Rua Gold Inc. (TSXV: RUA,OTC:NZAUF) (OTCQB: NZAUF) (WKN: A40QYC) ("Rua Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of an expanded drilling program at its Reefton Project on the South Island of New Zealand, and outlines the strategy for its fully funded 12-month exploration program.
Reefton Drill Program Expansion:
A third drill rig is being mobilized to accelerate exploration across the Reefton Project.
A total of 4,000 meters of diamond drilling is planned at Auld Creek with two drill rigs over the next four months, targeting expansion of the current inferred resource hosted within the Bonanza and Fraternal ore shoots.
Targeting an increase of the Auld Creek resource to over 300,000 gold-equivalent ounces by the end of 2025, positioning the project for advancement into the Fast Track Process.
A third rig to focus on high-grade gold shoots at Cumberland, following up on strong results reported in May 2025.
Alexander River is emerging as a high-priority surface target.
Glamorgan Drill Program Commencement:
Access agreement for drilling has been submitted, with drilling expected to commence in Q4 2025.
Additional surface work is planned for Q3 2025, including detailed mapping and tighten the spacing on soil sampling completed to date.
Onboarding of VRIFY AI model to support target ranking and analysis.
Corporate:
Robust financial position with cash balance of $14 million as of June 30, 2025.
Allocation of $1 million into marketing over the next 12-18 months to enhance visibility through targeted investor outreach and key industry conferences.
General and administrative spend to remain under $1 million annually.August 5, 2025
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Robert Eckford, CEO of Rua Gold commented: "We closed Q2 2025 with $14 million in the treasury, placing us in a strong position to execute on our aggressive exploration plan in New Zealand. Over the past month, our Board and Management team have been focused on shaping the Company's strategy to transition us from an explorer to a developer.
With New Zealand's highly supportive permitting regime, our goal is to rapidly build ounces on our balance sheet and enter the "Fast Track Permitting Process" in 2026.
As our gold-antimony resource continues to grow rapidly - and with antimony at the top of every nations' critical minerals lists - the significance of this resource expansion and accelerated permitting is substantial for both Rua Gold and New Zealand"
Figure 1: Conceptual Plan for Auld Creek Resource Expansion Drilling
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Figure 2: Alexander River long-section schematic
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Reefton Goldfield Exploration Overview
The Reefton Goldfield is an orogenic district that produced 2Moz of gold at grades up to 50g/t up to the early 1900s. Rua Gold has assembled 120,000 hectares within this district that has seen limited drilling in the last 30 years. This goldfield is analogous in age, geology, mineralization style, and geological structure to that of Southern Cross Gold and the Fosterville Gold mine.
Auld Creek: Rua Gold commenced drilling at Auld Creek in December 2024 and has completed ~2,800 metres of drilling. The targeted program aims to add a further 4,000 metres of drilling across four mineralised shoots identified from surface exploration work (Figure 1). Following this, the resource will be refreshed and updated into the 43-101 report.
The Company is targeting an increase of the Auld Creek resource to over 300,000 gold-equivalent ounces by the end of 2025. This target is a global estimate based on current resource surface extension of 350 metres being extended over a 1km on surface at similar depths of 280 metres. Insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource has been completed to date and there is uncertainty if a mineral resource estimate will be delineated, therefore economic decisions should not be made on this target.
Auld Creek is situated between two past producing mines, Globe Progress mine, and the Crushington Group of mines which collectively produced 933,000oz at 14.0g/t Au (Barry 1993).
Cumberland: Initial drilling from Rua Gold confirms the consistency of the near-surface gold mineralization and supports the strong potential of this target. Ongoing drilling is targeting the southern surface extension 100m along strike and at depth. Intensified surface exploration is underway to delineate additional drill targets along the 2.5 km long gold mineralized shear zone.
Additional targets are currently being modelled and surveyed across the Reefton Goldfield, including Caledonia in the north, and Alexander River in the south. Caledonia represents a historical mine recording the highest grade production (9 oz/ton gold) in the Reefton Goldfield. It was abandoned early and represents a shallow development target.
"The first crushing yielded at the rate of 9 oz. per ton, with subsequent crushings averaging about 4 oz. per ton. The ore-shoot had a steep easterly dip, and pitched to the north at about 30°. It had an average length of about 180 ft. and a width of 3 ft." * Henderson 1917.
