Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 12, 2026) - Dixie Gold Inc. (TSXV: DG) ("Dixie Gold" or the "Corporation" or the "Issuer") is pleased to report that it has successfully participated in a mining claim reopening held earlier this week by the Government of Ontario (on February 9th, 2026), in which it was successful within the Mining Lands Administration System ("MLAS") in securing additional tenure contiguous to the mining claims announced by way of news release dated February 2, 2026 (claims with said date having now been granted). Along with other details outlined in this news release, the aggregate of Dixie Gold's described mining claim position forms the basis for a newly assembled project in Ontario, Canada (the "Pickle Crow East Gold Project").

Dixie Gold directly and fully funded the claim acquisitions for the Pickle Crow East Gold Project through existing working capital held by the Issuer.

"Given an influx of exploration and market attention that we anticipate at the adjacent project once the FireFly Metals and Bellavista Resources transaction closes, the historic Pickle Crow gold camp may re-emerge as a highly active and significant gold district in Ontario, with Dixie Gold having secured a compelling and technically-prospective project footprint for our shareholders at just the right time," stated Ryan Kalt, Chief Executive Officer of Dixie Gold.

The Pickle Crow East Gold Project grows the Issuer's existing presence in the Uchi Subprovince, where Dixie Gold holds exploration ground (the "Red Lake Gold Project") adjoining a Kinross Gold Corp. project (the "Great Bear Project"), and where Dixie Gold has delivered upon, either directly or indirectly through partnership, around a million dollars of field exploration, therein providing it with past experience in the subprovince, especially relative to its capitalization.

Reminiscent of the Issuer's early move near the Great Bear Project, and given recent corporate activity and exploration results near the historic Pickle Crow gold mine (the "Pickle Crow Mine Project")(see announcements by TSX/ASX-listed FireFly Metals Ltd and ASX-listed Bellavista Resources Ltd and see FireFly Metals Ltd news release, 'FireFly to unlock value from Pickle Crow Gold Project by sale for up to A$86.1M', dated February 1, 2026), Dixie Gold has quickly secured a prominent adjoining project, much of which was, until recently, otherwise locked-up by Commander Resources Ltd. through segments of their then-named First Loon Gold Project. As a result of insufficient exploration assessment credits available to the prior project proponent, additional area was successfully acquired by Dixie Gold when it reopened on February 9, 2026. Those management-led efforts were further complimented on that same day (once the strategic reopening had occurred) by an incremental on-trend regional position, as well as targeted mining claims staked on February 10, 2026.

About the Pickle Crow East Gold Project

Presently, the Pickle Crow East Gold Project is defined through approximately 256 claims covering approximately 5,147 ha (as measured by QGIS), project of which includes adjacency to the Pickle Crow Mine Project (see close-up and regional project claim maps in Figures 1 and 2 below).

Figure 1 - Pickle Crow East Gold Project (SW Claim Area)

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Figure 2 - Pickle Crow East Gold Project (Claim Map)

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The project was directly acquired by the Issuer through staking and it is royalty free (save those due to the Crown) demonstrating the Issuer's highly efficient use of capital and rapid market response to what may re-emerge as a significant modern-day gold camp. Pending any customary Crown approvals, the Pickle Crow East Gold Project will be in good standing through to the next claim anniversary dates, being in February 2028, and thereafter subject to assessment work.

Bedrock exposure in this area is limited, which Dixie Gold believes may have obscured exploration opportunities from "old timers" who prospected the general area nearly a hundred years ago during the original Pickle Crow gold rush looking for outcropped veins, having had limited tools to locate potential gold deposition in areas under cover or see crystal-structure gold in banded iron formations, both also being without the benefit of evolving modern-day host-rock interpretations. Brought forward to the present, an opportunity may now exist due to both advances in sub-surface exploration technologies and the emerging recognition of multiple gold-bearing host rocks in the area. Dixie Gold believes that there may also be prospective similarity to the Issuer's past experience elsewhere in the Uchi Subprovince, i.e. the Red Lake gold camp and the potential for the presence of 'unexpected' gold in 'unconventional rocks' in the Pickle Crow region, as was the case within the Red Lake gold camp at the aforementioned Great Bear Project, which there included the unexpected presence of gold in felsic lithologies.

