New Found Gold Corp. press release

New Found Gold Announces Queensway Gold Project Revised PEA and Updated MRE: After-Tax NPV Increases to $1.7 B with 126% IRR; Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Increases by 38%

2026-10-22

TSX - Toronto Stock Exchange · Technical Studies

With stronger economics and an expanded resource base, Queensway is fully funded to become Canada's next mid-tier gold producer

All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 22, 2026) - New Found Gold Corp. (TSX: NFGC) (NYSE American: NFGC) ("New Found Gold" or the "Company"), a new Canadian gold producer, is pleased to announce positive results for a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA" or the "Study") and updated mineral resource estimate ("MRE") on its 100%-owned flagship Queensway Gold Project ("Queensway" or the "Project") in Newfoundland and Labrador ("NL"), Canada.

"_I am pleased to announce the results of a revised PEA and updated MRE for Queensway. Our flagship Queensway asset is uniquely attractive, with a high-grade core that starts at surface. It is located in central Newfoundland, close to infrastructure and a skilled workforce_," stated Keith Boyle, CEO of New Found Gold. "_The revised PEA confirms our estimates for Phase 1 and incorporates our renewed thinking for Phases 2 and 3 of the Project. The PEA more than doubles the Project's NPV5%to $1.7 billion and lifts the IRR to 126%, while Phase 1 capital costs remain in line with the earlier PEA at $150 million. For Phases 2 and 3, the revised approach increases underground ounces in the mine plan by 86% and includes a separate CIL circuit at the Pine Cove mill and the planned Phase 2 expansion of the Queensway mill. Collectively, these changes significantly improve onsite LOM recoveries, increase the doré poured on site and reduce smelter penalties. The revised PEA incorporates a significant amount of work completed at Queensway over the last year and a half_."

"_In this first update to the Queensway Mineral Resource, we have increased the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource by 38%, in part due to the addition of the Dropkick Zone. This recent discovery, which remains open along strike and at depth, demonstrates the camp-scale potential at Queensway. We have only begun to evaluate the 110 km of strike extent along two major fault zones_."

"_Queensway is poised for near-term production. With a mill and tailings facility at Pine Cove and detailed engineering for Phase 1 well-advanced, first mineralized material from Queensway is anticipated to be delivered to the expanded Pine Cove mill in Q4/27. With a Phase 1 open pit operation averaging over 13 grams of gold per tonne, grade control drilling demonstrating continuity, completion of a $220 million finance package and today's revised PEA and updated MRE, New Found Gold has derisked Queensway significantly and charted a clear path to becoming a self-funded mid-tier Canadian gold producer_."

Updated PEA and MRE Highlights:

-

After Tax net present value("NPV5%"):$1.728 billion ("B") after-tax NPV5% at base case US$3,600 per ounce of gold ("oz Au"), increasing to $2.225 B NPV5% at US$4,100 /oz Au upside case,

-

Internal Rate of Return ("IRR"):126% IRR at US$3,600 /oz gold, increasing to 164% IRR at US$4,100 /oz gold,

-

Gold Production and Mine Life: 1.744 million ("M") oz Au produced over a 15-year phased open pit ("OP") and underground ("UG") operation; Average annual production of 116,000 oz Au and peak annual production of 190,000 oz Au in 2032,

-

Payback:<1 year payback at US$3,600 /oz gold,

-

Grade:Average head grade of 13.41 grams of gold per tonne ("g/t Au") in Phase 1 and 2.09 g/t Au average head grade over LOM,

-

Recovery:91.5% projected over life of mine ("LOM"),

-

Cash Cost and All-in Sustaining Cost ("AISC")[1]:US$985 per ounce of gold ("/oz Au") Cash Cost and US$1,375/oz Au AISC,

-

Capital Expenditures:$149.8 M initial capital, in-line with the previous estimate, $832.1 M growth capital, increased primarily due to scope change of adding a carbon-in-leach ("CIL") circuit to the Pine Cove Mill and in-pit tailings facility ("Pine Cove" or the "Off-siteMill"), and $970.8 M sustaining capital over LOM, increased primarily due to additional underground development to increase underground ounces in the mine plan by 86% and investment in the future of the Project, with cash flows from Phases 1 and 2 anticipated to fund growth capital for Phases 2 and 3, respectively,

-

Well-Capitalized:With cash and cash equivalents of approximately $167 M in the treasury as at September 30, 2026, a further $35 M debt facility available[2], potential proceeds from warrants expiring in 2027 and cash flow from the Company's 100% owned Hammerdown Gold Deposit through 2027, the Company is fully funded,

