Mr. Michael Hudson reports

SOUTHERN CROSS GOLD ANNOUNCES INCLUSION IN THE VANECK JUNIOR GOLD MINERS ETF (GDXJ) AND FTSE CANADA ALL CAP INDEX

The common shares of Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd. have been added to the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) and the FTSE Canada All Cap Index, effective at market close on March 20, 2026, pursuant to their quarterly rebalances.

The GDXJ is a globally recognized exchange-traded fund with approximately $9-billion (U.S.) in net assets that tracks small- and mid-capitalization companies primarily involved in gold and silver mining and development. The FTSE Canada All Cap Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index representing the performance of Canadian large-, mid- and small-cap stocks.

Inclusion in these indices is expected to increase the company's visibility to a broader range of institutional and retail investors and may enhance the liquidity of the company's shares across all listed exchanges.

Michael Hudson, president and chief executive officer, stated: "Inclusion in both the GDXJ and FTSE Canada All Cap Index is a significant milestone for Southern Cross Gold and a testament to the exceptional work of our team in advancing the Sunday Creek gold-antimony project.

"The GDXJ is the world's most widely held junior gold miner ETF with approximately $9-billion (U.S.) in net assets. As a constituent, every dollar that flows into the fund automatically allocates a portion to SXGC shares -- creating a structural, recurring bid that compounds with each new subscription into the ETF.

"Inclusion puts Southern Cross Gold on the screen of every institutional gold fund manager, sell-side analyst and quantitative strategy that benchmarks against GDXJ. It is a credibility threshold that places the company alongside the world's leading junior gold miners. Improved liquidity and tighter bid-ask spreads also make SXGC accessible to larger funds with minimum liquidity requirements -- funds that previously could not take a position even if they wanted to.

"These additions will broaden our shareholder base at a time when Sunday Creek's strategic value -- as one of the Western world's most significant gold-antimony discoveries -- has never been more relevant. With antimony now a critical mineral for defence and energy storage applications and China restricting exports, Sunday Creek is uniquely positioned as a future source of Western-aligned supply."

Important cautionary note

Investors should be aware that the inclusion of the company in the GDXJ and the FTSE Canada All Cap Index does not indicate that additional exchange-traded funds, indices or mutual funds will add the company in the future. The company has no discretion over future index rebalancings or the level of exposure any index or ETF will have to the company's shares and any impacts to trading volumes as a result of such future rebalancings. Furthermore, the company's inclusion in these indices neither ensures higher trading volumes nor precludes lower trading volumes, either of which may adversely impact the price of the company's shares in the future.

About Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd.

Southern Cross is defining a leading gold-antimony project at the Sunday Creek gold-antimony project, located 60 kilometres north of Melbourne. Sunday Creek is a significant gold and antimony drill discovery in a Tier 1 location, with high-grade drill results including 81 composite intersections exceeding 100 grams per tonne gold from 114.8 kilometres of drilling. The mineralization follows a Golden Ladder structure over 12 kilometres of strike length, with structures tested from surface to 1,100 metres depth.

Sunday Creek's strategic value is enhanced by its dual-metal profile. The company has a critical mineral the Western world needs. This has gained increased significance following China's export restrictions on antimony, a critical metal for defence and semiconductor applications. Southern Cross's inclusion in the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) and Australia's AUKUS-related legislative changes position it as a potential key Western antimony supplier.

Technical fundamentals further strengthen the investment case, with preliminary metallurgical work showing non-refractory mineralization suitable for conventional processing and gold recoveries of 93 per cent to 98 per cent through gravity and flotation.

With a strong cash position, 1,392 hectares of strategic freehold land ownership and a large, 200-kilometre drill program planned through Q1 2027, Southern Cross is well positioned to advance this globally significant gold-antimony discovery in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, delivering milestone by milestone.

Qualified/competent person

The technical information in this news release, including the information that relates to exploration results at Sunday Creek, was prepared under the supervision of or has been prepared, reviewed, verified and approved by Michael Hudson, president, chief executive officer and managing director of Southern Cross, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and a competent person who is a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Mr. Hudson has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activities undertaken to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Hudson consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

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