Cabral Gold Secures $45M to Fund Brazil Heap Leach Operation

• Cabral Gold closed a $45.1 million senior secured gold loan, providing complete project financing for its Cuiú Cuiú heap leach starter operation in Brazil's Tapajós Gold Province.
• The updated July 2025 Preliminary Feasibility Study demonstrates an after-tax IRR of 78%, NPV₅ of $73.9 million at $2,500/oz gold, and a rapid 10-month payback period with all-in sustaining costs of $1,210/oz.
• Construction activities commenced immediately following loan close, with first gold production targeted for H2 2026 from a simple heap leach operation processing near-surface oxide material requiring no crushing or grinding.
• The company maintains three active drill rigs advancing resource expansion at existing deposits and four new high-grade discoveries, including recent intercepts of 11m at 33g/t gold at Machichie NE.
• The starter operation is designed to generate cash flow that will fund continued exploration drilling aimed at expanding the global resource base beyond 2 million ounces without further equity dilution.

Cabral Gold Closes Critical Financing for Brazilian Gold Operation

Cabral Gold has secured complete project financing for its Cuiú Cuiú gold project in northern Brazil, closing a $45.1 million senior secured gold loan facility between Precious Metals Yield Fund and Magellan Minerais Prospecção Geológica, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cabral. The financing package represents a pivotal milestone for the junior miner, providing the capital required to advance its heap leach starter operation from construction through to commercial production without additional equity raises that would dilute existing shareholders.

Carter, who has personally invested $1.95 million in the company, brings 35 years of industry experience including 13 years with Rio Tinto, Billiton, and BHP. He was instrumental in discovering the nearby Tocantinzinho gold deposit, which now operates as Brazil's third-largest gold mine under GMining Ventures' ownership.

Project Economics Support Investment Case

The economics underlying Cabral's Cuiú Cuiú starter operation present a compelling investment proposition in the current gold price environment. The updated Preliminary Feasibility Study released in July 2025 and prepared by Ausenco Brazil demonstrates an after-tax internal rate of return of 78% and a net present value of $73.9 million at a conservative $2,500 per ounce gold price assumption. With gold trading above $3,300 per ounce as of late 2024 and forecasts projecting an average of $4,450/oz for 2026, the project's actual returns could substantially exceed PFS projections.

The operation targets production of 113,155 ounces over a 6.2-year mine life, with initial production averaging 25,000 ounces annually during the first two years. Capital efficiency represents a key strength, with initial capital expenditure of just $37.7 million yielding an NPV-to-capex ratio of 2.0. The 10-month payback period ranks among the shortest in the junior gold sector, significantly reducing investment risk by enabling rapid capital recovery before transitioning to free cash flow generation.

Operating costs further strengthen the economic case, with all-in sustaining costs projected at $1,210 per ounce over the mine life and cash costs of $950 per ounce during the initial two years. These cost levels provide substantial operating margins at current gold prices while maintaining profitability even under more conservative price scenarios. The PFS demonstrates resilience across various gold price assumptions, with after-tax IRR climbing to 139% at the spot gold price of $3,340 per ounce recorded on July 28, 2025.

Technical Simplicity Reduces Execution Risk

The Cuiú Cuiú starter operation employs straightforward heap leach processing of near-surface gold-in-oxide material, a technical approach that minimizes execution risk compared to conventional milling operations. The ore consists of weathered material extending up to 60 meters below surface, requiring no drilling, blasting, crushing, or grinding. This free-digging material can be loaded directly from the mining face and transported to the processing facility, substantially reducing both capital and operating costs.

Column leach metallurgical testing returned gold recoveries ranging from 72.5% to 96%, with an average recovery of 88% assumed in the PFS economic model. The processing plant design calls for a 3,000-tonne-per-day capacity operation averaging 2,000 tpd throughput. Material will be processed through a mineral sizer fed from a run-of-mine pad, agglomerated with cement, and conveyed to four on-off leach pads where gold extraction occurs through pregnant leach solution processed via carbon-in-column circuits.

The simplicity of heap leach technology reduces the construction timeline to just 12 months from the funding close, positioning Cabral for H2 2026 first production. This rapid development schedule minimizes pre-production carrying costs and accelerates the transition to positive cash flow. The operation will process proven and probable reserves of 6.18 million tonnes at 0.65 g/t gold contained in 128,903 ounces, sourced from the MG, Central, and Machichie deposits within the broader Cuiú Cuiú district.

District-Scale Exploration Provides Growth Optionality

Beyond the near-term production catalyst, Cabral Gold offers investors exposure to significant exploration upside within the 181-square-kilometer Cuiú Cuiú district. The property hosts indicated resources totaling 12.29 million tonnes at 1.14 g/t gold for 450,200 ounces in primary material, plus 13.56 million tonnes at 0.50 g/t for 216,182 ounces in oxide material. Inferred resources add another 13.63 million tonnes at 1.04 g/t for 455,100 ounces in primary material and 6.40 million tonnes at 0.34 g/t for 70,569 ounces in oxide material.