Alexander River returned historical production of 41Koz @ 26g/t Au, mining ceasing in 1942 due to WWII. Mineralization outcrops over 1.2kms, comprises high-grade quartz reefs and disseminated sulfides; predecessor Siren Gold drilled extensively along the structure, and intersected some exceptionally high-grade zones which remain open at depth (Figure 2 Alexander River long-section schematic).
An Inferred Resource 130koz @ 4.1g/t Au* has potential to develop along strike and at depth, remodeling and further drilling is a priority of the strategic plan.
*NI 43 101 Technical Report on the Reefton Project, New Zealand. Prepared for Rua Gold Inc, 30 October 2024.
Glamorgan Exploration Overview
Glamorgan on the North Island is an exciting new epithermal gold target. Rua Gold has completed extensive surface exploration over the past 12 months as a precursor to drill targeting. Four significant gold-arsenic soil anomalies trending north, north-east and north-northwest strike out individually over 4 kms in length. Drill applications have now been submitted and drilling is expected to commence in Q4 2025.
Results from the work to date indicate the classic features of a major epithermal gold-silver system and are identical to the surface features of neighboring OceanaGold Project, Wharekirauponga, which is currently in New Zealand's Fast Track Permitting process with a decision expected in Q4 2025.
Importantly, Rua Gold's Chief Operating Officer, Simon Henderson was a member of the exploration team that led to the discovery of Wharekirauponga and has more the 25 years working in the region.
New Marketing Agreements
Capital Gain Media Inc.: On August 4, 2025, the Company entered into an investor relations agreement with Capital Gain Media Inc. ("Capital Gain"). Pursuant to the investor relations agreement, Capital Gain has agreed to provide content development and digital marketing services. The investor relations agreement will remain in effect for five (5) months commencing on August 4, 2025. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the investor relations agreement and as consideration for the services provided by Capital Gain, the Company agreed to pay an aggregate cash fee of US$120,000, plus applicable taxes. As of the date hereof, to the Company's knowledge, Capital Gain (including its directors and officers) does not own any securities of the Company and has an arm's-length relationship with the Company. Under the Capital Gain Agreement, the Company will not issue any securities to Capital Gain as compensation for its marketing service. Capital Gain provides investor relation services and the contact information for Capital Gain is: Capital Gain Media Inc., 1111 West Hastings Street, 15th Floor, Vancouver, BC V6E 2J3. The contact person of Capital Gain is Graham Colmer, email: admin@capitalgainmedia.com, phone: 1 (604) 379-8363.
Sidis Holdings: The Company has entered into a Services Agreement dated July 30, 2025 (the "Sidis Holdings Agreement") with Sidis Holdings pursuant to which Sidis Holdings has agreed to provide investor relations, market awareness campaigns and digital media support. Pursuant to the terms of the Sidis Holdings Agreement, such services are to be provided over a 6-month period, for a fee of US$120,000 plus applicable taxes. Sidis Holdings is a full-service marketing agency based in Hong Kong, and is headed by Francis Barker. As of the date hereof, to the Company's knowledge, Sidis Holdings (including its directors and officers) does not own any securities of the Company and has an arm's-length relationship with the Company. Under the Sidis Holdings Agreement, the Company will not issue any securities to Sidis Holdings as compensation for its marketing service.
ABOUT Rua Gold
Rua Gold is an exploration company, strategically focused on New Zealand. With decades of expertise, our team has successfully taken major discoveries into producing world-class mines across multiple continents. The team is now 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 over 120,000 hectares of tenements, in a district that historically produced over 2Moz of gold grading between 9 and 50g/t.
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 15Moz of gold and 60Moz of silver. Glamorgan is adjacent to OceanaGold Corporation's biggest gold mining project, Wharekirauponga.
For further information, please refer to the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Simon Henderson CP, AUSIMM, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Rua Gold, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained herein. Mr. Henderson has verified the data disclosed by running checks on the location, analytical, and test data underlying the information in the technical disclosure herein.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur and specifically include statements regarding: the Company's strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions, including but not limited to exploration programs at its Reefton and Glamorgan projects and the results thereof. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; risks related to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war; risks related to climate change; operational risks in exploration, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration projects or capital expenditures; the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; changes in labour costs and other costs and expenses or equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, including but not limited to environmental hazards, flooding or unfavorable operating conditions and losses, insurrection or war, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing, and commodity prices. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated July 11, 2024, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, filed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca for a description of additional risk factors.
Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
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