Cartier Resources Accelerates Camp-Scale Gold Discovery With 100,000-Meter Program

• Cartier Resources has launched an unprecedented 100,000-meter, 600-hole diamond drilling program along Quebec's prolific Cadillac Fault - representing ten times the typical junior explorer's annual drilling capacity - with the explicit goal of demonstrating a mining camp discovery containing 10-15 million ounces of gold across multiple deposit centers rather than pursuing a single-mine strategy.
• The company has secured $12 million in full program funding while locking in exceptionally favourable drilling costs of $110 per meter for two years, providing 25-35% cost advantages versus current market rates and maximising capital efficiency, with strategic partner Agnico Eagle explicitly endorsing the aggressive exploration approach and camp-scale vision.
• Recent drill results confirm the presence of robust high-grade gold mineralization with intercepts including 11 grams per tonne over 9 meters and ounce-per-ton grades over metric widths in stacked vein systems extending 50 meters wide at surface, validating management's geological model and demonstrating systematic expansion of known zones plus discovery of new target areas.
• Management is executing a comprehensive five-pronged development strategy simultaneously advancing drilling, metallurgical testing for toll milling opportunities at existing regional mills, environmental baseline studies for permitting, updated resource assessments, and preliminary economic evaluations—compressing typical sequential development timelines and positioning for near-term production scenarios in a gold price environment exceeding $4,000 per ounce.
• The project's strategic location within 30 minutes of Val-d'Or mining infrastructure enables capital-light development through toll processing that could reduce construction requirements by 50-75% compared to standalone mill development.

The Abitibi region of Quebec represents one of the world's most endowed gold districts, with a mining heritage spanning over a century and production measured in hundreds of millions of ounces. This is the geological province that gave birth to senior producers including Agnico Eagle, Barrick Gold, and Noranda - companies defined by their ability to discover not just single mines but clusters of deposits that constitute genuine mining camps.

Against this backdrop of proven mineral endowment and established infrastructure, Cartier Resources is executing what management characterises as a transformational exploration program designed to establish the company's Cadillac project as the next major mining camp along the renowned Cadillac Fault.

The Abitibi Advantage and Strategic Focus

Philippe Cloutier, President and CEO of Cartier Resources, frames the company's strategic evolution as the company's "eureka moment" in late 2023. The realisation centered on the recognition that the company had successfully consolidated a significant land position encompassing approximately 15 kilometers of strike length along the Larder Lake-Cadillac Fault corridor, situated between multiple historic mining camps and adjacent to Agnico Eagle's producing operations. The geological setting, combined with recent exploration success, prompted a fundamental reassessment of the project's potential scale.

The strategic decision to divest three non-core projects - Fenton, Benoist, and Wilson - to Exploits Discovery through a four-year earn-in agreement represents a deliberate capital allocation choice.

The transaction structure, requiring Exploits to invest approximately $12 million in exploration expenditures, issuing up to 10 million shares and $1.7 million in cash consideration, provides Cartier with both financial resources and strategic focus while maintaining upside exposure through equity participation should Exploits achieve exploration success.

The 100,000-Meter Vision

The centerpiece of Cartier's investment thesis is an exploration program that dramatically exceeds conventional junior company drilling campaigns. Where typical junior explorers might undertake 5,000 to 10,000 meters of drilling annually, Cartier has committed to a 100,000-meter, 600-hole program initiated in August 2025. This represents not incremental expansion but a fundamental shift in approach, one that reflects both the scale of the geological opportunity and management's conviction in the district's potential.

Cloutier articulates the strategic rationale:

"The standard or typical junior will drill 5 to 10,000 meters per year if they're lucky. We're drilling an order of magnitude that - we're in the 100,000 meter range and it clearly is in line with our target demonstrating that this is the next mining camp along the Cadillac fault."

This aggressive drilling stance directly addresses a common frustration in junior resource investing: the prolonged timelines that often characterise exploration-stage stories. By front-loading exploration intensity, management aims to compress discovery timelines and accelerate value recognition.

