Mr. Robert Eckford reports

RUA GOLD ANNOUNCES THE GRANT OF OPTIONS AND DEFERRED SHARE UNITS

Rua Gold Inc. has granted 1,702,000 options to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the company, in accordance the company's stock option plan dated effective Oct. 26, 2018. Each option is exercisable into one common share in the capital of the company at an exercise price of 60 cents per common share for five years following the date of grant. The options are subject to a three-year vesting period with 567,328 of the options vesting Jan. 1, 2026, 567,336 of the options vesting Jan. 1, 2027, and 567,336 of the options vesting Jan. 1, 2028.

The company also announces that it has granted an aggregate of 219,405 deferred share units to non-executive directors of the company at a deemed price of 60.2 cents per DSU under the company's deferred share unit plan adopted on April 17, 2024. A total of 118,197 DSUs are subject to a one-year vesting period, and A total of 101,208 DSUs are subject to a three-year vesting period. Each DSU entitles the holder to receive one common share at the time the holder ceases to be a director of the company.

About Rua Gold Inc.

Rua Gold is an exploration company, strategically focused on New Zealand. With decades of expertise, the team has taken major discoveries into producing world-class mines across multiple continents. The team is focused on maximizing the asset potential of Rua Gold's two highly prospective high-grade gold projects.

The company controls the Reefton gold district as the dominant landholder in the Reefton goldfield on New Zealand's South Island with approximately 120,000 hectares of tenements in a district that historically produced over two million ounces of gold grading between nine and 50 grams per tonne.

The company's Glamorgan project solidifies Rua Gold's position as a leading high-grade gold explorer on New Zealand's North Island. This highly prospective project is located within the North Islands' Hauraki district, a region that has produced an impressive 15 million ounces of gold and 60 million ounces of silver. Glamorgan is within three kilometres of Oceanagold Corp.'s biggest gold mining project, WKP.