New Found Gold Outlines Staged Development for Queensway Gold Project

• The project demonstrates strong economics with an after-tax NPV of $742 million and 56% internal rate of return based on $2,500 per ounce gold price
• New Found Gold plans a three-phase staged development starting with toll milling and expanding to an underground mine with 7,000 tonne-per-day capacity
• The first development stage requires $155 million in initial capital investment with rapid payback through early cash flow generation
• Queensway hosts a substantial resource of 18 million indicated tonnes at 2.4 g/t gold (1.39M oz) plus 10.7 million inferred tonnes at 1.77 g/t (610K oz)
• The property benefits from strategic location adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway, situated 15 km west of Gander, Newfoundland

From Exploration to Operations

New Found Gold is a Vancouver-based gold exploration and development company focused on advancing the Queensway gold project in central Newfoundland. The company has attracted significant institutional backing, including a 19% stake from Eric Sprott as of May 2025. New Found completed a $63.48 million financing in June 2025 to advance the project toward production. Under the leadership of CEO Keith Boyle and Chairman Paul Huet, who brings 37 years of global mining experience across narrow vein deposits in Canada, the United States, South Africa, Mexico, and Australia, the company's management team has prioritized advancing Queensway to cash flow through a phased development approach designed to minimize upfront capital requirements and generate early revenue. Huet underscores the strategic transition taking place:

"To pivot from where it's been because it has been an exploration story for a number of years now, to where it's going to be and getting into that operation setting."

Record Gold Market Fundamentals Support New Production

New Found Gold's development timeline aligns with exceptionally strong gold market conditions that support new production economics. Global gold demand reached a record value of US$132 billion in the first half of 2025, representing a 45% year-over-year increase despite modest volume growth. The surge in demand value reflects both higher gold prices, which averaged US$3,280 per ounce in Q2 2025, and sustained institutional investment appetite.

Investment demand has been particularly robust, increasing 78% year-over-year in Q2 2025 to 477 tonnes. This strength has been driven by continued uncertainty over global trade policy, geopolitical tensions, and currency diversification strategies among institutional investors. Central banks remained significant buyers, adding 166 tonnes to global reserves in Q2 2025, while gold-backed exchange-traded funds attracted their strongest semi-annual inflows since 2020.

The favorable demand environment coincides with constrained secondary supply, as recycling volumes have increased only modestly despite record prices. This supply-demand dynamic creates an optimal market backdrop for new primary gold production to capture premium pricing while benefiting from sustained institutional demand.

Project Economics & Development Plan

New Found Gold's preliminary economic assessment outlines a 15-year mine life producing 1.5 million ounces of gold through a three-stage development strategy. The project demonstrates robust economics with an after-tax net present value of $742 million at a 5% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 56%, based on a conservative gold price assumption of $2,500 per ounce.

The staged approach begins with a 700-tonne-per-day open-pit operation utilizing toll milling at a third-party facility in central Newfoundland. This initial phase requires $155 million in capital investment and targets initial production to generate early cash flow. The strategic focus on immediate revenue generation reflects management's commitment to shareholder value preservation. CEO Keith Boyle explains the rationale behind this approach:

"The primary objective is to get to cash flow as soon as we can, to self-fund growth and minimize the dilution to shareholders."

The second stage involves constructing an on-site processing plant and transitioning to underground mining operations with 7,000 tonnes-per-day capacity, requiring additional capital of $442 million. A third phase would further expand underground production capacity. Boyle emphasizes the self-funding nature of this expansion strategy:

"The cash flow generated in those first four years at spot today more than pays for the growth capital."

The project's all-in sustaining cost is estimated at $1,256 per ounce. At current spot gold prices near $3,300 per ounce, the project economics improve substantially, with after-tax NPV more than doubling to $1.45 billion and internal rate of return approaching 200%.

Resource Base & Geology

The Queensway property spans 110 kilometers along strike, crossing the Appleton and JBP fault zones. The initial resource estimate, released in March 2025, identified 18 million indicated tonnes grading 2.4 grams gold per tonne for 1.39 million contained ounces, plus 10.7 million inferred tonnes at 1.77 grams per tonne for 610,000 contained ounces.

The resource is concentrated in high-grade zones including Iceberg, Keats, and Keats West within the AFZ Core area. According to management, 75% of open-pit ounces are contained in 25% of the tonnage, indicating significant grade continuity. Chairman Paul Huet highlights the exceptional nature of the mineralization:

"Some of the best grades you're going to find in the world... there are 10-30 intercepts here across kilometers of lengths."

The company estimates approximately 1.6 million indicated ounces would be extracted through open-pit mining, with 400,000 inferred ounces from underground operations. Huet notes the exploration potential remains substantial, with current operations covering only a fraction of the property:

"Just how small an area - you're talking about 5% of our ground package here. We have a lot of upside everywhere we start drilling."

New Found Gold has completed over 560,000 meters of drilling, contributing to a total of 723,387 meters when including historical work by previous operators over four decades. The company is currently executing a 70,000-meter drill program using five rigs, focused primarily on infill drilling of inferred resources within planned pit shells.

Infrastructure & Operational Advantages

The Queensway project benefits from exceptional infrastructure access, with the Trans-Canada Highway running directly through the northern portion of the property. This proximity to major transportation networks reduces potential development costs and operational complexity compared to remote mining projects. Chairman Paul Huet emphasizes the strategic advantage of this location:

"You can't underestimate the value of that town and the power and the roads on the TransCanada Highway... we're talking about one of the big airports in Gander where you got US military flying in and using it as a pit stop to fly to other places into Europe."

The conventional processing flowsheet incorporates gravity separation, flotation, and carbon-in-leach processing methods. The company plans in-pit tailings deposition to minimize environmental footprint during operations.

Newfoundland and Labrador's regulatory environment offers additional operational advantages, including a 45-day environmental assessment period for exploration projects, among the shortest in Canada. The Gander region's unemployment rate of 10.6% as of December 2024 provides access to available workforce for future mining operations.

Development Timeline & Permitting

New Found Gold is pursuing permitting for the initial open-pit operation while continuing exploration activities across the property. The company may apply for environmental assessment approval toward the end of 2025. Results from the current drill program will inform a pre-feasibility or feasibility study expected toward the end of 2026.

The phased development strategy allows for near-term production initiation through toll milling arrangements, reducing upfront capital requirements and generating early cash flow to fund subsequent expansion phases. This approach aligns with management's focus on capital discipline and shareholder value creation. Chairman Paul Huet explains the strategic rationale:

"My whole career I've been able to do a phased approach so that I'm not leaning on my shareholders and diluting them down, it's that I'm always aligned with our shareholders."

Strategic Value Proposition for Resource Investors

New Found Gold's Queensway project presents a compelling development opportunity for natural resources investors, combining strong project economics with strategic infrastructure advantages and a proven resource base. The staged development approach addresses common investor concerns regarding capital intensity in mining projects while maintaining exposure to significant upside potential at higher gold prices. The project's location in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with established infrastructure reduces typical development risks associated with remote mining operations. Key catalysts include completion of permitting processes, results from ongoing drilling programs, and advancement toward the pre-feasibility study expected in late 2026.