The program's design received explicit endorsement from strategic partner Agnico Eagle, itself a dominant force in Abitibi gold production. According to Cloutier, when presenting the 100,000-meter program to Agnico, the response was unequivocal:

"You've got to go about this very aggressively and dynamically and your vision has to be to demonstrate that there's a mining camp there, not one mine, but a cluster of maybe three or four mines. So, we're not looking at 3 million ounces. We're looking at a potential of 10 to 15 million ounces."

This validation from a senior producer with extensive regional knowledge and operational experience carries significant weight. Agnico Eagle understands the Cadillac Fault's potential intimately, operating multiple mines in the district including the LaRonde complex. Their endorsement of Cartier's camp-scale thesis and drilling strategy suggests professional-level confidence in the geological model and exploration approach.

Interview with President & CEO Philippe Cloutier

Cost Structure

Beyond drilling intensity, Cartier has achieved notable success in cost management - a critical factor often overlooked in exploration-stage valuations but essential to capital efficiency and ultimate project economics. The company secured $12 million in project funding while simultaneously locking in drilling contracts at $110 per meter all-in costs for a two-year period. This pricing represents a substantial discount to typical market rates and reflects several advantageous circumstances. As Cloutier explains:

"Because Cadillac sits within a 30-minute drive of the Val-d'Or mining camp, proximal to qualified workforce and infrastructure, we're able to strike an all-in diamond drill program for $110 a meter. And that is because of the proximity of the camp and qualified workforce because at the time we raised money, there wasn't a lot of voluminous drill contracts being handed out."

The timing proves fortuitous - securing favourable drilling rates during a period of contractor availability creates an embedded margin of efficiency. The implications are straightforward: the $12 million funding package extends considerably further at $110 per meter than it would at typical market rates of $150-200 per meter, effectively providing 15-20% more drilling capacity for the same capital outlay. Over a 100,000-meter program, these savings compound meaningfully. The proximity to Val-d'Or infrastructure - including power, road access, and an established mining services ecosystem - further reduces logistical costs while accelerating operational tempo.

Geological Model and Recent Results

The recent exploration results validate management's thesis regarding the presence of multiple high-grade zones within a larger mineralizing system. The company's third press release since program commencement in August demonstrates systematic expansion of known mineralization and discovery of additional zones. Cloutier characterises recent intersections:

"We've taken a historic showing that had one drill hole drilled by Chalice and then O3 Mining came in. They drilled three drill holes around it and they demonstrated that it had "meat on the bone". And then we tackled it in 2024, and now 2025 and it's just growing and growing."

Specific results include intercepts of 11 g/t gold over 9 meters and ounce-per-ton material over metric widths in what Cloutier describes as "stacked vein systems" with true widths extending approximately 50 meters. Importantly, the mineralization occurs at surface, reducing development complexity and capital requirements. The presence of multiple parallel structures within a broad corridor suggests the potential for bulk tonnage scenarios alongside high-grade vein mining - a combination that characterises many of the region's most successful operations.

The geological setting exhibits characteristics that the Cadillac Fault is renowned for: multi-stage mineralization with both visible gold in quartz veins and disseminated gold in broader altered zones.

As Cloutier notes: "There's two generations of gold occurrence. One, the visible gold in the bull white quartz veins and the smoky quartz veins. And then there's the telescopes within a system that has more disseminated gold but has a lot more ounces."

This dual-character mineralization is significant because it suggests multiple mining scenarios. High-grade veins provide the grade premium that drives initial project economics and supports lower tonnage, higher margin operations. Disseminated mineralization in broader halos, while lower grade, can contribute substantial ounces and supports higher throughput scenarios. The combination - proven repeatedly along the Cadillac Fault - often yields superior project economics compared to either style in isolation.

Five-Pronged Development Strategy

Management has structured a comprehensive work program that extends beyond drilling to encompass all elements necessary for development decision-making. This five-component strategy reflects lessons learned from successful peers and addresses the frequent criticism that junior explorers focus exclusively on drilling while deferring critical technical and permitting work.

