Grande Portage Resources Launches Busy Summer Season with 2026 Drill Program at the New Amalga Gold Project

Executive Summary

• Grande Portage Resources Ltd. announced the commencement of its 2026 drilling program at the New Amalga Gold property in Alaska, planning up to 4,300 meters of diamond drilling across 14 drillholes.
• The program focuses on upgrading resource classification and conducting critical geotechnical and hydrogeological characterization to support environmental permitting, mine facilities design, and regulatory milestones.
• The release reiterates the project's strong economics from a February 2026 PEA, highlights an LOI with Goldbelt Inc. for an ore export terminal, and provides a comprehensive overview of the current resource estimate, historical high-grade intercepts, and the proposed small-footprint underground mining strategy.

Key Details

• Drilling Scope: Up to 4,300 meters of diamond drilling from up to 14 drillholes.
• Program Objectives: Upgrade resource classification in key deposit areas; characterize geotechnical and hydrogeological rock mass properties to support environmental review, permitting, and mine development planning.
• Geotechnical & Hydrogeological Work: Detailed geotechnical logging for underground infrastructure; piezometer installation for groundwater levels/pressures; packer testing for hydraulic conductivity/permeability; groundwater sampling and chemical analysis for baseline quality.
• Regulatory Approval: Program conducted under a Plan of Operations approved by the US Forest Service on January 16, 2026.
• Contractors: SRK Consulting Inc (hydrogeological/geotechnical oversight & modeling), Timberline Drilling Inc (core drilling), Piton Exploration LLC (drill pad construction & core logging), Coastal Helicopters Inc (transport/logistics).
• Mineral Resource Estimate (Effective July 17, 2024):
• Indicated: 1,438,500 oz Au @ 9.47 g/t (4,726,000 t)
• Inferred: 515,700 oz Au @ 8.85 g/t (1,813,000 t)
• Indicated: 891,600 oz Ag @ 5.86 g/t (4,726,000 t)
• Inferred: 390,600 oz Ag @ 7.33 g/t (1,813,000 t)
• PEA Economics (Effective February 11, 2026):
• Base Case ($3,200/oz Au): After-tax NPV5 $721M, After-tax IRR 56%
• Upside Case ($5,000/oz Au): After-tax NPV5 $1,557M, After-tax IRR 91%
• Development Concept: Small-footprint underground mining with third-party offsite processing, eliminating the need for an onsite gold recovery plant, tailings storage facility, or permanent waste rock storage. Reduces CAPEX, environmental footprint, and permitting complexity.
• Historical Drilling Intercepts:
• Deep Trench Vein: 15.3m @ 37.1 g/t Au, 8.3m @ 58.6 g/t Au, 11.6m @ 28.3 g/t Au
• Goat Vein: 2.1m @ 74.2 g/t Au, 6.3m @ 15.7 g/t Au
• Main Vein: 3.1m @ 79.2 g/t Au, 2.1m @ 37.2 g/t Au, 3.1m @ 13.9 g/t Au
• Ridge Vein: 1.5m @ 43.0 g/t Au, 1.5m @ 29.2 g/t Au
• Sleeping Giant Vein: 2.1m @ 15.4 g/t Au, 3.2m @ 20.7 g/t Au
• Additional Project Highlights: 100% interest; located 25km from Juneau & 6km from paved highway; 240 drill holes from 55 platforms (~65,000m total); deposit open north, south, and at depth; Goat vein channel samples assayed 129.02 g/t Au & 290 g/t Au; Metallurgical recoveries up to 98.2%; 6+ years of environmental baseline water sampling completed.
• Strategic Agreement: LOI signed with Goldbelt Inc. for development of an ore export terminal at Cascade Point (22km from project site).
• Qualified Person: Kyle Mehalek, P.E. (independent QP under NI 43-101).

Notable Quotes

• Ian Klassen, President & CEO: "We are pleased to announce the mobilization of a premier team of contracting partners the 2026 drilling campaign, including prominent Alaska-based firms. The launch of this year's program marks a key milestone for the New Amalga project, signaling the drilling program's transition from pure exploration into strategic development planning."
• Ian Klassen, President & CEO: "This year's program is strategically engineered to secure critical geotechnical and hydrogeological datasets in addition to expanding resource definition data for the high-grade New Amalga deposit. This information will be essential for advancing the mine facilities design as well as to inform the environmental review and permitting process, enabling the project to progress through the regulatory milestones required before development."