As general background, the Pickle Lake greenstone belt, in which the historic Pickle Crow mine is located, is part of the larger Uchi Subprovince, a region known for hosting numerous gold occurrences as well as several past and present-producing mines. The Uchi Subprovince includes the Red Lake gold district and its associated deposits, being roughly 250 km to the west of the Pickle Crow mine. The Pickle Lake belt consists of supracrustal rocks intruded by internal granitoid plutons, all of which are enveloped by extensive granitoid batholiths. It is divided into several distinct assemblages - notably the Pickle Crow assemblage, the Kaminiskag assemblage, and the Confederation assemblage. These assemblages are separated by major structural features, interpreted as significant crustal-scale breaks that likely play a key role in controlling the localization of important gold deposits.

Historically, much of gold discovered and mined within the Pickle Lake greenstone belt has come from the Pickle Lake assemblage and has been associated with quartz veins. More recently however, gold occurrences have been recognized in a broader set of rock groups in the belt - settings of which are underexplored and, in Dixie Gold's view, hold potential for future gold discoveries. This new (and still evolving) understanding of additional gold settings - within a regional context - shares similarity, in Dixie Gold's opinion, to the rethinking of potential gold deposition settings that went on elsewhere in the Uchi Subprovince.

The newly-assembled Pickle Crow East Gold Project itself is materially underlain by metavolcanic rocks, typically seen elsewhere as favourable host rocks for gold mineralization, as well as a number of mapped but underexplored multi-kilometric iron formations (as noted by prior claim holder, Commander Resources Ltd., through both geophysical and surface work, and as also referenced in Ontario's geological data which is publicly accessible through MLAS).

See Figure 3 below for a general geology map of the Pickle Crow East Gold Project and area.

Figure 3 - Pickle Crow East Gold Project (Geology Map (MLAS))

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At the outset, the Pickle Crow East Gold Project has two immediate areas of interest for Dixie Gold. Firstly, an area in the SW of the project closest to the historic Pickle Crow gold mine itself (and any potential subsurface structures that may influence mineralization in the vicinity), and secondly, a NE trending iron formation setting - which despite its close proximity - has seen little exploration or drilling, particularly when compared to the parallel iron formations at the adjoining Pickle Crow Mine Project (see regional drilling as against MLAS mapped geology/drillholes in Figure 4 below).

Figure 4 - Pickle Crow East Gold Project (Iron Formations & Historic Drill Holes)

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As shown through Figure 4 (above), drilling on Dixie Gold's claims at the Pickle Crow East Gold Project has been sparse. Despite that limitation, Dixie Gold has located certain historic drill records which confirm promising preliminary results, particularly the presence of chert-sulphide iron formation intercepts accompanied by massive pyrrhotite, pyrite, sericite and vein quartz, with sulphides being noted as likely formed by replacement (see Placer Dome drill hole 322-033, 52P12SW0007). Chert-sulphide facies, and specifically those with replacement sulphides, are sought after exploration targets. Of general note, in many banded iron formation deposits, gold is sub-microscopic - often locked in the crystal lattice of arsenopyrite or pyrite - and for this reason such gold could not have been reasonably identified by prospectors using hand lenses, including those who may have traversed the region during the original 1930's Pickle Crow claim rush. A more recently mapped SW-NE fault noted by Commander Resources Ltd. appears to have intersected the banded iron formation south of the Placer Dome drill holes, which, subject to further examination, may present a compelling untested area for a pipe-trap exploration model.

In addition, an interpreted felsic intrusion (as mapped by Commander Resources Ltd. but not appearing on regional MLAS geology maps) is also interest to Dixie Gold, same being situated south of the historic Pickle Crow gold mine but within the now-constituted Pickle Crow East Gold Project and the same having spatial proximity to a fold axial identified by Commander Resources Ltd. during their preceding claim ownership (see news release, Commander Identifies Targets at First Loon Gold Project and Expands Property, Pickle Lake, Ontario, dated January 18, 2021). The proximity of an interpreted fold axial plane and a felsic intrusion may provide a novel near-mine exploration area, particularly given its concurrent positioning proximate to mapped iron formations (see also Figure 5 below).

Figure 5 - Pickle Crow East Gold Project (SW Area - Iron Formations & Historic Drill Holes)

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Lastly, like the adjoining Pickle Crow Mine Project, Dixie Gold's new Pickle Crow East Gold Project, follows a general SW-NE direction (see claim map above, Figure 2), which tracks the broader structures of the area's geology.