The five program elements include: intensive diamond drilling to define multiple zones and establish resource scale; metallurgical testing specifically oriented toward understanding toll milling opportunities at existing regional mills; environmental baseline studies to advance permitting readiness; updated mineral resource estimates incorporating new drilling; and preliminary economic assessment updates to provide current project valuation under prevailing metal prices and cost structures.

Cloutier frames this comprehensive approach pragmatically:

"People are saying, 'Phil, why are you doing all this work? The drill and metallurgy, environmental baseline study, resource.' Well, it's because it has to be done. It has to be sequenced and it has the benefit of providing a very robust and dynamic news flow for our investors."

By executing these work streams in parallel rather than sequentially, Cartier compresses the timeline from discovery to development decision. The metallurgical work assumes particular importance given the proximity to existing mill infrastructure. Historic recovery rates at the past-producing Chimo mine, located within Cartier's land package, achieved 93% recovery shipping to an off-site mill not optimised for the ore type. Industry-standard recovery rates for Abitibi deposits typically range from 96-97% with proper mill configuration.

The toll milling strategy merits emphasis because it fundamentally alters development economics. Rather than requiring the $100-200 million capital investment typical of stand-alone mill construction, toll milling arrangements leverage existing infrastructure and can reduce initial capital requirements by 50-75%. This transforms project economics, reduces permitting timelines, and accelerates payback periods - all factors that enhance both development optionality and potential acquirer interest.

Market Positioning and Valuation Context

The backdrop for Cartier's development story is a gold market characterised by sustained strength driven by multiple structural factors. Gold has advanced beyond $4,000 per ounce, up from the $1,200-1,500 range that prevailed for much of the 2010s. This price advance reflects persistent inflation concerns, geopolitical instability, central bank accumulation, and portfolio diversification demand from institutional investors increasingly viewing gold as a monetary asset and portfolio hedge.

For gold developers, the current price environment transforms project economics. Deposits that would have been marginal at $1,500 gold can generate substantial margins at $4,000 gold. The sensitivity is straightforward: every $100 increase in gold price flows directly to project cash flows, often representing 15-20% improvement in project net present value for typical deposit configurations.

Quebec's mining jurisdiction offers additional advantages in the current environment. The province maintains competitive tax structures for mining operations, established permitting frameworks, strong rule of law, and a workforce with multigenerational mining experience. These factors reduce political risk and operational risk relative to many international mining jurisdictions, supporting valuation premiums for Quebec-based projects.

Cartier's strategic positioning reflects management's awareness of how the market currently values gold development stories, particularly those with near-term production potential. Cloutier references peer companies explicitly:

"There's some junior competitors doing that right at this moment. Amex is doing that, I think they're wise to do that. They understand that time is of essence and we understand that as well."

The reference to Amex Exploration, which has advanced rapidly toward production scenarios and achieved significant market revaluation, provides a clear comparable for Cartier's intended trajectory.

Infrastructure Advantage and Development Pathway

The proximity to Val-d'Or and the concentration of mining infrastructure cannot be overstated as a competitive advantage. The Cadillac project sits within 30 minutes' drive of an established mining center with available workforce, service providers, power infrastructure, and - critically - existing mills that could process Cartier's ore. This infrastructure density reduces both development risk and capital requirements while accelerating potential development timelines.

Historical context provides perspective on the project's potential. The Chimo Gold Mine, encompassed within Cartier's land package, operated until 1997 achieving 93% recovery rates despite shipping ore to a non-optimised off-site mill. The mine's closure reflected not resource exhaustion but the collapse of gold prices to $275 per ounce - a price environment radically different from today's $4,000+ gold.

Cloutier emphasizes this transformation:

"Gold was at $275. Now gold is tipping $4,000. Metallurgical techniques and mining sequencing and mining techniques were what they were in 1997. Today they're much different. There weren't as many mills available along the highway then and now there are. So it is a much more positive economic environment to consider building something at Chimo and at Cadillac."

