Progressive Conservative Win in Newfoundland & Labrador Reinforces Tier-1 Status as New Found Gold Advances Dual-Asset Strategy

• The October 14, 2025 Progressive Conservative majority in Newfoundland and Labrador, securing 21 of 40 seats, reinforces a business-focused, mining-positive policy environment in a jurisdiction consistently ranked among the top 10 globally.
• New Found Gold is positioned to capitalize on the province's stable regulatory framework through its dual-asset growth strategy, Queensway and the pending Maritime Resources acquisition providing access to Hammerdown.
• The proposed acquisition of Maritime Resources, announced September 2025 and expected to close in Q4 2025 subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, would provide New Found Gold with ownership of the fully permitted Hammerdown mine and processing infrastructure as a near-term production catalyst.
• Policy continuity under the incoming Progressive Conservative government, with Premier-designate Wakeham's emphasis on fiscal discipline and private-sector investment, further strengthens Newfoundland's Tier-1 status and minimizes jurisdictional and permitting risks for investors.
• With robust economics (Queensway net present value up to C$1.45 billion at US$3,300 per ounce gold), institutional backing from Eric Sprott (23%) and Dundee Corporation (10%), and gold prices exceeding US$3,600 per ounce through late 2025, New Found Gold offers compelling upside in a favorable macro environment.

Political Context & Market Relevance

The October 14, 2025 election in Newfoundland and Labrador marked a notable political shift, with Tony Wakeham's Progressive Conservatives securing a slim majority, taking 21 of 40 seats and ousting the decade-long Liberal incumbency. The Progressive Conservatives captured 44.4% of the popular vote compared to the Liberals' 43.4%, with the New Democrats winning two seats and two Independents elected. Political analysts described the outcome as surprising given pre-election polling, representing a shift in the province's policy trajectory.

This result carries direct implications for mining development. The Progressive Conservative campaign emphasized pocketbook issues and fiscal discipline, with Premier-designate Wakeham pledging to subject the proposed multibillion-dollar energy deal with Quebec to independent third-party review. This pragmatic approach to public spending signals commitment to capital efficiency and private-sector investment facilitation rather than high-risk government-led infrastructure projects with uncertain returns.

In mining terms, this political backdrop reinforces Newfoundland's existing Tier-1 jurisdictional status. The province has consistently ranked among the top 10 mining jurisdictions globally according to the Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies. For companies like New Found Gold, policy continuity under business-oriented governance translates into predictable permitting pathways, reduced policy volatility, and a reinforced investor confidence narrative.

Why Jurisdictional Safety Matters for Gold Investors

Political stability directly influences project economics and equity valuations across the mining cycle. Investors assign valuation premiums to assets within jurisdictions that maintain predictable permitting, infrastructure reliability, and supportive policy frameworks. Newfoundland's established reputation as a mining-positive jurisdiction, earning consistent top-10 global rankings, aligns with structural demand for low-risk gold exposure.

The province's regulatory framework mitigates a key global concern: permitting delays that erode project net present value and extend payback periods. For institutional investors balancing portfolio risk, this policy predictability reinforces capital rotation into politically secure mining regions. Against this backdrop, New Found Gold's 100% concentration of assets within Newfoundland magnifies its jurisdictional advantage, a competitive differentiator as the company advances toward dual-asset production.

In an environment where geopolitical risk premiums are widening across West Africa and Latin America, Newfoundland's combination of regulatory transparency, infrastructure access, and policy continuity positions the province as a credible destination for mining capital. For companies like New Found Gold, this jurisdictional premium translates directly into valuation multiples, cost certainty, and investor confidence.

New Found Gold: From Discovery to Development

The proposed acquisition of Maritime Resources, announced in September 2025 represents a transformative inflection point in New Found Gold's corporate evolution. Subject to shareholder votes requiring 66 2/3% approval and customary regulatory approvals including court and stock exchange consent, the transaction would unite two complementary assets, Queensway and Hammerdown, under a single operating and development strategy.

Upon closing, the combined entity would benefit from two distinct production pathways. Maritime Resources Corp. announced the first shipment of mill feed from the Hammerdown Gold Project to the Company’s Pine Cove mill on October 16, 2025, with the project in construction and targeted for full production ramp-up in early 2026. Queensway Phase 1, targeting 2027 production, continues to progress toward development with a phased approach designed to minimize upfront capital expenditure (C$155 million) and mitigate dilution.

