Southern Cross Gold Starts Underground Drilling at Sunday Creek: 14 Rigs Now Operating, Ramping to 24

Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd (SXGC) has mobilized two underground diamond drill rigs to the Sunday Creek Gold-Antimony Project, marking the official start of underground drilling operations. The company currently operates 14 rigs, comprising 12 surface and 2 underground units, and plans to add two more underground rigs in November 2026. This expansion is scheduled to bring the total fleet to 24 rigs by February 2027.

Underground drilling is designed to enable 24-hour operations, reduce the surface footprint, and deliver shorter, more targeted holes to mineralization at depth. The strategic objective is to accelerate drilling rates to produce the first mineral resource estimate and economic studies in the first half of 2027.

Historical drilling context indicates that 288 drill holes for 140.8 km have been reported since late 2020. This includes 106 composite intersections exceeding 100 g/t Au and 115 exceeding 10% Sb. Metallurgical work confirms non-refractory mineralization with 93-98% gold recoveries via gravity and flotation. Land tenure includes 16,900 hectares of exploration tenements and 2,296 hectares of freehold land.

Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd. (SXGC) has mobilized its underground rigs in line with the company’s previously communicated timeline. Following the approval of the exploration decline work plan in November 2025, the first cut was fired in June 2026, and the commencement of underground drilling in November 2026 demonstrates on-schedule execution.

The company is ramping up to 24 rigs by February 2027, a pace that matches the capital budget and operational guidance outlined in the investor presentation and prior MD&A. This development confirms operational capability and project momentum without introducing new variables, surprises, or changes to the economic thesis.

The execution of the pre-development phase validates management's ability to deliver infrastructure in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, reinforcing confidence in the targeted Q1 CY2027 resource estimate and mid-CY2027 PEA.

Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd is a pre-development exploration company focused on the Sunday Creek Gold-Antimony Project in Victoria, Australia. The project is an epizonal gold-antimony deposit located 60 km north of Melbourne, situated on the same geological corridor as the Fosterville and Costerfield mines. The company holds 16,900 hectares of tenure, including 1,392 hectares of freehold land.

Mineralization follows a "Golden Ladder" structure over an 11 km interpreted strike length, with only approximately 10% tested to date. The AuEq formula used is Au (g/t) + 2.39 × Sb (%), based on Costerfield production costs, a gold price of US$2,500/oz, and an antimony price of US$19,000/tonne. Preliminary metallurgy shows non-refractory native gold with 92-96% overall recovery via gravity and flotation, producing low-arsenic concentrates suitable for Western smelters.