Big Ridge Gold talks up Hope Brook, Destiny projects

Mr. Michael Bandrowski reports BIG RIDGE GOLD CORP PROVIDES CORPORATE UPDATE Big Ridge Gold Corp. has provided an update on the company and continuing work at the Hope Brook gold project (HBGP) located on the southwest coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Destiny gold project, located near Val d'Or, Que. 2025 highlights Consolidated 100-per-cent ownership of the HBGP; Commenced preliminary economic assessment; Continuing metallurgical testwork; Destiny partner, Caprock Mining initiated its phase i drill program. Michael Bandrowski, president and chief executive officer of the company, commented: "Two thousand twenty-five has been a significant year for Big Ridge Gold. The company renegotiated the Hope Brook earn-in agreement, increasing its ownership to 100 per cent and recently engaged SGS Geological Services to complete a preliminary economic assessment on the Hope Brook gold project. In addition, the company is preparing concentrate samples for marketing and potential offtake agreements. We are also happy to announce that Caprock Mining, the company's partner at the Destiny gold project recently commenced a phase I drill program, testing the deposit at depth." Preliminary economic assessment -- plus two grams per tonne Au (gold) open pit Following the recent consolidation of the HBGP to 100 per cent, the company engaged SGS Geological Services to prepare a preliminary economic assessment. Given the high-grade open pit copper and gold resource at the HBGP, past production history and strategic location on tidewater, the company expects positive economics when the PEA is complete in the first half of 2026. Recall, Hope Brook produced approximately 750,000 ounces of gold from 1987 to 1997. A flotation circuit was installed in 1992 that produced a concentrate at approximately 22 per cent Cu and 34.28 grams per tonne Au that was shipped to the Horne smelter, located in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., Canada. Continuing metallurgical testwork -- high-quality Cu-Au (copper-gold) concentrate Given the high-quality concentrate historically produced at the HBGP and strong global demand for premium copper and gold concentrates, Big Ridge is currently producing representative concentrate samples for potential offtake and marketing purposes. More recent metallurgical testwork completed on Hope Brook ore has produced high-grade Cu-Au concentrates ranging from 26 to 30 per cent Cu with 270 to 539 g/t Au. With current smelter treatment and refining charges at negative levels, the company believes its strategic location on tidewater on the southwest coast of Newfoundland and Labrador will provide several options for its concentrate and will generate notable interest from potential partners. Increased Hope Brook ownership to 100 per cent Between September, 2022, and July, 2025, the company successfully renegotiated its stage II earn-in to 80 per cent and purchased the remaining 20 per cent of the Hope Brook gold project that it did not own, increasing its ownership to 100 per cent. These two transactions were made possible by the strong support of the company's shareholders and enabled the company to avoid $6-million in committed, time sensitive expenditures on the project at a time when raising capital was quite difficult. Destiny gold project -- phase I drill program under way Caprock Mining, which is carrying out exploration work at the Destiny gold project under an option agreement established in 2024, recently commenced its phase I drill program at Destiny. Caprock's drill program is targeting deep-seated, high-grade mineralization at Destiny identified in two historical drill holes completed by a previous operator where gold grades as high as 26 g/t Au were intercepted. Big Ridge currently owns 18 million shares of Caprock Mining and anticipates the first anniversary payments due under the option agreement with Caprock, which consist of $100,000 in cash and common shares with a fair value of $250,000 by Dec. 31, 2025. Qualified person Paul Robinson, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Big Ridge, a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. About Hope Brook The Hope Brook gold project is an advanced stage, high-grade gold project that produced 752,162 ounces of gold from 1987 to 1997. Initial production consisted of an open pit before moving to underground mining. Hope Brook operated using both heap leach (1987 to 1990) and conventional cyanidation milling methods (1989 to 1997) with a later inclusion of flotation concentration to recover copper (1991). Government records indicate that gold recoveries from milling ranged between a low of 78.8 per cent in 1987 and a high of 85.9 per cent in 1989. Government and company annual reports indicate that gold recoveries ranged between a low of 82.1 per cent in 1994 and a high of 89.83 per cent in 1996 following a change of ownership. Copper flotation produced a concentrate at approximately 22 per cent Cu and 34.3 grams per tonne Au for shipment in 1992. Hope Brook hosts an indicated gold resource totalling 16.19 million tonnes grading 2.32 grams per tonne gold for 1.2 million ounces and inferred resources totalling 2,215,000 tonnes grading 3.25 grams per tonne gold for 231,000 ounces based on a 0.4- and 2.0-gram-per-tonne cut-off grades for open pit and underground resources respectively using a long-term gold price of $1,750 (U.S.). The Hope Brook gold deposit is a high-sulphidation epithermal gold deposit hosted in the proterozoic-aged Whittle Hill Sandstone and is intruded by a Late proterozoic quartz-feldspar porphyry sill-dike complex of the Roti intrusive suite. The deposit is located adjacent to and within an extensive advanced argillic alteration envelope which includes pyrophyllite, kaolinite, andalusite and alunite. The principal gold mineralization occurs in a buff-coloured massive, vuggy silicic alteration with an associated, less-developed grey silicic alteration with pyrite, chalcopyrite and lesser bornite accessory minerals. Gold mineralization is also found with pyrite in units of advanced argillic alteration adjacent to or near silicic alteration horizons. The altered and mineralized zone is cut by mafic dikes whose contacts are often mineralized. All the altered and mineralized sequences and the intruded dikes have been folded. Hope Brook is located 85 kilometres east of Port aux Basques, Nfld. The project has well maintained infrastructure on site, including an operational 28-person camp, a 1,100-metre airstrip, ice-free docking facility and, importantly, connection to the provincial electrical power grid via an on-site substation. About Big Ridge Gold Corp. Big Ridge Gold is an exploration and development company managed by a disciplined and experienced team of officers and directors. The company is committed to the development of advanced-stage mining projects using industry-best practices combined with strong social licence from Big Ridge's local communities. Big Ridge owns an 80-per-cent interest in its flagship Hope Brook gold project, located in Newfoundland and Labrador. Big Ridge also owns 100 per cent in the highly prospective Oxford gold project located in Manitoba and the Destiny gold project in Quebec. Acknowledgement Big Ridge acknowledges and appreciates the Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Natural Resources' financial support of the company's 2023 exploration programs through the Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) program.