The evolution of both gold prices and mining technology over the past quarter-century has fundamentally altered project economics. Deposits that were marginal or uneconomic in the late 1990s can now support robust operations. Combined with superior mining methods, improved metallurgical understanding, and better resource modelling capabilities, the same geological setting that supported historic production now offers substantially enhanced economic potential.

Near Term Catalysts

Management has established an aggressive communication cadence designed to maintain market attention and systematically build the investment narrative. Cloutier indicates the company is now issuing press releases approximately every two weeks and expects this pace to continue for the next 18 months. This news flow encompasses drilling results, metallurgical findings, resource estimate updates, economic assessment releases, and permitting milestones.

The deliberate pacing serves multiple purposes. It maintains consistent market presence during what management characterizes as a value inflection period. It provides regular validation points for the thesis that drilling is successfully expanding known zones and discovering new ones. And it creates multiple points at which investors can enter or increase positions based on de-risking of various technical elements.

The Investment Thesis for Cartier Resources

• Camp-Scale Discovery Potential: Cartier Resources is systematically drilling 15 kilometers of strike length along the Cadillac Fault with a management target of 10-15 million ounces across multiple deposits, representing mining camp scale rather than single-mine thinking, with recent results demonstrating 50-meter-wide mineralized corridors containing multiple stacked high-grade zones that validate the geological model.
• Exceptional Exploration Intensity and Cost Efficiency: The company's 100,000-meter drill program represents ten times the typical junior explorer's annual drilling, compressing discovery timelines while locked-in drilling costs of $110 per meter provide 25-35% cost advantages versus current market rates, with full funding of $12 million eliminating near-term dilution risk and supporting bi-weekly news flow for the next 18 months.
• Strategic Validation from Senior Producer: Agnico Eagle's strategic investment and explicit endorsement of Cartier's aggressive 100,000-meter program and camp-scale vision provides critical sector validation, reduces financing risk, and creates potential acquisition logic given Agnico's extensive producing operations along the same geological structure.
• Infrastructure Advantages Enable Capital-Light Development: The project's location within 30 minutes of Val-d'Or mining center provides access to existing mills for toll processing scenarios that could reduce development capital requirements by 50-75% compared to standalone mill construction, while historic metallurgical performance at the Chimo mine achieved 93% recovery rates suggesting robust processing characteristics.
• Compressed Timeline Targets Near-Term Value Inflection: Management's five-pronged program simultaneously advancing drilling, metallurgy, permitting, resource estimates, and economic assessments compresses typical sequential development timelines, with the company targeting significant value inflection by end 2025/early 2026 in a gold price environment exceeding $4,,000 per ounce that transforms project economics.
• Significant Revaluation Potential Based on Peer Comparables: Quebec gold peers with near-term production visibility have achieved valuations based on $180-280 million annual cash flow projections, while Cartier's current market positioning suggests substantial upside if the company successfully demonstrates multi-million ounce camp-scale potential similar to these comparables.
• Proven Management with Commercial Focus: CEO Philippe Cloutier demonstrates clear commercial orientation prioritising economic value creation, having successfully consolidated strategic land position, divested non-core assets while maintaining upside exposure, negotiated favourable drilling contracts, and established strategic partnerships that collectively indicate competent capital allocation and execution capability.

Key Takeaways: Cartier's Camp-Scale Opportunity

Cartier Resources presents an exploration-stage investment proposition centered on demonstrating camp-scale gold potential along one of the world's most prolific gold structures. The company has assembled the critical elements for exploration success: a strategic land position encompassing 15 kilometers of prospective strike length along the Cadillac Fault; a fully-funded, exceptionally aggressive 100,000-meter drill program designed to compress discovery timelines; cost-effective drilling contracts that maximize capital efficiency; strategic validation from senior producer Agnico Eagle; infrastructure advantages including proximity to processing facilities and mining services; and a comprehensive five-pronged technical program that simultaneously advances all elements necessary for development decision-making.