Together, these projects would create a vertically integrated, near-term gold producer with scalable cash flow potential and operational flexibility. Subject to the acquisition closing, New Found Gold would acquire full ownership of permitted infrastructure including the Pine Cove Mill (1,300 tonnes per day nominal capacity) and the Nugget Pond hydrometallurgical gold plant, materially reducing capital intensity and shortening the timeline to cash generation for Queensway.

Keith Boyle, Chief Executive Officer of New Found Gold, explains the strategic rationale:

"The opportunity to take high-grade gold narrow veins that provide for what I would call a straightforward startup was really the appealing aspect of this project. When we looked around and we saw a toll mill opportunity, a custom milling opportunity, it really then reduced the capex and the risk of execution for the project, made the project start fairly straightforward and easily financeable."

Near-Term Catalysts & Investor Re-Rating Potential

Subject to the Maritime acquisition closing, Hammerdown's transition to full production in early 2026 would provide a self-funding mechanism for Queensway's construction, materially reducing the need for dilutive equity raises. Investors can anticipate a natural re-rating once Hammerdown transitions to steady-state output, validating New Found Gold's evolution toward multi-asset producer status.

At current gold price levels exceeding US$3,600 per ounce, each incremental US$100 increase enhances Queensway's net present value by approximately C$89 million, amplifying upside potential under bullish macro conditions. With gold prices reaching historic highs above US$4,000 per ounce during 2025, project economics significantly exceed the base case assumptions used in the preliminary economic assessment.

Keith Boyle reinforces this strategic pivot:

"A big part of the motivation in the acquisition of Maritime. I'm focused on free cash flow and that's what I've got to demonstrate. We basically are buying cash flow, the acquisition price is basically the cash flow that it'll generate, and de-risking our execution by ensuring we have access to a mill."

Economic Rationale & Competitive Positioning

Hammerdown's 2022 feasibility study projects annual production of 50,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of US$912 per ounce, positioning the project firmly within the global cost curve's bottom quartile. This cost structure ensures profitability across a wide range of gold price scenarios, providing operational resilience and margin protection during periods of commodity price volatility. The project's proven and probable mineral reserves total 1.895 million tonnes grading 4.44 grams per tonne gold (272,000 ounces), calculated using a gold price of US$1,650 per ounce and an exchange rate of US$0.77 to C$1.00 as of the August 15, 2022 effective date.

Queensway's preliminary economic assessment, announced in July 2025, demonstrates equally compelling economics. Initial capital expenditure for Phase 1 is estimated at C$155 million, with life-of-mine all-in sustaining cost projected at US$1,256 per ounce of gold. The project's after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate is C$743 million at the base case gold price of US$2,500 per ounce, rising to C$1.45 billion at US$3,300 per ounce gold with internal rate of return increasing to 197%. These figures underscore the project's resilience across pricing scenarios, offering strong leverage to sustained gold strength while maintaining cost discipline.

The combination of low capital intensity, high-grade mineralization, and access to existing infrastructure positions New Found Gold's portfolio favorably relative to peers advancing bulk-tonnage deposits requiring significantly higher upfront investment and longer development timelines.

Institutional & Financial Strength

New Found Gold's treasury balance of C$67.5 million as of September 5, 2025, combined with backing from cornerstone shareholders, Eric Sprott (23%) and Dundee Corporation (10%) on a pro forma basic ownership basis, reinforces financial stability and investor alignment. The pro forma cash and cash equivalents for the combined entity total C$109 million, supporting ongoing exploration across a 110-kilometer strike corridor at Queensway while advancing Hammerdown toward full production.

Such capital structure robustness mitigates funding uncertainty and reduces the likelihood of predatory financing or forced asset sales during volatile market conditions. Institutional backing also facilitates access to project financing and strategic partnerships, critical enablers for developers transitioning from construction to production. The alignment between management and significant shareholders ensures that capital allocation decisions prioritize long-term value creation over short-term financial engineering.

Peer Positioning

Compared to peers in comparable Tier-1 jurisdictions such as Ontario and Quebec, New Found Gold's combined portfolio exhibits a higher grade profile and shorter permitting timeline, yielding superior risk-adjusted returns. Subject to the Maritime acquisition closing, the integrated infrastructure, particularly the Pine Cove Mill and Nugget Pond high-grade processing facility, would reduce capital intensity and shorten time to cash flow for Queensway development.

