Big Ridge Gold Corp Commences 2026 Drill Program at the Hope Brook Gold Project

Big Ridge Gold Corp. (TSXV: BRAU,OTC:ALVLF) (OTCQB: ALVLF) ("Big Ridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of 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 step-out drilling at the 240 and Main Zones as well as approximately 2000 meters of geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling to continue advancing engineering of the HBGP.

Michael Bandrowski, President and CEO 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, P. Geo., Vice President Exploration for Big Ridge, a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 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 - 1997. Initial production consisted of an open pit before moving to underground mining. Hope Brook operated using both heap leach (1987 -1990) and conventional cyanidation milling methods (1989-1997) 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% in 1987 and a high of 85.9% in 1989. Government and company annual reports indicate that gold recoveries ranged between a low of 82.1% in 1994 and a high of 89.83% in 1996 following a change of ownership. Copper flotation produced a concentrate at approximately 22% Cu and 34.3 g/t Au for shipment in 1992.

Hope Brook hosts an Indicated gold resource totalling 16,190,000 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 US$1,750.

The Hope Brook gold deposit is a high-sulfidation 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 + 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 dykes whose contacts are often mineralized. All the altered and mineralized sequences and the intruded dykes have been folded.

The Hope Brook is located 40 kilometers west of Burgeo and 85 kilometers east of Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The project has well maintained infrastructure on site, including an operational 28-person camp, an 1,100-meter 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 Corp. 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 license from our local communities. Big Ridge owns an 100% interest in its flagship Hope Brook Gold Project, located in Newfoundland and Labrador. Big Ridge also owns 100% in the highly prospective Oxford Gold Project located in Manitoba and the Destiny Gold Project in Quebec.

Acknowledgement

Big Ridge acknowledges and appreciates the Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Natural Resources' financial support of the Company's 2023 exploration programs through the Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program.

For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.bigridgegold.com

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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations, or beliefs regarding future events, and include, without limitation, statements with respect to Big Ridge's intentions with respect to Caprock's shares. All forward-looking statements are based on Big Ridge's and its employees' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties, and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Big Ridge, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Big Ridge does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law.

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