Recent drill results demonstrate high-grade mineralization in wide corridors with multiple stacked zones, validating the presence of robust gold systems and supporting management's thesis that this represents a genuine mining camp opportunity rather than isolated occurrences. The company's strategic shift from single-mine thinking to camp-scale targeting—aiming for 10-15 million ounces across multiple deposits—aligns with how the market values premier gold districts and mirrors the geological setting that created senior producers including Agnico Eagle and Barrick Gold.

The intensive 18-month work program, generating bi-weekly news flow, creates multiple catalysts for value recognition as technical de-risking occurs systematically across drilling, metallurgy, resources, and economics. The toll milling strategy, leveraging existing regional infrastructure, offers a capital-efficient development pathway that could accelerate production timelines while reducing financing requirements.

For investors seeking exposure to gold discovery upside in a premier mining jurisdiction, backed by strategic partnership validation and managed by a team demonstrating capital discipline and commercial focus, Cartier Resources offers compelling proposition.As with all exploration-stage investments, inherent risks exist, but the combination of geological prospectivity, strategic positioning, management quality, and macro gold strength creates a favorable risk-reward profile for investors willing to accept exploration-stage volatility in exchange for discovery leverage.

Quebec's Abitibi District in the New Gold Era

The Abitibi Greenstone Belt, spanning Quebec and Ontario, represents one of Earth's premier gold districts, with production history extending over a century and cumulative output measured in hundreds of millions of ounces. This remarkable geological province has birthed multiple senior gold producers and continues to yield new discoveries despite intensive historical exploration. The district's enduring productivity reflects fundamental geological advantages: multiple generations of mineralization related to large-scale crustal structures, particularly the Cadillac-Larder Lake Fault system; exceptional preservation of Archean volcanic sequences favorable for orogenic gold systems; and repeated hydrothermal events that concentrated gold in multiple episodes.

The current gold price environment, with prices exceeding $4,000 per ounce, has triggered a fundamental reassessment of the Abitibi's potential. Deposits that were marginal or uneconomic during the $1,200-1,500 gold price regime of the 2010s now present compelling development economics. This price transformation is not temporary volatility but rather reflects structural changes in monetary policy, persistent inflation, geopolitical fragmentation, and portfolio diversification demand from institutional investors increasingly viewing gold as a monetary asset rather than merely a commodity.

For the Abitibi specifically, this macro environment creates several reinforcing advantages. First, the district's infrastructure density—including power, transportation, processing facilities, and experienced workforce—enables lower capital intensity developments compared to greenfield districts. Second, Quebec's stable jurisdiction, established permitting frameworks, and competitive tax structures reduce political risk premiums that affect valuations in many international mining jurisdictions. Third, the concentration of technical expertise and mining services enables operational efficiencies and faster development timelines. Fourth, the presence of multiple producing operations and senior producers creates active M&A markets where quality projects attract strategic interest.

This macro backdrop explains the strategic logic behind aggressive exploration programs like Cartier's 100,000-meter initiative. In a $4,000 gold environment with infrastructure advantages and established geological models, the optimal strategy shifts from cautious, capital-constrained exploration toward intensive drilling designed to rapidly demonstrate scale. The market rewards companies that compress discovery timelines and demonstrate camp-scale potential, as these characteristics translate directly into acquisition appeal for senior producers seeking to expand reserve bases in favorable jurisdictions.

TL;DR

Cartier Resources is drilling 10x more than typical junior explorers (100,000 meters vs. 5,000-10,000 meters) along Quebec's gold-rich Cadillac Fault, targeting 10-15 million ounces across multiple deposits rather than a single mine. The company has locked in drilling costs 25-35% below market rates, secured $12 million in full funding, and gained explicit backing from strategic partner Agnico Eagle.

Recent results show high-grade gold (11 g/t over 9 meters) in wide mineralized corridors at surface. The project sits 30 minutes from Val-d'Or infrastructure, enabling toll milling that could cut development costs by 50-75%. Management targets value inflection by end-2025 with bi-weekly news flow for the next 18 months. The historic Chimo mine on the property closed in 1997 at $275 gold—now gold trades at $4,000+, transforming project economics.

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