Toronto, Ontario — February 26, 2026 — Leads & Copy — New Found Gold Corp. has announced the results of a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its 100% owned Hammerdown Gold Project, which includes the Hammerdown, Orion, and Stog’er Tight deposits, and the Pine Cove Mill, all located in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The deposits are evaluated using a hub and spoke model centered around Pine Cove, with the Hammerdown deposit currently being ramped up to commercial production.
According to the PEA, the after-tax net present value (NPV) at a 5% discount rate is $199.2 million, using a base case scenario with a long-term gold price of US$3,475 per ounce, averaging US$3,656 per ounce.
An upside scenario, using a gold price of US$5,000 per ounce, yields an after-tax NPV5% of $415.1 million.
The PEA outlines a solid production profile over an extended mine life, with 251,287 ounces of gold produced over a 13-year life of mine (LOM). The average LOM total cash costs are projected to be US$2,149 per ounce of gold, and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) are estimated at US$2,429 per ounce of gold.
The total after-tax free cash flow is estimated at $243.3 million.
The project also has additional value potential from exploration upside, as the deposits are open laterally and to depth, with additional target areas being evaluated. Exploration is planned to commence in the second half of 2026.
Keith Boyle, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the updated mineral resource and life of mine plan for Hammerdown demonstrates cashflow generation from operations which will offset overhead and exploration costs as the company continues to fast-track its flagship Queensway Gold Project towards production in H2/27, taking full advantage of the synergies through the strategic purchase of Pine Cove and the Nugget Pond gold circuit. Boyle added that the purchase accelerates the development of Queensway by two to three years, coinciding with this exciting gold market.
Boyle noted that the team has a track record of exploration success in the discovery of orogenic gold deposits in central Newfoundland. With the completion of the Maritime Resources Corp. acquisition just over three months ago, the company has commenced evaluation of the exploration upside of the Project. As part of the Hub and Spoke strategy, the mine plan brings in additional resources with the inclusion of the Orion and Stog’er Tight deposits, which were not contemplated in previous mine plans. Boyle added that he looks forward to commencing exploration work on the new landholdings later this year.
The Hammerdown project includes the Hammerdown property and Pine Cove property. The Hammerdown property includes the Hammerdown and Orion deposits, while the Pine Cove property includes the Stog’er Tight deposit and the Pine Cove Mill, a fully permitted processing plant and tailings facility.
The Hammerdown deposit is an open-pit mining deposit with first gold pour in November 2025 and is currently ramping up gold production. The Hammerdown and Orion deposits are located approximately 95 km by road from Pine Cove, which includes a fully permitted and operating processing plant and tailings facility. Commercial production at the Hammerdown deposit is expected to be achieved in H2/26. The Stog’er Tight deposit is located on the Pine Cove property, 4 km east of Pine Cove. The Company’s 100% owned flagship Queensway Gold Project is located approximately 270 km by road from Pine Cove and approximately 15 km west of the town of Gander.
According to the PEA, over a 13-year period, the total mill feed throughput is expected to be 3.2 million tonnes, with an average mined grade of 2.19 grams of gold per tonne, a post-sorting mill feed head grade of 2.89 g/t Au and average annual gold production of approximately 19.3 thousand ounces of gold per annum.
Average LOM cash costs and AISC are projected to be US$2,149/oz and US$2,429/oz, respectively.
Total capital costs (with contingency) are estimated at $24.3 million, and reclamation and closure costs are estimated at $18.0 million.
The PEA mine plan was developed from Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 3,328 kt grading 2.43 grams per tonne gold containing 260,000 ounces of gold and Inferred Mineral Resources of 2,132 kt grading 2.34 g/t gold containing 161,000 ounces of gold.
The 13-year open pit project is set to commence in 2026, including one year of stockpile rehandling in 2038.
The project will continue the conventional open pit truck-and-shovel operation executed by a mining contractor, as currently underway at the Hammerdown deposit.
The process plant feed rate will be 700 tonnes per day with the addition of sorting at the Hammerdown and Orion deposits.
The Hammerdown deposit pit will be mined in multiple phases, followed by the Orion deposit pit and four Stog’er Tight deposit pits sequentially.
The Hammerdown deposit accounts for 75% of mineralized material mined (82% of recovered gold), with mining taking place in this zone from year 1 to year 10. The Orion and Stog’er Tight deposits account for 25% of mineralized material mined (18% of recovered gold), which will be mined from year 8 to year 12.
The average material mined, consisting of mineralized material, waste rock and overburden, is 12,300 tpd during the LOM, ranging between 11,800 tpd and 18,400 tpd from year 1 to year 6 and between 2,500 tpd and 13,700 tpd from year 7 to year 12.
The average strip ratio over the LOM is 11.4, with total material mined of 54.1 Mt including 4.4 Mt of mineralized material at an average grade of 2.19 g/t Au.
With sorting, a total of 3.2 Mt of mineralized material at an average grade of 2.89 g/t Au will be processed with total gold recovery of 251.3 koz of gold.
The process plant average gold recovery for the zones being mined from year 1 to year 4 is estimated to be 87.2% and 84.3% thereafter, with LOM average gold recovery of 85.5%.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. No Mineral Reserves are defined for the Project.
New Found Gold is an emerging Canadian gold producer with assets in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Company holds a 100% interest in Queensway and Hammerdown, which includes fully permitted milling and tailings facilities. The Company is currently focused on advancing its flagship Queensway to production and bringing the Hammerdown deposit into commercial gold production.
The complete NI 43-101 Technical Report pertaining to the PEA will be filed within 45 days and will be available on the New Found Gold website, on SEDAR+ and on EDGAR.
Source: New Found Gold Corp.