-

Cash Flows:$2.551 B cumulative after-tax cash flows over 15-year LOM, including $836 M from Phase 1,

-

Mineral Resource Growth:38% (528 thousand ounces of gold ("koz Au")) increase in Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource to 1.920 Moz Au (27,325 thousand tonnes ("kt") at 2.19 g/t Au); Inferred Mineral Resource remains at 606 koz Au (12,471 kt at 1.51 g/t Au),

-

Resource Expansion Potential:the orogenic gold system at Queensway remains open to depth and along strike over the 110 kilometre ("km") long camp-scale land package, and

-

Job Creation: A total of 530 new direct jobs are expected to be created in central Newfoundland over the LOM.

Cautionary Statement

The PEA is preliminary in nature. It includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not demonstrate economic viability. No Mineral Reserves are defined for Queensway.

Revised PEA

The PEA strategy of using a phased approach with an offsite permitted mill to execute a rapid path to cash flow remains the same as in the Company's previously released Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "2025 PEA"). The PEA incorporates the updated MRE, as well as several technical advancements including updated engineering, mine planning, metallurgical process design, environmental planning, capital and operating cost estimates, and revised market assumptions, providing a current assessment of the Project's development potential. The key similarities and differences between the PEA and the 2025 PEA are summarized below.

Unchanged from the 2025 PEA:

-

A three-phase operation,

-

Offsite and subsequent onsite processing,

-

A primary conventional OP mine complemented by a high-grade UG mechanized cut and fill mine, and

-

In-pit tailings deposition at Queensway.

Revised from the 2025 PEA:

-

Processing Phase 1 at the Company's 100%-owned Off-site Mill, rather than at the idle third party-owned Nugget Pond mill ("Nugget Pond"),

-

A full gravity-carbon-in-leach ("Gravity-CIL") circuit at own Pine Cove mill, rather than the restart of Nugget Pond,

-

Initial mining with a contractor, transitioning to owner mining, rather than solely owner mining,

-

Incorporation of Appleton Fault Zone Peripheral area ("AFZ Peripheral"), including the new Dropkick Zone ("Dropkick") and the Appleton Fault Zone Core area ("AFZ Core") in the mine plan, rather than only the AFZ Core,

-

An 86% increase of ounces in the mine plan in the UG, both to reduce excessive stripping requirements and as a result of a high-grade shoot delineated at Dropkick,

-

The advancement of the UG in the mine plan from Phase 3 to Phase 2,

-

The onsite processing plant ("Queensway Mill") being built in two stages, rather than one,

-

Constructing two parallel circuits at the Queensway Mill, a Gravity-CIL circuit to treat the high and mid-grade mineralized material and a gravity flotation circuit to treat low-grade and refractory material,

-

An increase in the strip ratio from 6.0 to 6.5 as a result of the addition of geotechnical studies,

-

In-pit tailings deposition through all phases of the Project, and

-

Refinement of operational and capital estimates.

Development Strategy

Queensway is planned as a primary conventional OP mine, complemented by high-grade UG mechanized cut and fill mining across numerous deposits in the AFZ Core and the AFZ Peripheral. The mining strategy consists of OP mining at the AFZ Core starting in Q4/27 using a contractor operating model in the initial years, transitioning to an owner operating model to increase mining and material movement rates. UG mining operations are planned to commence in 2030. Mining operations are expected to run until 2040 based on the current MRE and resultant mine plan.

The development strategy is planned over three phases, as follows:

Phase 1: Milling of OP mineralized material from the Keats and Iceberg deposits is planned to commence in Q4/27 at Pine Cove at a rate of 700 tonnes per day ("tpd"). Pine Cove is currently being converted to a Gravity-CIL circuit comprising conventional comminution, gravity concentration, cyanide leaching and absorption through CIL to produce doré. The Company plans to expand the capacity at Pine Cove to accommodate Queensway Phase 1. High Grade mineralized material from the Queensway site will be trucked to and processed at Pine Cove until the end of 2030.

Phase 2:Commencing in 2031, OP and UG mineralized material from all deposits will be milled at a rate of 4,900 tpd at a new on-site Queensway Mill. Once the Queensway Mill is operational in 2031, the Company will cease sending feed to Pine Cove. The Queensway Mill will be built with two parallel processing circuits; namely, high-grade mineralized material will be treated via a Gravity-CIL circuit at a rate of 2,000 tpd and low-grade mineralized material will be treated via a gravity-flotation circuit at a rate of 2,900 tpd.

