Avanti awaiting assay of Misisi historical drill core

Mr. Mohamed Cisse reports AVANTI GOLD ANNOUNCES THAT 2,100 METERS OF HISTORICAL DRILL CORE IS CURRENTLY BEING ASSAYED AHEAD OF THE 2026 DRILL PROGRAMME COMMENCING Two thousand one hundred metres of historical drill core from the Akyanga deposit at Avanti Gold Corp.'s Misisi project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are currently being assayed, with results expected to be published later this quarter. In addition, the 2026 drilling program is expected to begin later in Q1 2026 as the company is in the final phase of selecting a drilling contractor, following supplier site visits conducted in mid-January. Highlights: Two thousand one hundred metres of historical drill core are currently being assayed, which is expected to confirm continuity of high-grade mineralization along strike and downdip in the northwest and high-grade southern portions of the Akyanga deposit. Significant progress has been made toward launching exploration activities as, following a successful tender process and site visits, a drilling service agreement is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. The 2026 exploration program has increased from 15,000 metres as initially published to 42,000 metres, with fully financed phase 1 program expected to prioritize the Akyanga deposit and the second phase on satellite targets. The historical drilling occurred prior to 2018, by the previous owners, however were not assayed due to the company's previous financial situation. Following the successful permitting process, the samples were exported from Kalemie on Jan. 15, 2026, and arrived at the SGS assay lab in Mwanza-Tanzania on Jan. 23, 2026, where they are currently undergoing fire assay testing. The Akyanga deposit, located centrally in the Misisi project, hosts an National Instrument 43-101-compliant inferred mineral resource of 40.8 million tonnes averaging 2.37 grams per tonne gold containing 3.11 million ounces, which was based on 19,956 metres of historic drilling, including 105 diamond drill holes totalling 19,070 metres and six reverse circulation drill holes totalling 887 metres. The 2,100 metres of samples therefore represent approximately 10 per cent of the total diamond drilling completed by the previous operator and targeted both the northwest extension and the high-grade southern zones of the Akyanga deposit at depth. The company believes that the assays from these untested core samples have the potential to confirm continuity of high-grade mineralization along strike and downdip in the southern portion of Akyanga as well as provide valuable data to refine the 2026 exploration program. Avanti is also pleased to have made significant progress toward launching its 2026 drilling program. Following a successful tender process, a drilling service agreement is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. Most recently, the Avanti team conducted a supplier site visit to Misisi as part of the tender process where potential drilling contractors were able to survey the site conditions and security. In parallel, Avanti has completed a review and revaluation of prior exploration data, including trenching, soil samples, airborne magnetics and drilling to prioritize the drilling program across the three contiguous 30-year mining licences, in conjunction with Minecon Resources and Services Ltd., to refine the 2026 exploration program. The revised and enhanced 2026 exploration program will entail a total of approximately 42,000 metres of diamond drilling, split between two phases, as outlined in Table 1 below. As previously published, the initial phase 1 exploration program will entail approximately 15,000 metres of diamond drilling and remains scheduled to being in late Q1 2026. Phase 1 is fully financed by the company's LIFE (listed issuer financing exemption) private placement, which closed on Oct. 23, 2025. The phase 1 program will prioritize an increased footprint expansion effort at the Akyanga deposit and high-priority target testing on the Akyanga East deposit, due to its close proximity to Akyanga. During phase 1, early exploration works including ground truthing, sampling and mapping will be conducted on Ngalula, Tulonge, Lubitchako and Kilombwe to assist in guiding the phase 2 drilling program on those targets. The envisaged phase 2 program will entail approximately 27,000 metres of diamond drilling and is scheduled to being in late Q3 2026. Phase 2 is expected to continue to expand on the resource extensions at Akyanga while also introducing drilling onto the high-priority targets. The phased approach serves to provide drill service providers time to ramp up efforts to include the additional targets while leveraging the early exploration methods conducted in phase 1 to better inform drilling target locations. Next steps: Drilling and laboratory service contracts: announcement of signed contracts for exploration service providers for the Misisi project; Refurbishment of camp: increase capacity of exploration camp facilities at the Misisi village to support increased exploration activities; Key appointments: key in-country management appointments, including security and HSE (health, safety and environment), administration and logistics, exploration, and community managers; Assay results: assay results from 2,100 metres of historic diamond core that targeted both the northwest extension and the high-grade southern zones of the Akyanga deposit; Launch of the fully financed phase 1 exploration program: a 15,000-metre drill program covering the Akyanga and Akyanga East deposits. About Avanti Gold Corp. Avanti Gold is a gold exploration company with a robust portfolio of projects in Africa. The company's flagship asset is the Misisi project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to the Akyanga gold deposit. The Akyanga deposit has an inferred mineral resource of 44.3 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 2.37 grams per tonne, totalling 3.1 million ounces of gold. The Misisi project spans three contiguous 30-year mining leases covering 133 square kilometres along the 55-kilometre-long Kibara gold belt, a prominent metallogenic province known for hosting significant gold deposits. Qualified person statement Ephraim Masibhera, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Historical information contained in this news release cannot be relied upon as the company's qualified person, as defined under NI 43-101, has not prepared or verified the historical information. We seek Safe Harbor.