gold Property in Quebec. Under the terms of the agreement, Barrick can earn up to a 75% interest in the property by funding a total of $12,000,000 in exploration expenditures and making cash payments to Midland totaling $750,000. The earn-in is staged:

• Phase 1 (51% interest): Barrick must spend $3,000,000 on exploration and pay $250,000 in cash by December 31, 2028.
• Phase 2 (additional 9% for 60% total): Barrick must spend an additional $1,500,000 and pay $200,000 cash by December 31, 2030.
• Phase 3 (additional 15% for 75% total): Barrick must spend a final $7,500,000 and pay $300,000 cash by December 31, 2032.

Upon Barrick earning its initial 51% interest, a joint venture will be formed.

This agreement is material and positive for Midland. It aligns perfectly with the company's project generator business model, which focuses on generating high-quality exploration targets and attracting major partners to fund capital-intensive exploration work.

• Validation from a Major: Barrick is one of the world's largest gold producers. Their commitment to spend up to $12 million on the Lewis property is a significant third-party validation of the project's geological potential and, by extension, the technical expertise of Midland's team.
• De-risking and Funding: The agreement provides a clear, non-dilutive path to advance the Lewis property. Barrick will shoulder 100% of the exploration costs and risk during the earn-in period. This allows Midland to preserve its treasury for its 100%-owned projects while retaining significant upside exposure to a potential discovery at Lewis.
• Consistent Strategy Execution: This deal follows a pattern of successful partnerships with other Tier-1 mining companies, including Rio Tinto (lithium), BHP (nickel), and a recent strategic investment from Centerra Gold. This demonstrates that Midland's model is consistently working and attracting the industry's largest players across multiple commodities.
• Context of Recent News: The announcement comes after a series of positive exploration updates from Midland's 100%-owned projects, such as the high-grade copper-gold discovery at Malaco Mountain and promising gold boulders at Caniapisc Au. Adding a new major partner to the portfolio further strengthens the overall investment thesis and diversifies project-specific risk.

While the cash payments are modest in the near term, the primary value is the multi-million dollar exploration commitment from a senior producer. The news confirms that Midland can continue to generate and monetize its extensive project portfolio.

Midland Exploration is a Quebec-focused mineral exploration company operating under the project generator model. Its strategy involves acquiring large, prospective land packages at low cost, conducting initial generative exploration work, and then attracting major and mid-tier mining companies as partners to fund more capital-intensive work like drilling in exchange for equity in the projects.

The company has a vast and diverse portfolio of over 30 projects targeting gold, lithium, copper, and nickel. It does not have a single "flagship" project but rather a portfolio of high-potential assets, several of which are being advanced by world-class partners: - Galinée (Lithium): Optioned to Rio Tinto, this project has yielded significant high-grade, wide lithium intercepts and is located near Winsome Resources' Adina deposit. - Nunavik (Nickel): A strategic alliance with BHP to explore for nickel in a large, untested region. - Lewis (Gold): Newly optioned to Barrick. - Caniapisc Au & Malaco Mountain (Au, Cu): Two recent 100%-owned discoveries with very high-grade surface sample results that represent significant near-term discovery potential for Midland.