Phase 3:The Queensway Mill Gravity-Flotation circuit will be expanded to 5,000 tpd to more rapidly process stockpiled lower grade mineralized materials mined during Phase 1 and Phase 2 while continuing to process OP and UG high-grade mineralized material at 2,000 tpd in the Gravity-CIL circuit, for total processing capacity of the Queensway Mill of 7,000 tpd.

In-Pit Tailings: In-pit tailings deposition will be used throughout all phases of the Project. This approach avoids the need for a conventional above-ground tailings storage facility with perimeter embankment dams and reduces the Project footprint.

Mine Plan and Growth Potential:The current mine plan has outlined production of 1.744 M oz Au over a 15 year mine life. The district-scale land package holds excellent potential to continue to expand the resource base and mine life through ongoing exploration.

Capital Expenditures and Funding:Initial capital expenditures for the Project are $149.8 M and growth capital is $832.1 M. The Company is fully funded for the initial capital expenditures and anticipates cash flows from Phase 1 will fund the growth capital for Phases 2 and 3 at an average gold price of US$3,600/oz.

See Table 1 and Figures 1 to 5 with respect to the PEA and Tables 6 to 11 and Appendix 1 with respect to the MRE.

Table 1: Queensway PEA Financial and Operating Metrics.

| Item | Units | Value | | Production | | | | Project life (from start of construction to closure) | years | 17 | | Mine life | years | 15 | | Total Potential Mill Feed Tonnage | Mt | 28.3 | | Average Feed Grade, Au | g/t | 2.09 | | Mill recoveries (Avg) | % | 91.5 | | Doré Payable | % | 99.949 | | Concentrate Payable | % | 87.0 | | Total Payable Gold (weighted) | % | 97.813 | | Total Gold Sold | Moz Au | 1.706 | | Commodity Prices | | | | Au Average | US$/oz | 3,600 | | Project Costs (LOM average)1 | | | | Mining Cost - OP | $/t milled | 29.77 | | Mining Cost -UG | $/t mined | 171.91 | | Milling Cost | $/t milled | 26.78 | | On-Site Crushing Cost | $/t milled | 1.75 | | Tailings Storage Facility ("TSF") Cost | $/t milled | 0.16 | | General & Administrative Cost | $/t milled | 2.15 | | Material Haulage to Pine Cove | $/t milled | 2.38 | | Water Management Costs | $/t milled | 4.57 | | Total Cash Cost2, 4 | US$/oz Au | 985 | | AISC (LOM)3, 4 | US$/oz Au | 1,375 | | Project Economics | | | | Gross Revenue | $M | 8,538.6 | | Total Selling Cost Estimate | $M | 53.9 | | Effective Royalty Rate | % | 0.42 | | Total Royalties | $M | 35.8 | | Total Operating Cost Estimate | $M | 2,245.6 | | Total Sustaining Capital Cost Estimate | $M | 970.8 | | Total Growth Capital Cost Estimate | $M | 832.1 | | Initial Capital Cost Estimate | $M | 149.8 | | Taxes | $M | 1,700.0 | | Pre-Tax Cash Flow | $M | 4,250.7 | | After-Tax Cash Flow | $M | 2,550.6 | | Pre-Tax Net Present Value @ 5% | $M | 2,972.8 | | Pre-Tax Internal Rate of Return | % | 204.4% | | After-Tax Net Present Value @ 5% | $M | 1,727.6 | | After-Tax Internal Rate of Return | % | 125.8 | | After-Tax payback period | years | <1 y |

Notes: 1Total operating costs refer to onsite charges that cover open pit and underground mining, processing and material handling, and onsite general and administrative costs. 2Cash Cost is calculated as the sum of doré transportation, treatment and refining charges, royalties, and onsite operating costs, divided by the quantity of gold ounces sold. 3AISC is calculated as the sum of doré transportation, treatment and refining charges, royalties, onsite operating costs, and sustaining capital costs, divided by the quantity of ounces sold. 4 Denotes a "specified financial measure" within the meaning of National Instrument 52-112 - Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure. See note on "Non-IFRS Financial Measures"

Technical Report

The PEA and MRE replace the Company's previous studies completed in 2025 (the 2025 PEA and the "Initial MRE", respectively).

A technical report pertaining to the PEA and MRE (the "Technical Report") prepared by Qualified Persons ("QPs") in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") will be filed on the Company's website, under its SEDAR+ profile and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov/edgar) within 45 days of this press release.

The basis for the PEA and the qualifications and assumptions made by the QPs who undertook the PEA are set out in this news release.

