Mr. Derek White reports

ASCOT REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2023 RESULTS AND PROVIDES CONSTRUCTION UPDATE ON THE PREMIER GOLD PROJECT

Ascot Resources Ltd. has released its unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2023 (Q1 2023), and provided a construction update on the company's Premier gold project (PGP), located on Nisga'a Nation treaty lands in the prolific Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia. For details of the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2023, please see the company's filings on SEDAR.

Derek White, president and chief executive officer, commented: "As a result of the construction financing closed earlier this year, and also the momentum started with last year's construction season, work crews have hit the ground running in the first quarter of 2023 with much progress being made in many areas. In mid-January, contractors started inside the mill building and progressed piping and equipment installations, and outdoor construction has recently been advancing the new water treatment plant and associated infrastructure. As of Q1 2023, detailed engineering stands at 99 per cent complete, major procurement is over 95 per cent complete and project construction excluding mine development is at 35 per cent. We plan to further ramp-up construction efforts in the coming months with the mobilization of the earthworks and underground mining contractors, and continue to advance project development towards initial gold pour in early 2024."

All amounts herein are reported in thousands of Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.

Q1 2023 and recent highlights:

• On Jan. 19, 2023, the company closed a previously announced financing package for completion of construction of the project. The financing package consists of $110-million (U.S.) as a deposit in respect of gold and silver streaming agreements and a strategic equity investment of $45-million, a portion of which is structured as Canadian development expenditures flow-through shares, such that the total gross proceeds to the company was $50-million. Concurrent with the closing of the financing package, the outstanding principal and accrued interest of the senior debt with Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Co) Inc. (Sprott Lending) was repaid, the production payment agreement (PPA) in connection with the senior debt was terminated, and the existing gold stream from the Red Mountain property with Sprott Private Resource Streaming and Royalty (B) Corp. (Sprott Streaming) was terminated and replaced by the new gold and silver stream.
• The Premier site was preserved and winterized in late 2022. The company recommenced its construction activities in early 2023 by remobilizing various construction contractors to site to complete the remaining scope on mill construction and piping. Construction of the new water treatment plant began in Q1 2023. Earthworks on tailings and the construction of the new water treatment plant will commence in Q2 2023 once the snow has melted.
• On Feb. 17, 2023, the company reorganized its board of directors by adding two new members: Jose Nestor Marun and Stephen Altmann, both of whom were appointed pursuant to the recent strategic investment with Ccori Apu SAC. The company also reported the voluntary resignation of Ken Carter and James Stypula from Ascot's board. As a result, Ascot's board maintains its size of seven directors, and its gender diversity with 29 per cent women.
• On March 23, 2023, the company published its second annual sustainability report, which will continue to evolve as Ascot progresses from development into production next year. The 2022 sustainability report can be accessed and downloaded at the company's website.
• On April 20, 2023, the company closed a previously announced non-brokered private placement. The offering raised total gross proceeds of $4,050 and consisted of five million common shares of the company, which qualify as flow-through shares within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada), at a price of 81 cents per FT share. The proceeds from the offering will be used to finance the 2023 exploration program at PGP. The gross proceeds from the issuance of the FT shares will be used for Canadian exploration expenses and will qualify as flow-through mining expenditures, as those terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), which will be renounced to the purchaser of the FT shares with an effective date no later than Dec. 31, 2023, in an aggregate amount not less than the gross proceeds raised from the issue of the FT shares.
• On May 11, 2023, the company announced the 2023 exploration program at PGP. The program consists of an initial 10,000 metres of surface drilling, and will include exploration drilling for resource expansion as well as in-fill drilling of early mining areas at the Big Missouri and Premier deposits. The exploration drilling will focus on extending the Day zone at Big Missouri and the Sebakwe zone north of the Premier mill. Up to an additional 4,000 metres of drilling have been budgeted, and will be deployed toward surface and underground drilling depending on results of the initial 10,000 metres.

Project construction

Upon securing the new project financing in January, 2023, Ascot re-engaged various contractors to progress activities in the mill building for the remainder of mill construction scope. Starting from approximately 65 people working at site at the end of January, there are now approximately 130 workers on site, and this will continue to increase with the mobilization of earthworks and mining contractors in the coming months, to a peak of approximately 200 workers on site.

At the end of Q1 2023, detailed engineering was at 99 per cent completion. Major procurement was more than 95-per-cent complete. Key orders remaining in the plant relate mostly to piping, instrumentation and bulk consumables.

Mechanical work continued in the mill: various trommels, dust collection and chute infrastructure were installed around the SAG and ball mills. The intensive leach reactor was assembled. Electricians continued installing electrical cabinetry, pulling wire, installing cable trays and working in the MCC room. Concrete and structural steel contractors also have been restarted, and their scope updated for the mill completion. Crews have also made progress on the new water treatment plant (WTP) and associated infrastructure, including the tailings thickener, lime silos, moving bed bio-reactor (MBBR) tanks and clarifier foundation pedestals.