While bulk-tonnage gold deposits require years of permitting and hundreds of millions in capital expenditure before generating revenue, New Found Gold's high-grade, narrow-vein approach enables modular development with lower upfront costs and faster payback periods. This structural advantage becomes increasingly relevant in an environment where cost inflation and permitting delays have eroded returns across the mining sector.

Policy Continuity as a Catalyst for Mining Investment

The Progressive Conservative campaign platform's commitment to fiscal restraint and regulatory efficiency carries tangible implications for mining development timelines. By prioritizing balanced budgets and independent reviews of large public expenditures, Premier-designate Wakeham's stated approach signals pragmatic economic policy, one favoring private-sector capital formation over government-led infrastructure projects with uncertain returns.

Mining, as a key provincial economic driver, stands to benefit from this policy continuity. Newfoundland and Labrador's established regulatory framework, which has earned the province consistent top-10 global rankings in the Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies, provides a predictable environment for project development. The incoming Progressive Conservative government has signaled continued support for responsible resource development, with the campaign emphasizing fiscal discipline and private-sector investment that complements New Found Gold's timeline for advancing projects toward production.

From a macro lens, global investors seeking exposure to low-risk jurisdictions amid elevated geopolitical uncertainty, particularly given ongoing challenges in West Africa and Latin America, view Newfoundland as a credible haven for capital deployment. The province's business-first orientation reduces policy risk for developers, ensuring that regulatory processes remain predictable and transparent throughout the project lifecycle.

Jurisdictional Premium & Global Capital Flows

In an environment where geopolitical risk premiums are widening, jurisdictional stability serves as a proxy for valuation multiples. Assets located in Tier-1 mining provinces like Newfoundland typically trade at higher enterprise-value-to-ounces ratios, reflecting investor preference for predictable policy and low expropriation risk. For context, gold developers in politically uncertain jurisdictions often face valuation discounts exceeding 30% to 50%. Conversely, projects in Canada, Australia, and the United States consistently attract institutional capital due to permitting reliability and environmental, social, and governance accountability frameworks.

New Found Gold, with both of its flagship assets situated within Newfoundland's supportive policy framework, captures this premium. As capital rotation continues into safe jurisdictions, New Found Gold's portfolio aligns squarely with institutional screening criteria for environmental, social, and governance compliance, governance transparency, and project scalability. The company's concentration within a single, stable jurisdiction simplifies due diligence for institutional investors while eliminating cross-border regulatory complexity.

The jurisdictional premium extends beyond valuation multiples to include access to capital, strategic partnerships, and offtake agreements. Companies operating in Tier-1 jurisdictions benefit from lower financing costs, favorable debt terms, and greater flexibility in structuring project financing. For New Found Gold, Newfoundland's regulatory environment enhances the company's ability to attract institutional capital at competitive terms, supporting its transition toward production.

Technical Asset Strength & Expansion Potential

Queensway's resource potential extends significantly beyond its initial estimate, which covers less than 5% of the property's 110-kilometer strike extent along the Dog Bay Line structure. This exploration upside suggests long-term expansion optionality, with multiple high-grade zones identified through systematic drilling campaigns. The property package hosts geological settings characterized by orogenic gold mineralization in favorable structural corridors that support continued resource growth through targeted exploration.

Infrastructure & Environmental, Social, and Governance Readiness

Newfoundland's established mining infrastructure including road access, electrical power from renewable hydroelectric sources, and proximity to processing facilities materially reduces project risk. Access to renewable hydroelectric power positions New Found Gold favorably within environmental, social, and governance-driven capital frameworks, a growing determinant of institutional investment flows. The province's established mining culture and skilled workforce further enhance operational readiness, reducing ramp-up risk and supporting efficient project execution.

Keith Boyle addresses the company's continued exploration focus:

"We see the real opportunity to look for and find a game-changing deposit on our package. We're not slowing up on the exploration front."

Market Context: Gold's Enduring Role as a Safe Haven

Gold remains the most reliable hedge against macro volatility. As real yields plateau and monetary policy enters a loosening cycle, investor allocation toward precious metals continues to expand. With gold prices maintaining elevated levels above US$3,600 per ounce through late 2025 and reaching historic highs above US$4,000 per ounce during the year, developers with low-cost projects advancing toward near-term production stand to benefit from favorable pricing dynamics.