The Pickle Crow East Gold Project represents an uncommon opportunity for a junior gold explorer to participate in a variety of geologic settings that may share features which are similar to an adjoining project that hosts a large past producing gold mine. For historic reference, the Pickle Crow gold mine, which is located within the Pickle Crow Mine Project, was originally discovered in the early 1930's and commenced commercial production in 1935. The mine operated until 1966 during which time it produced 1.5 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 16 g/t gold (see https://fireflymetals.com.au/pickle-crow-near-mine/). Under its current operator, the remaining Pickle Crow deposit has also had significant indicated growth in its inferred resource subsequent to historic production - of last public third-party report being a non-43-101 inferred resources of 2.8 million ounces at 7.2 g/t gold (reported in accordance with the JORC Code 2012, see Bellavista Resources Ltd. news release, Bellavista agrees to acquire 80% of Pickle Crow Gold Project and highly prospective exploration assets, dated February 2, 2026, https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-03051899_PS-6A1310001&v=undefined) - potentially highlighting both the global rarity of the Pickle Crow deposit itself and the prospective scale of gold endowment that may be possible in the broader region as both new technologies and new geologic understandings are applied within a favourable macro gold price. The aforementioned information about the Pickle Crow deposit is provided for contextual information only, the Issuer cautions that JORC Code 2012 estimates do not comply with NI 43-101 and should not be relied upon by readers for purposes of the same (see also the various disclaimers at the bottom of this news release).

The past production and scale of the adjoining Pickle Crow Mine Project, combined with an emerging appreciation of host rock settings for gold in the area brings significant potential for Dixie Gold at this exciting new project. As example, historical core at the Pickle Crow mine did not typically sample or assay mineralization associated with banded iron formations or porphyry rocks that were situated outside of quartz veins (but which are now understood by the operator of the Pickle Crow Mine Project to be gold-bearing). Leveraging publicly available information, Dixie Gold has identified multiple mapped iron formations that may present banded iron formation target settings, with several of those mapped formations having exceptional proximity to the historic Pickle Crow mine but appear to have had limited-to-no historic drill testing (see Figure 4 above and also Ontario's publicly available drillhole database available on MLAS).

The Issuer aims to advance its new Pickle Crow East Gold Project as appropriate exploration funding presents and as market interest facilitates. In the ordinary course, Dixie Gold may acquire additional claims for its Pickle Lake East Gold Project, beyond those described herein, to supplement the project, including based upon the generalities summarized above.

Disclaimer Regarding Historic Information

Information in this press release contains reference to historic materials which have not been independently field-verified by the Issuer or its Qualified Person and as such, readers should not place undue reliance thereon.

Disclaimer Regarding Third-Party News Releases

The Issuer is not responsible for the content, technical or otherwise, of any third-party news releases.

Disclaimer Regarding Third-Party Resource Estimates

The Issuer provides third-party resource estimates for contextual information only. Such information, including information related to any JORC 2012 estimates, are not compliant with NI 43-101 and as such should not be relied upon by readers of this press release. The Issuer is not responsible for the content, technical or otherwise, of any third-party resource estimates.

Disclaimer Regarding Adjacent and/or Other Projects

The Issuer cautions that past results or discoveries at adjacent and/or other Uchi Subprovince projects (such as the Pickle Crow Mine Project and the Great Bear Project, respectively) are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on projects or project interests held or operated by the Issuer (such as the Issuer's Pickle Crow East Gold Project and/or its Red Lake Gold Project).

Qualified Person

Antonio Carteri, P.Geo., and a "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Carteri is an independent consultant to the Issuer.

About Dixie Gold Inc.

Dixie Gold Inc. (TSXV: DG) is a junior exploration company holding a portfolio of mining-related interests in Canada. For more information, please visit www.dixiegold.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words "anticipate," "expect," "suggest," "plan," "believe," "intend,", "intention" "estimate," "target," "project," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "forecast" and/or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to plans, activities and results related to the Issuer's exploration projects, claim count and/or project size of the Issuer's exploration projects, as well as with regards to certain uncertainties and risks as pertains to any and all exploration work, targets and/or good-standing nature of any projects, including the Pickle Crow East Gold Project and the Red Lake Gold Project, as well as forward-statements to any corporate developments and/or strategies, which may include capital plans and/or expenditure plans and/or other matters related to any future capital sourcing and/or capital allocation. References to third-party transactions and their completion, if any, including the announced transaction between FireFly Metals Ltd and Bellavista Resources Ltd are also noted by the Issuer as having unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently expected or forecast in such statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/283674