New Found Gold Advances Pine Cove Mill Conversion as Queensway Enters Formal Environmental Review

• New Found Gold confirmed on July 6, 2026 that Queensway Phase 1 will require an Environmental Preview Report (EPR), triggered by a decision letter from Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change dated July 3, 2026.
• The Company has already received the permit amendment needed to convert its 100%-owned Pine Cove Mill from a 700 tonne-per-day flotation-leach-Merrill-Crowe circuit to a 1,400 tpd Gravity-carbon-in-leach (Gravity-CIL) circuit, the preferred process for the coarse, high-grade gold expected from Queensway Phase 1.
• Recent test work indicates the converted circuit could lift recoveries of Hammerdown deposit feed from a design-criteria baseline of 87% to approximately 92%.
• EPCM work at Pine Cove, including detailed engineering, early works and geotechnical drilling, is underway with a target of completing the mill conversion and expansion by Q4 2027, in line with the Company's plan to send first Queensway Phase 1 material to the mill on that same timeline.
• Hammerdown remains on track for commercial production in the second half of 2026, and management expects lessons from that ramp-up to support an efficient start-up at Queensway once Phase 1 is permitted and built.

Queensway Phase 1 Moves Into Formal Environmental Review

New Found Gold (TSX: NFG | NYSE American: NFGC) submitted its Queensway Phase 1 environmental registration to the Environmental Assessment Division of the NL Department of Environment and Climate Change on April 30, 2026, with the environmental assessment process formally beginning on May 7, 2026. Following regulatory and public review of that registration, the Minister issued a decision letter on July 3, 2026 confirming that an Environmental Preview Report will be required before the project can proceed.

Under NL's legislated timelines, the Company will receive guidelines for completing the EPR within 60 days of the Minister's letter. Once the EPR is submitted, the 35-day public review period and the Minister's 45-day decision period run concurrently rather than back-to-back, with the Minister's decision due within that 45-day window regardless of when the public review concludes. The 45-day decision period also carries a possible two-week extension, which the Minister exercised the last time New Found Gold went through this stage of review.

Taken together, the sequence from the July 3, 2026 letter to a decision on the EPR runs to roughly 3.5 to 4 months: up to 60 days for the Company to receive guidelines, followed by the 45-day (potentially 59-day, with the extension) decision period once the EPR is submitted. That does not include the time New Found Gold needs to prepare and submit the EPR itself once guidelines are received, which the Company has not disclosed; allowing for that step, a realistic overall timeline to a decision is closer to 6 to 9 months.

CEO Keith Boyle framed the requirement as an expected part of advancing a project of this scale:

"We remain focused on advancing Queensway, our flagship asset, and unlocking the Project's full potential for all stakeholders. We thank the Minister and his team at the Environmental Assessment Division for their careful review of the Queensway Phase 1 environmental registration and look forward to submitting the EPR and responding to comments received during the public review, with the objective of release from the environmental assessment process."

Pine Cove: Mill Conversion Permit Now in Hand

While the EPR requirement extends the regulatory timeline for Queensway itself, the release also confirms a materially positive development for the project's downstream processing plans: the permit amendment allowing Pine Cove's circuit conversion to Gravity-CIL has already been received.

Pine Cove, located on the Baie Verte Peninsula in central Newfoundland, is New Found Gold's 100%-owned and fully permitted mill. Rather than relying on third-party toll milling, the Company plans to process material from both the Hammerdown deposit and Queensway Phase 1 through a single, expanded, higher-throughput facility staffed by its own operating team. Management frames this as a synergy play: one converted mill serving two of the Company's NL assets, rather than splitting processing across separate arrangements.

The conversion itself, from the existing 700 tpd flotation-leach-Merrill-Crowe circuit to a 1,400 tpd Gravity-CIL circuit, is specifically suited to the coarse, high-grade gold characteristic of Queensway Phase 1 feed. The permit to expand throughput to 1,400 tpd will be applied for separately, but the circuit-conversion approval is now in hand.

Boyle tied this milestone directly to the Company's broader schedule:

"With the mill conversion permit amendment for Pine Cove received and EPCM work progressing, we expect to send first Queensway Phase 1 material to the mill as planned in Q4 2027."

Recovery Improvements from Test Work

Beyond the permitting update, recent test work provides an early indication of processing performance under the new circuit. The Company expects the Gravity-CIL conversion to lift recoveries of Hammerdown deposit feed from the original design-criteria assumption of 87% up to approximately 92%, based on this recent metallurgical work. These figures are drawn from the Queensway PEA (SLR Consulting, effective June 30, 2025) and the Hammerdown PEA (WSP Canada, effective February 18, 2026), both of which remain preliminary in nature.

EPCM & Construction Activity Underway

Engineering, procurement and construction management work at Queensway Phase 1 commenced in the first quarter of 2026 and continues, alongside detailed engineering, early works and geotechnical drilling at Pine Cove. Pre-construction activities, procurement of long-lead-time items, and the securing of major contracts are all in progress, with the Company targeting completion of the mill conversion and expansion by Q4 2027.

On the mining side, Phase 1 will use contractor mining with technical oversight from New Found Gold's own operations team. That team is currently ramping up mining at Hammerdown, with commercial production targeted for the second half of 2026. Management's stated intent is to carry the operational learnings from that ramp-up directly into Queensway's own start-up once permitting allows.

Other workstreams progressing in parallel include detailed engineering, infrastructure and water management planning, metallurgical test work, an updated mineral resource estimate, and initial planning for rerouting the hydro-electric transmission lines that cross the project footprint. An updated NI 43-101 Technical Report, incorporating the new MRE and Phase 1, 2 and 3 designs, along with capital and operating cost estimates, is planned for the second half of 2026.

Next Steps

• Review the Queensway Phase 1 EPR guidelines once received, and submit the EPR.
• Subject to release from the environmental assessment process, apply for early works and Project construction permits.
• Complete final engineering and detailed Project design, including environmental protection and waste management plans.
• Continue stakeholder consultation and advance Good Neighbour Agreements.
• File an updated Technical Report in H2/2026 with an updated MRE, Phase 1-3 designs, and capital and operating cost estimates.

The Company continues to target first Queensway Phase 1 material to the mill in Q4 2027 and Phase 1 commercial production in H2 2028, while noting it will keep assessing the potential for timeline modifications as the EA and engineering work progress.

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