The earthworks contract was signed in March, 2023. In order to dewater the tailings facility for the required upcoming earthworks, an additional temporary water treatment plant has been mobilized to site. This temporary dewatering will occur for a period of approximately four to six weeks. By the end of May, 2023, the earthworks contractor will be mobilized to restart work on the Cascade Creek diversion channel (CCDC) and tailings facility, which is anticipated to be completed by October, 2023.

At the end of Q1 2023, overall construction, excluding mine development, was at 35.3 per cent completion. By the end of 2022, Ascot had invested a total of approximately $153-million in construction of PGP. By March 31, 2023, Ascot had spent $173-million on the project. Ascot's cash balance at March 31, 2023, was $149-million.

Underground mine development

Mine plan and sequencing optimization were completed in October, 2022, developing a plan to minimize upfront development while accessing early ore in an optimized sequence starting at Premier Northern Lights (PNL) then ramping up production at Big Missouri (BM), while developing over to Silver Coin (SC), where the upper levels of the deposit will be initially developed to maximize ore tonnage per linear metre. Based on the recently completed plan, the company anticipates starting mine development in late July, 2023, with the collaring of the PNL ramp portal, while development will recommence at BM in late September, 2023, after completion of the plug on the 2,350 level in August, 2023. Engineering on a pipe and valve assembly for the 2,350 plug design that was approved in February, 2023, is in progress.

Limitations on ore storage on surface have resulted in a realignment of the mine plan. The initial focus in PNL will be just in time, with long-hole drilled inventory blasted as required, while more priority will be put on BM in the early plan because material can be stored in the Dago pit and brought to the temporary mill pad from there. The realignment of the mine plan is expected to complete by the end of mid-June, 2023.

A consultant continued work on underground ventilation plans in Ventsim for all three mine areas, developing a unique plan to use the historical workings in conjunction with a pull system near the PNL portal. This work, and the SC/BM system, will be finalized and added to the updated mine plan.

Ascot is currently in the process of finalizing a mining contract with a mine contractor for development and initial production, this process will be completed during Q2 2023.

Mine development will progress throughout 2023 and delivery of ore is expected to commence late in the fourth quarter of 2023, enabling the start of mill commissioning and first gold pour in early 2024.

Financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2023

The company reported a net loss of $7,589 for Q1 2023 compared with $1,370 for Q1 2022. The higher net loss in Q1 2023 is driven by a $4,202 loss on extinguishment of senior debt, $1,430 change in fair value of derivatives, and $1,127 in fees and expenses associated with stream.

Liquidity and capital resources

As at March 31, 2023, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $149,261, and working capital of $131,631, excluding the current portion of the credit facilities. In Q1 2023, the company issued 109,208,928 common shares, 400,000 stock options, and 18,963 deferred share units. Also, 500,000 stock options expired unexercised, and 55,530 stock options and 653,398 restricted share units were exercised in Q1 2023.

Management's outlook for 2023

With the financing package closed on Jan. 19, 2023, the company believes that it has sufficient financing to complete construction of the project and achieve first gold production in early 2024. The key activities for 2023 include:

• During Q1 2023, contractors were remobilized to the mill and significant progress has been made since then in the area of mechanical installation, piping, electrical and related surface infrastructure;
• Construction of the process plant and associated surface infrastructure such that the plant is expected to be in precommissioning by the end of 2023;
• Completion of the tailings dam improvements and start-up of the new water treatment plant by Q4 2023, and in order to facilitate the dewatering of the tailing dam for construction, a temporary water treatment plant has been installed and dewatering activities are planned for the month of May, June and July, 2023;
• Advancement of the PNL portal and underground development, and additional underground development of the Big Missouri mine;
• Maintaining a health and safety record of zero lost-time incidents, and achieving the 2023 goals outlined in the company's 2022 sustainability report;
• Advancing the recruitment of site personnel in line with the site personnel plan by the end of 2023;
• Maintaining permitting and environmental compliance so that there are no delays in the project construction schedule;
• More exploration and infill drilling north and west of existing resources.

Two thousand twenty-three AGM presentation webcast

Ascot's annual general meeting (AGM) is taking place on Thursday, June 22, at 10 a.m. PT. Please join Mr. White, president and CEO, for a presentation via webcast at 1:15 P.M. PT for the results of the AGM and an overview of Ascot's progress and plans in 2023. Please join five to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time.

Time:  Thursday, June 2022, 2023, at 1:15 p.m. PT

Webcast:  access on-line

Telephone:  1-800-319-4610 (toll-free Canada/United States) or 1-604-638-5340 (international)

Qualified person

John Kiernan, PEng, chief operating officer of the company, is the company's qualified person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

About Ascot Resources Ltd.

Ascot is a Canadian junior exploration and development company focused on restarting the past-producing Premier gold mine, located on Nisga'a Nation treaty lands in British Columbia's prolific Golden Triangle. Concurrent with progressing the development of Premier, the company continues to successfully explore its properties for additional high-grade underground resources. Ascot is committed to the safe and responsible development of Premier in collaboration with Nisga'a Nation, as outlined in the benefits agreement.

We seek Safe Harbor.