The LOM production targets are based on approximately 82% measured and indicated resources and 19% inferred resources; Phase 1 production targets are based on approximately 97% measured and indicated resources and 3% inferred resources. The inferred resources are predominantly scheduled in the latter stages of the mine-life and have had mining factors applied. There is a lower level of geological confidence associated with inferred resources and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of indicated resources, or that production metrics itself will be realised. The Company is currently conducting infill drilling focused on the conversion of inferred resources to indicated.

Readers are cautioned that the conclusions, projections and estimates set out in this press release are subject to important qualifications, assumptions and exclusions, all of which will be detailed in the Technical Report. To fully understand the summary information set out in this press release, the Technical Report should be read in its entirety.

[](https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_001full.jpg)

Figure 1: Annual Gold Production, Grade and AISC by Phase.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_001full.jpg

Note: AISC is a non-IFRS measure; see notes below for additional information regarding AISC

[](https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_002full.jpg)

Figure 2: Annual Gold Production and Cumulative Cash Flow.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_002full.jpg

[](https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_003full.jpg)

Figure 3: Queensway Location Map.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_003full.jpg

[](https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_004full.jpg)

Figure 4. Mined Gold by Mineral Resource Category.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/319963_0ce29a3064f12ba8_004full.jpg

Mining

The Queensway mine plan envisions both conventional OP truck-and-shovel methods complemented by high-grade UG cut-and-fill mining. The mine schedule was designed to achieve the target processing capacities defined by the different phases of the Project outlined above. The Project considers contractor mining for the first two years of production, with a transition to owner mining over the subsequent two years of operation until the mine is fully operated by an owner-owned fleet.

The OP operation comprises a total of 21 pits. The three principal pits (Iceberg, Keats and Keats West) are sequenced early in the mine life and will subsequently serve as in-pit tailings deposition facilities. The pits will deliver to the mill a total of 26.4 million tonnes ("Mt") of mineralized material at an average diluted gold grade of 1.74 g/t for 1,479 koz of gold, with an overall strip ratio of 6.5:1. The open pit optimization used a 2.5 m x 2.5 m x 2.5 m block model for the Phase 1 pits and a 5.0 m x 5.0 m x 5.0 m block model for the subsequent pits to be mined thereafter to reflect the use of larger equipment and increased production rate. The owner-operated fleet will consist of 64-tonne-class haul trucks and 12 cubic metre ("m³") shovels, selected to minimize dilution and maximize selectivity.

The UG operation will be developed in five zones, accessed from five surface portals, four of which will be collared within the open pits. The primary mining method will be mechanized cut and fill, using a 3 m x 3 m stope size to minimize dilution while maximizing selectivity. Backfill will consist of a combination of rockfill and cemented rockfill. The UG operation will deliver to the mill a total of 1.9 Mt of mineralized material at an average diluted grade of 6.85 g/t for 427 koz Au.

The mining sequence and schedule have been optimized to prioritize higher-grade material being processed early in the mine life. The mine plan has included the segregation of mineralized material by grade bin and a stockpiling strategy to process lower grade material at the end of the mine life. Open pit mining is expected from 2027 until 2040 and will reach a peak mining rate of 53,200 tpd. Underground mining is expected from 2030 until 2039 and will reach a peak mining rate of 800 tpd. The mill feed schedule also includes the processing of low-grade stockpiles until 2042.

Gold ounces included in the mine plan are categorized as being 1% measured, 80% indicated and 19% inferred. The inferred resources are predominantly scheduled in the latter stages of the mine-life. There is a low level of geological confidence associated with inferred resources and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of indicated or measured resources. No reserves for the project have been declared at this time.

Processing and Gold Recovery

Phase 1: Off-Site Milling

The PEA envisions treating 256 kt per year (700 tpd) of mineralized material at the existing Pine Cove process plant from 2027 until 2030. High grade material will be crushed at the Queensway site and trucked 275 km to Pine Cove along the Trans-Canada Highway and secondary highway. The current process plant will be converted to a gravity-CIL circuit due to the high gravity recoverable gold and preg-robbing nature of the mineralized material from Queensway. The plant will continue to produce doré with an estimated recovery of 94% which is supported by metallurgical test work.

The Pine Cove upgrade will consist of installing an additional ball mill, adding a gravity concentration circuit, CIL tanks, carbon acid wash and elution circuit, carbon regeneration and handling, new gold room, new reagent make-up systems and an oxygen plant. The existing flotation, leach tanks, drum filters and Merrill Crowe circuit will be decommissioned. CIL tailings will be detoxified prior to storage in the existing in-pit tailings storage facility. Plant modifications have been accounted for in the Phase 1 PEA initial capital cost estimate.