Mr. Michael Bandrowski reports

BIG RIDGE GOLD CORP COMMENCES 2026 DRILL PROGRAM AT THE HOPE BROOK GOLD PROJECT

Big Ridge Gold Corp. has commenced its 2026 drill program at the Hope Brook gold project (HBGP), located on the southwest coast of the island of Newfoundland. The drill program will focus on both infill and stepout drilling at the 240 and Main zones as well as approximately 2,000 metres of geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling to continue advancing engineering of the HBGP.

Michael Bandrowski, president and chief executive officer of the company, commented: "We are excited to begin our 2026 drill program that will generate several catalysts to our shareholders over the coming months. We believe the diamond drill program will continue to demonstrate potential to expand both the 240 and Main zones at the HBGP. We also anticipate positive results from the ongoing geophysical program that will further define targets that will highlight the potential of the HBGP."

Objectives of the program:

The drill plan for 2026 consists of a combination of operational and exploration drilling and is designed to achieve the following objectives:

• Exploration drilling in the Main zones will:
  • Upgrade inferred resources beneath the currently modelled pit shell into indicated;
  • Test the mineral resource below the current resource model.
• Exploration drilling in the 240 zone will:
  • Upgrade much of what is a largely an inferred resource into the indicated category;
  • Better define the extents to the 240 zone.
• Geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling within the proposed open pit and underground mine developments will provide geomechanical and groundwater data that will be used to:
  • Determine the geomechanical characteristics and hydraulic conductivities for each geotechnical domain;
  • Complete a geomechanical fault model and hydrogeological model for the deposit;
  • Estimate underground and open pit inflows and dewatering requirements.

This information will be used to complete the open pit and underground mine design, including pit bench and slope geometry, underground access, mining and stability assessment, dewatering measures, and potential interactions with historical mine workings.

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 light grey to dark grey, massive silicic rocks, commonly vuggy, with several percent pyrite and/or chalcopyrite plus bornite either as disseminations or veinlets. 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.

The Hope Brook is located 40 kilometres west of Burgeo and 85 kilometres east of Port aux Basques, Nfld. The project has well maintained infrastructure on site, including an operational 28-person camp, an 1,100-metre airstrip, an 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 the company's local communities. Big Ridge owns a 100-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.

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