Developers with robust project economics, strong jurisdictional footing, and clear pathways to production, are well-positioned to capture investor attention. The company's dual-asset structure would provide leverage to rising prices while mitigating operational risk through diversified production sources within a single, stable jurisdiction. The combination of near-term cash flow potential from Hammerdown and development-stage leverage from Queensway creates a balanced risk-return profile suited for both growth-oriented and income-focused investors.

The Investment Thesis for Gold & New Found Gold

New Found Gold's investment thesis centers on jurisdictional quality, pending near-term cash flow catalysts, and operational leverage to elevated gold prices. The company's strategic positioning within Newfoundland, combined with its dual-asset development approach, creates multiple pathways to value creation for investors.

• Policy continuity under the incoming Progressive Conservative government reinforces Newfoundland's top-10 global mining jurisdiction ranking. Premier-designate Wakeham's campaign emphasis on fiscal discipline, regulatory efficiency, and private-sector investment facilitation aligns with mining industry preferences for predictable policy environments. This stability reduces permitting risk and enhances investor confidence in project execution timelines.
• Hammerdown's transition to full production in early 2026 would establish cash flow generation, validating New Found Gold's evolution from explorer to producer. Stockpile processing that commenced in February 2025 provides early revenue ahead of full-scale production, demonstrating operational capability and project readiness.
• The pending Maritime transaction would enable a self-funding growth model through which Hammerdown cash flow materially funds Queensway Phase 1 capital expenditure, minimizing dilution risk and preserving shareholder value. This approach would eliminate the need for large-scale equity financings during construction, a common source of shareholder dilution among development-stage miners.
• Robust project economics featuring combined all-in sustaining cost below US$1,300 per ounce and net present value sensitivity of approximately C$89 million per US$100 gold price increase create high leverage to market upside. At gold price levels exceeding US$3,600 per ounce maintained through late 2025, project economics significantly exceed preliminary economic assessment base case assumptions of US$2,500 per ounce.
• Institutional endorsement from Eric Sprott and Dundee Corporation, representing 23% and 10% pro forma basic ownership respectively, affirms market confidence and long-term alignment between management and shareholders. Strategic investor participation provides access to capital, technical expertise, and industry relationships critical for successful project development.
• Exploration upside across Queensway's under-explored 110-kilometer strike along the Dog Bay Line structure provides multi-year optionality for resource growth beyond current development phases. With the initial resource estimate covering less than 5% of the property extent, systematic drilling campaigns continue to identify new high-grade zones supporting resource expansion and potential mine-life extension.

Why This Political Outcome Matters for Investors

The October 14, 2025 election outcome in Newfoundland and Labrador represents policy continuity rather than disruption, a structural reinforcement of investor confidence in one of the world's top-ranked mining jurisdictions. The Progressive Conservatives' slim majority, achieved with 21 of 40 seats, maintains the business-oriented governance that has earned the province consistent recognition in global mining jurisdiction surveys.

The incoming government's stated priorities align with the company's advancement toward production. New Found Gold's combination of pending near-term catalysts through the Maritime acquisition, high-grade resources at Queensway and Hammerdown, and strong balance sheet position the company to benefit from both macroeconomic tailwinds supporting gold prices and provincial policy continuity supporting project development.

Subject to closing of the Maritime transaction, New Found Gold would secure access to permitted processing infrastructure while Hammerdown advances toward full production in early 2026 and Queensway progresses through development toward 2027 production. As global investors prioritize low-risk jurisdictions with tangible production visibility, New Found Gold's Newfoundland-based portfolio embodies the qualities driving capital allocation in the current phase of the gold cycle, jurisdictional safety, development-stage leverage to elevated gold prices, and institutional backing supporting the transition from explorer to producer.

TL;DR Summary

New Found Gold is advancing toward production in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the world's top-10 ranked mining jurisdictions, following the Progressive Conservatives' October 14, 2025 election victory that reinforces policy continuity. The company's pending Maritime Resources acquisition, expected to close in Q4 2025, would provide ownership of the permitted Hammerdown mine where stockpile processing began in February 2025, with full production targeted for early 2026 at US$912 per ounce all-in sustaining costs. Combined with the flagship Queensway project - which demonstrates net present value up to C$1.45 billion at elevated gold prices - NFG offers investors exposure to high-grade gold development in a stable jurisdiction backed by institutional investors Eric Sprott and Dundee Corporation.

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