From Discovery to System: Dropkick Drilling Reveals Multi-Zone Gold Architecture

• Dropkick returned high-grade intercepts across 1,400 metres of strike on both sides of the Appleton Fault Zone: 24.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 14.00 metres and 13.4 g/t gold over 8.10 metres west of the fault, and 6.75 g/t gold over 18.35 metres east of the fault.
• Western domain drilling extended the high-grade zone from surface to 285 metres vertical depth, with step-out drilling expanding the broader fault zone from 815 metres to over 1,400 metres along strike.
• Three eastern intercepts across 940 metres sit in the same structural setting as Keats and Iceberg at AFZ Core, establishing Dropkick as a dual-domain system with geometry on both sides of the fault.
• New Found Gold allocated 25% of 2025 drilling to exploration while advancing Queensway toward production, with results from 2024 and 2025 Dropkick drilling to be included in the second half of 2026 mineral resource estimate update.
• The company secured C$115 million in equity financing and a C$105 million credit facility to fund Phase 1 construction, targeting late 2027 production.

Dropkick Expands Across Appleton Fault Zone 

New Found Gold Corp. (TSX-V: NFG | NYSE-A: NFGC) has released drilling results from Dropkick that show the zone expanding both along strike and across the Appleton Fault Zone (AFZ), with high-grade continuity west of the fault and emerging drill results to the east.

Results from the final 6,145 metres of 2025 drilling in 20 diamond drill holes (DDH) included 24.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 14.00 metres, 13.4 g/t gold over 8.10 metres west of the AFZ, and 6.75 g/t gold over 18.35 metres east of the fault. The intercepts came from holes completed in the fourth quarter of 2025 as part of an exploration programme at the AFZ Peripheral area, located 11 kilometres north of the Queensway Gold Project's AFZ Core.

Western Domain Shows Vertical & Strike Continuity

The majority of gold mineralisation discovered to date at Dropkick is located on the west side of the AFZ. Drilling in 2025 extended the high-grade domain from surface to a vertical depth of 285 metres over a strike length of approximately 85 metres, with mineralisation intersected at vertical depths of up to 300 metres.

Step-out drilling completed in the fourth quarter of 2025 on the northern extent expanded mineralisation associated with the Dropkick fault zone from 815 metres to over 1,400 metres along strike. Dropkick remains open along strike and to depth. The intercepts west of the AFZ occur within the deeper extents of the high-grade domain at the southwest portion of the Dropkick fault zone, indicating the system maintains grade as it extends vertically.

Eastern Domain Mirrors AFZ Core Structural Setting

Limited drilling has been completed to date on the eastern side of the AFZ at Dropkick, but the results carry structural significance. This area is the same structural domain that hosts the Keats and Iceberg zones to the south at AFZ Core. The March 2025 Queensway mineral resource estimate (MRE) reported 1.39 million ounces of indicated gold and 608,000 ounces of inferred gold.

In late 2025, drilling across the AFZ into the eastern portion of Dropkick intersected 6.75 g/t gold over 18.35 metres, located just over 100 metres from a previously released 5.30 g/t gold over 15.20 metres and approximately 940 metres from a previously released 7.2 g/t gold over 10.50 metres. Three high-grade intercepts across 940 metres of strike in the same structural domain that produced the AFZ Core resource establish Dropkick as more than a single shoot: the zone now displays geometry on both sides of the fault.

Exploration Capital Allocation Signals Confidence

New Found Gold completed a total of 11,919 metres in 39 DDH at Dropkick in 2025, following an initial 4,624 metres in 14 DDH completed in 2024. Results from the 2024 Dropkick drilling were received after the cutoff for the Queensway initial MRE and are not included in that estimate. Results from 2024 and 2025 drilling at Dropkick will be included in an MRE update planned for the second half of 2026.

The 2025 Queensway drill programme included 74,377 metres of drilling in 614 DDH, with approximately 75% focused on the AFZ Core area to support advancement of the Phase 1 mine plan and 25% focused on exploration targets such as Dropkick. Allocating a quarter of the annual drill meterage to exploration while advancing a project toward production reflects a deliberate balance between near-term resource conversion and longer-term district-scale potential.

The 2026 Queensway drill programme is underway, with four drill rigs currently active. Drilling planned to resume at Dropkick in the late second quarter of 2026 will focus on expansion at the southern extent before transitioning to targeted and reconnaissance drilling across the eastern domain. The Company is also advancing target development further north along the AFZ in recently acquired ground.

Queensway Development Timeline Provides Context

The July 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment for Queensway outlined a three-phase development scenario with initial capital of C$155 million for Phase 1, which targets 700 tonnes per day open-pit mining with offsite processing at Pine Cove Mill. Phase 2 requires growth capital of C$442 million and targets 7,000 tonnes per day with onsite processing. Phase 3 adds underground mining. The PEA reported a net present value of C$743 million at a 5% discount rate and an after-tax internal rate of return of 56.3%, both calculated at a US$2,500 per ounce gold price.

New Found Gold announced in April 2026 a financing package consisting of a bought deal equity financing with lead orders from EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. and cornerstone investor Eric Sprott, and a C$105 million senior secured credit facility with EdgePoint. The equity financing closed at C$115 million (38,870,000 shares at C$2.96 per share, including full exercise of the over-allotment option) with no discount to market. The credit facility will be advanced in two tranches (C$70 million and C$35 million) at 8.75% annual interest with a three-year term. The company is advancing Queensway Phase 1 toward production targeted for late 2027, with construction planned to start in summer 2026.

The second half of 2026 MRE update will arrive as the company transitions from development into construction, a period when resource growth beyond the Phase 1 mine plan carries weight for Phase 2 and Phase 3 planning decisions.

What the Results Mean for Investors

Dropkick has delivered high-grade intercepts across a 1,400-metre strike length and to vertical depths of 300 metres, with mineralisation open along strike and at depth. The zone is not yet in the Queensway MRE but is undergoing resource-definition drilling. The Company plans to file an updated Technical Report for Queensway, which will include an updated MRE, in the second half of 2026. If infill drilling scheduled to resume in the late second quarter of 2026 confirms continuity between the three eastern intercepts across 940 metres of strike, Dropkick would display the characteristic architecture of the AFZ Core system: high-grade zones on both sides of the fault.

New Found Gold allocated 25% of its 2025 drill meterage to exploration targets while advancing Queensway toward production. The second half of 2026 MRE update will quantify whether that exploration drilling added ounces beyond the AFZ Core area included in the March 2025 resource estimate. Dropkick sits 11 kilometres north of AFZ Core along the same regional structure and will be the largest contributor to that test.

Dropkick represents upside contingent on continued drilling success and resource definition. The zone's position along the AFZ corridor and its emerging dual-domain geometry offer optionality in later-stage development scenarios, but only if the eastern intercepts connect through infill drilling and the western shoot converts to indicated resources. The second half of 2026 will answer both questions.

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