The company currently operates three drill rigs advancing multiple high-priority targets across the district. Recent discoveries at Machichie NE have returned exceptional intercepts including 11m at 33.0 g/t gold (including 4m at 89.3 g/t), 12m at 27.7 g/t gold (including 5m at 65.5 g/t), and 6m at 13.3 g/t gold (including 1m at 77.5 g/t). Additional new discoveries at PDM, Machichie Main, and J Cima demonstrate the district's potential to host multiple economic deposits beyond those already defined.

The strategic value of this exploration portfolio lies in the self-funding growth model it enables. Cash flow from the heap leach starter operation is specifically designed to finance continued drilling aimed at expanding the global resource base toward 2 million ounces and ultimately supporting a Stage 2 PEA on the larger hard rock resource. This approach eliminates the need for dilutive equity financings to fund resource growth, preserving shareholder value while maintaining exploration momentum.

Tapajós Gold Province Provides Operational Context

Cabral's Cuiú Cuiú project benefits from its location within the Tapajós Gold Province, an emerging world-class gold district in northern Brazil. The region hosts GMining Ventures' Tocantinzinho open-pit gold mine, which commenced commercial production in September 2024 and now ranks as Brazil's third-largest gold operation. Historical records from Brazil's National Mining Agency indicate that Cuiú Cuiú produced an estimated 2 million ounces of placer gold during the 1978-1995 gold rush, approximately 10 times the placer gold production from Tocantinzinho.

The geological similarities between Cuiú Cuiú and Tocantinzinho strengthen the case for district-scale potential. Both projects are located along the Tocantinzinho lineament, a major northwest-trending crustal structure that controls gold mineralization throughout the region. Both deposits feature intrusive-hosted, disseminated gold mineralization with similar mineralogy and metallurgy. However, Cuiú Cuiú demonstrates characteristics suggesting greater geological complexity and potentially higher-grade zones than observed at Tocantinzinho.

The infrastructure benefits of operating within an established mining district cannot be understated. The presence of Tocantinzinho and other operating mines in the region has established supply chains, service providers, and workforce availability that reduce operational risk for new projects. Road access, power infrastructure, and permitting frameworks developed for existing operations provide advantages for Cabral as it transitions from explorer to producer.

Management Track Record Strengthens Confidence

Cabral Gold's management team brings extensive experience in Brazilian gold exploration and mine development. CEO Alan Carter holds BSc and PhD degrees in geology and has accumulated 35 years of industry experience, including 13 years with Rio Tinto, Billiton, and BHP. Carter co-founded Peregrine Metals, which was sold for $487 million, and was instrumental in the co-discovery of the Tocantinzinho gold deposit.

The broader management team demonstrates complementary expertise across technical, operational, and financial disciplines. VP Exploration Brian Arkell spent 23 years with Newmont including service as Director of Exploration for South America, while VP Project Development John Sestan brings more than 30 years of mining finance experience with Rio Tinto, EMR Capital, and BP Australia.

Carter's significant personal investment aligns management interests with shareholders. His $1.95 million investment across multiple financing rounds since 2018 makes him the company's largest individual shareholder. This insider ownership, combined with institutional holdings of 57% including positions held by Eric Sprott, Phoenix Gold Fund, and Arbiter Partners, provides a shareholder base aligned around long-term value creation.

The Investment Thesis for Cabral Gold

• Full project financing eliminates equity dilution risk while preserving upside for existing shareholders through non-dilutive debt structure.
• Targeted H2 2026 first gold production provides concrete catalyst with rapid 10-month payback creating definitive timeline for returns.
• Project economics demonstrate substantial sensitivity to gold price, with IRR expanding from 78% at $2,500/oz to 139% at $3,340/oz.
• Resource expansion drilling at four new discoveries and 50+ exploration targets provides organic growth optionality.
• Heap leach processing of free-digging oxide ore minimizes execution risk while reducing both capital and operating costs.
• Location in established Tapajós Gold Province adjacent to producing mine provides infrastructure benefits and de-risks operations.

Cabral Gold's successful close of the $45.1 million loan facility fundamentally transforms the company's investment profile from exploration-stage developer to near-term gold producer. The non-dilutive financing structure preserves equity value for existing shareholders while providing complete funding through to commercial production. With construction underway and first gold production targeted for H2 2026, investors now have clear visibility into the timeline for value realization.

The project's robust economics provide substantial downside protection while maintaining significant leverage to higher gold prices. The strategic decision to pursue a simple heap leach starter operation targeting near-surface oxide material minimizes technical risk while enabling rapid production ramp-up. Beyond the near-term production catalyst, Cabral offers investors exposure to district-scale exploration potential within the emerging Tapajós Gold Province.

TL;DR

Cabral Gold secured $45.1M non-dilutive financing to fully fund its Brazilian heap leach gold operation, targeting H2 2026 production with 78% IRR, 10-month payback, and district-scale exploration upside in the Tapajós Gold Province.

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