Cartier announces updated PEA for the Cadillac Project: After-tax NPV5% of C$1.0 billion and after-tax IRR of 26.6% at US$3,600/oz gold price

Cartier Resources Inc. (ECR) released an updated NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment for its 100%-owned Cadillac Project in Val-d’Or, Quebec. The new report replaces the April 2023 PEA and incorporates the December 18, 2025 mineral resource estimate and May 14, 2026 metallurgical results.

The base case assumes a gold price of US$3,600/oz and an exchange rate of C$1.38/US$. Under these conditions, the project yields an after-tax NPV5% of C$1,001M, an after-tax IRR of 26.6%, and an after-tax payback period of 4.3 years. Pre-tax metrics include an NPV5% of C$1,679M, a pre-tax IRR of 35.5%, and a pre-tax payback of 3.0 years.

Life-of-mine recovered gold is projected at 1,610koz over 16.2 years, with an average annual production of 100koz and a metallurgical recovery rate of 95%. The cost profile includes initial capital expenditure of C$275.8M, growth capital of C$277.1M, and sustaining capital of C$1,062M, plus C$40M for closure, bringing total capital to C$1,654.9M. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) are estimated at US$2,137/oz, with cash costs at US$1,502/oz and royalty costs at US$47/oz.

The processing plan calls for Year 1 toll milling at 3,000tpd, followed by on-site processing at 3,000tpd from Years 2 through 4. Expansion to 4,300tpd is scheduled for Year 5 and beyond. The mining plan is fully underground, utilizing longitudinal longhole stoping with ramp access.

Sensitivity analysis at a gold price of US$3,000/oz reduces the after-tax NPV5% to C$497M and the IRR to 16.4%. At US$4,300/oz, the NPV5% rises to C$1,565M and the IRR to 37.3%. No downside case below US$3,000/oz is provided.

The PEA is based on the December 2025 MRE, which includes Measured and Indicated resources of 767,800oz and Inferred resources of 2,416,900oz. Management states that approximately 35,000m of 2025-2026 drilling and new discoveries at Contact and Hope are not included in the current economic model.

Cartier Resources Inc. (ECR) released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its project, a technical study that presents materially positive economics with an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate (NPV5%) of approximately C$1.0 billion. This valuation stands in sharp contrast to the company’s market capitalization of near C$147 million. The PEA represents a significant improvement over the prior 2023 study, which was based on a smaller resource estimate and a much lower gold price of US$1,750/oz.

While the timing of the PEA was broadly expected, as the company had previously disclosed plans for 2026 economic work, the specific scale of the net present value and internal rate of return (IRR) constitutes new information. However, several factors indicate the project is not yet a fully de-risked, financed, or reserve-backed development. The PEA is preliminary and includes Inferred resources, meaning it does not define mineral reserves. Additionally, the base case gold price of US$3,600/oz is historically high and serves as a major driver of the valuation. At a down-side sensitivity of US$3,000/oz, the IRR falls to 16.4%, and no lower price case is provided.

Financial constraints also present challenges, with initial capital expenditure (capex) of C$275.8 million being very large relative to the company’s cash position of about C$5.5 million. Furthermore, an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$2,137/oz is considered high, suggesting the project is less robust if gold prices decline. New high-grade zones at Contact, Hope, Portal, and Nordeau are not yet included in the PEA; while these represent exploration upside, they are not yet de-risked economic ounces.

Prior-period context not disclosed in today’s release indicates that the latest Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) flagged a going-concern uncertainty, stating that future operations depend on additional financing. Overall, the release materially strengthens the development case for Cartier Resources Inc.

Cartier Resources Inc., founded in 2006 and headquartered in Val-d’Or, Quebec, is a gold exploration and development company. Its flagship asset is the 100%-owned Cadillac Project, which covers 14,000 hectares along a 15km stretch of the Cadillac Fault in the Val-d’Or mining camp. The project consolidates the historic Chimo Mine/East Cadillac area and contains total resources of 767,800oz M&I and 2,416,900oz Inferred based on the December 2025 MRE.

The company is undertaking a 100,000m, roughly 600-hole drill campaign from Q3 2025 to Q2 2027. Recent drilling identified high-grade zones at Contact, Hope, Portal, Main and Nordeau. The company is pre-revenue; the PEA is a development-stage economic study, not a producing mine.