New Found Gold Reports Hammerdown Progress Ahead of Commercial Production Target

Company Overview

New Found Gold (TSXV: NFG | NYSE American: NFGC) is an emerging Canadian gold producer advancing the 100% owned Hammerdown Gold Project in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Hammerdown is a high-grade narrow vein deposit currently being mined by open pit, supported by the 100% owned Pine Cove Mill, a permitted processing facility acquired in November 2025. A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed in February 2026, prepared by WSP Canada Inc., outlines an anticipated run rate of 20,000 to 25,000 ounces of gold per year at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of approximately US$2,500 per ounce. The company also holds the 100% owned Queensway Gold Project, its flagship asset in Newfoundland and Labrador, which it is advancing toward Phase I production.

Safety & Mining Operations

New Found Gold has recorded zero Lost Time Incidents and a Total Recordable Incident Frequency Rate of zero across more than 105,000 person-hours worked at Hammerdown in 2026.

Overburden stripping for the Phase I pit was completed in the first quarter of 2026, and the main access ramp has been established and extended. Mineralised material delivery is achieving the PEA design criterion of 700 tonnes per day. Civil works construction remains on schedule for completion by the end of the third quarter of 2026, and the permanent crushing plant and sorting plant are targeted for completion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.

Mill Performance & Recovery

The Pine Cove Mill transitioned from on-site low-grade stockpiles to Hammerdown mineralised material in the third quarter of 2025. Key infrastructure and handling systems, including a mineralised material storage shed and a ball mill conveyor feeding system, were commissioned in the first quarter of 2026.

Gold recovery is averaging approximately 87%, a level reached at the PEA design criteria mark in the second quarter of 2026. Peak throughput of 1,394 tonnes per day has been recorded, with throughput consistently exceeding the PEA design criterion of 700 tonnes per day. The current processing circuit operates on a flotation-Merrill-Crowe configuration, with new regrind mills under construction ahead of a planned conversion to a gravity carbon-in-leach circuit.

New regrind mills are anticipated to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2026, at which point gold recovery is expected to increase from approximately 87% to approximately 92%.

Workforce & Local Employment

New Found Gold's total workforce at Hammerdown stands at 264, comprising 76 employees and 188 contractors. The company has hired 50 new personnel through the end of the second quarter of 2026, with 14 additional personnel scheduled to begin in June 2026. A total of 40 new jobs have been created to date, with over 90% of new hires drawn from Newfoundland and Labrador and 60% of the workforce living within an hour's drive of their place of work.

The company has appointed Mark Ross, P.Geo., as General Manager, Mines. Ross most recently served as Hammerdown Mine Manager and previously as Queensway Site Manager. He is based in Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador, and brings more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience to the role.

Drilling & Development Schedule

Hammerdown is a high-grade narrow vein deposit, previously mined using selective underground methods and currently being extracted by open pit. A 20,000-metre, grid-based grade control drill programme using a 5 by 5-metre spacing commenced early in the second quarter of 2026, with approximately 7,000 metres completed to date across an expected two-year programme. A separate 10,000-metre mineral resource conversion and condemnation drill programme is planned for 2026.

A Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) update informed by the conversion and condemnation drill programme results is anticipated in 2027. Phase II Hammerdown pit mining is scheduled to commence in 2028.

Chief Executive Officer of New Found Gold, Keith Boyle, outlined the company's near-term target: 

"We continue to make steady progress towards our objective of achieving commercial production at Hammerdown in H2/26, where we anticipate a run rate of 20,000 to 25,000 ounces of gold produced per year at an AISC of approximately US$2,500 per ounce, in line with our recently completed PEA."

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