Spanish Mountain Gold Announces Uplift in Scale and Value at Its B.C. Gold Project and Receives Confirmation From Provincial Regulators to Resume the Previously Paused Environmental Assessment and Permitting Process Advancing Towards Development

Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. (SPA) has announced an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and a revised Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its Spanish Mountain Gold Project in British Columbia. Under the base case scenario using a gold price of $3,600/oz, the project demonstrates an after-tax net present value (NPV5%) of US$2,156 million, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 35.2%, and a 25.8-year life of mine producing 3.33 million ounces.

The updated MRE for the Main Deposit now indicates 342.0 million tonnes at 0.42 grams per tonne of gold, containing 4.7 million ounces, representing a 12% increase over the 2025 MRE. Additionally, a maiden MRE was released for the Phoenix Deposit, comprising 0.72 million ounces in the Indicated category and 629,000 ounces in the Inferred category.

The mining plan has been updated to a throughput of 31,000 tonnes per day, featuring a reduced strip ratio of 1.8:1 and the integration of new coarse particle flotation technology. Initial capital expenditure (Capex) has increased to US$1,050.4 million, driven by costs associated with tailings and water management as well as NSR buydowns.

Provincial regulators have confirmed the resumption of the Environmental Assessment (EA) in August 2026. The company expects to release a Draft Detailed Project Description (DPD) in the fourth quarter of 2026, with a formal submission targeted for the first quarter of 2027, aiming for a build decision in the first half of 2028.

Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. (SPA) has released an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) that significantly enhances the project's financial profile compared to the July 2025 baseline. The net present value at a 5% discount rate rose to C$1.025 billion at a gold price of $2,450 per ounce, while the NPV at $3,600 per ounce jumped to $2.156 billion. This improvement is driven by higher gold price assumptions and operational efficiencies, including increased throughput, a lower strip ratio, and the integration of ore sorting.

The company also reported a 12% increase in mineral resources and the addition of a maiden Phoenix deposit, which expand the project's scale and potential mine life. Concurrently, regulatory confirmation to resume the environmental assessment (EA) marks a critical de-risking milestone, removing a major bottleneck for the feasibility study and permitting timeline.

These developments, including the economic uplift and permitting resumption, were anticipated components of the 2026 development plan. The increased initial capital expenditure of $165 million over the 2025 PEA and NSR buydown costs of $25.9 million slightly offset the economic upside but are necessary for project optimization and regulatory compliance.

Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. is advancing the Spanish Mountain Gold Project, a conventional open-pit gold mine situated in the Cariboo Gold Corridor of British Columbia. The project encompasses a Main Deposit and a newly defined Phoenix Deposit, with mineralization hosted within the Orca Fault Corridor.

The company is targeting a construction decision in the first half of 2028, a timeline supported by a fully funded feasibility study and a 60,000-meter drilling program. Strategic partnerships include a US$55 million net smelter return sale to Wheaton Precious Metals and a memorandum of understanding with Metso Canada for process plant and tailings dewatering solutions, which could potentially unlock up to $50 million in OEM financing.