Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 22, 2026) - Valkea Resources Corp. (TSXV: OZ) (OTCQB: OZBKF) (FSE: 4A7) (the "Company" or "Valkea") is pleased to report that active systematic exploration of its 24 new, high-ranking prospects has commenced with diamond drilling of the first new target completed in August and reconnaissance base of till ("BoT") drilling underway.
Highlights
- Diamond drilling of the Kari target in the Paana project has been completed, assays expected Q4 2026.
- Updated aeromagnetic surveys have been undertaken on the wider Paana licences and BoT drilling has commenced, accelerating the goal of providing higher resolution interpretations for diamond drilling of the highest priority targets from late 2026.
- Preliminary metallurgical test work on samples from Aarnivalkea West to assess economic potential in progress.
Thomas Credland, CEO of Valkea Resources, said: "We continue to advance a number of properties in our portfolio with diamond drilling of the first new target completed and BoT drilling capacity added to expedite geochemical sampling of new prospects to focus diamond drilling over the winter season. Initially we plan to expand our program beyond known mineralisation at Aarnivalkea West to 12 new prospective targets elsewhere on the sizeable Paana property."
Paana: our initial focus
Valkea's 100% owned Paana Project comprises four licence areas totalling 93 km2: Paana Central, Paana West, Paana W2 and Paanapyytö. Paana hosts 12 of the 24 new targets identified by Valkea (see press release dated July 22nd 2026) using geophysics (aeromagnetics, EM and VTEM), structural analysis and existing BoT anomalism (Au). Paana covers extensions of regional shear zones considered highly prospective for orogenic gold mineralization with similar volcanic and sedimentary host rocks to the multi-million ounce Kittilä deposit (15 km southeast, see Figure 1).
Previously, BoT and diamond drilling almost entirely focused on the Paana Central's Aarnivalkea West discovery. Over 17,000m of diamond drilling delineated a ~1.3 km north-trending corridor of deformed and altered greenstones associated with broad zones of gold mineralization. Updated airbourne magnetic surveys have now been flown and BoT drilling has now commenced on the wider Paana licences, with an additional BoT rig scheduled to come online in October, with the stated goal of identifying the best 5-10 targets for diamond drilling over the winter (see Figure 2).
Paana Central's Kari target
Drilling of Kari, our first new target, was completed in August. Drilling of Kari was prioritized due to its all-season access, with an initial program of 1,275 m drilled in five holes along an E-W profile, located 2.5 km south of known mineralization at Aarnivalkea West. It also provided an opportunity to drill-test the regional Muusa Shear. Drillholes intercepted a variably deformed succession of rocks, dominated by intermediate or mafic volcanics, including pillow basalts, interbedded volcaniclastic sediments, cherty intervals and relatively thin ironstones. Drilling returned evidence of disseminated sulphide mineralization within the more deformed host lithologies in three out of five drillholes. Assays are expected in Q4 2026. The interpretation of the geological findings will inform further exploration targeting in Paana Central.
Metallurgical test work from Paana Central's Aarnivalkea West
Exploratory metallurgical test work is being undertaken by Alfred H Knight (UK) on a ~53 kg bulk sample from Aarnivalkea West. This includes whole ore leach testing and batch flotation test work. Results from the testwork is expected in the next few months.
About Valkea
Valkea Resources is a geoscience-led exploration company focused on making new gold and base metals discoveries in Northern Finland's prospective Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. Its 350 km2 land package includes six principal project areas that span highly prospective regional geological structures. The Company's leadership and technical team include key contributors to the multi-million-ounce Ikkari gold discovery made in 2020. Work is underway to make a new discovery using the same systematic and disciplined approach to identifying targets with the best potential for meaningful size and the possibility of becoming mines of the future.
Qualified Person
The disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Dr Chris Bonson, a non-independent consulting geologist who holds the position of Vice President Exploration for the Company and is recognized as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Some technical information contained in this release is historical in nature and has been compiled from public sources believed to be accurate. The historical technical information has not been verified by Valkea and may, in some instances, be unverifiable. Mineralisation hosted on adjacent and/or nearby projects is not necessarily indicative of mineralisation hosted on Valkea's projects.
Contact Information
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Figure 1. Mineral Deposits of Central Lapland and location of Paana (red box)
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Figure 2. Exploration targets and initial work programs planned at Paana in 2026/27
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