Novo Resources Corp. press release

Belltopper Gold Project Mineral Resource

2026-06-09

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| HIGHLIGHTS | | |

An InferredMineral Resourceof 760,000 tonnes at 3.6 g/t Au for 87,000 oz contained gold is reported for the Leven Star Reef within the Belltopper Gold Project.

The Leven Star Reef is relatively shallowly drilled (44 holes in total) and mineralisation remains open in multiple directions; providing a number of opportunities for resource growth.

The Leven Star Reef Mineral Resource has been assessed on the basis of underground mining only.

The Leven Star Reef represents _one_of _eight_high-grade gold-bearing reefs that comprise a recently upgraded Exploration Targetat Belltopper Gold Project1. The remaining seven reefs comprising the Exploration Target provide a robust opportunity for additional resource growth at Belltopper from multiple sources to complement the Leven Star Resource.

Other known prospective historic gold reefs at the Belltopper Gold Project not currently within the Exploration Target also remain underexplored and provide near-term opportunity to grow the Exploration Target.

Planning is advanced for drilling in H2 2026 to further define the current Exploration Target Reefs and test additional known historic reefs.

High-priority, drill ready targets within the important “Belltopper Anticline Corridor,” will also be tested as part of the upcoming drilling program.

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The 2026 Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate with an effective date of 9 June 2026 for the Belltopper Gold Project Leven Star Reef is provided in Table 1.

Table 1. Inferred Mineral Resources for the Belltopper Gold Project Leven Star Reef.

| Classification | Cut-off grade (g/t Au) | Tonnes (t) | Grade (g/t Au) | Troy ounces (Au) | | Inferred Mineral Resource | 1.9 | 760,000 | 3.6 | 87,000 |

The optimized MSO stope shapes were estimated with the following indicative parameters:

Gold price: A$5,250/oz gold. Bulk density applied: oxide mineralisation 2.50 t/m3(waste 2.35 t/m3), transitional mineralisation 2.60 t/m3(waste 2.45 t/m3) and fresh mineralisation 2.65 t/m3(waste 2.70 t/m3). AU$162/t mining cost and AU$119/t processing cost (including G&A and surface haulage). Metallurgical recovery at 88%. Mining is based on sub-level open stoping with 15 m level to level separation, mining recovery of 90%, minimum mining width at 1.5 m and 0.2 m HW and FW dilution. Victorian State Royalty of 2.75% and discount factor 8%. A period of between 5 to 10 years is considered appropriate for “eventual economic extraction” for the LSR, noting that gold price operating expenditure, and regulatory conditions may change during the period. It is assumed that mineralisation would be fed to a process plant within reasonable haulage distance.

Underground resource reported diluted within Mineable Shape Optimisations (MSOs) generated above a gold cut-off grade of 1.9 g/t Au.

PERTH, Australia, June 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novo Resources Corp. (Novo or the Company) (ASX: NVO) (TSX: NVO) (OTCQB: NSRPF) is pleased to report a Mineral Resource classified as an Inferred Mineral Resourcein accordance with the JORC Code (2012) for the Leven Star Reefat its 100% owned Belltopper Gold Project (‘Belltopper’) in Victoria. The Leven Star Reef represents _one_of _eight_reefs that comprise the Exploration Targetat Belltopper reported on 11 February 2026.

Belltopper is located 120 km northwest of Melbourne and approximately 60 km south of Agnico Eagle’s (TSX: AEM) Fosterville Gold Mine (Figure 1) in the Bendigo Zone, an area with historical gold production of more than 60 million ounces2.

Kaiser Reef Limited’s (ASX: KAU) Maldon processing plant is located some 40 km to the northwest of the project area and Alkane Resources Limited’s (ASX: ALK) Costerfield’s operation is located some 50 km to the northeast of Belltopper.

Mineral Resource classification was generally allocated according to estimation pass, and considered data type, quality and distribution, and bulk density measurement availability. Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE) have been determined by evaluation within Datamine MSO shapes. Estimates have been verified by visual review, examination of swath plots, volume-to-tonnage comparisons, and sensitivity analysis.

The terms ‘Mineral Resource’, ‘Inferred Mineral Resource’, ‘Indicated Mineral Resource’, ‘Ore Reserves’ and ‘Feasibility Study’ have the meanings as given in the JORC Code (2012). Mineral Resources are not Ore Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability; it is uncertain if applying economic modifying factors will convert Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources to Ore Reserves. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues; however, no issues are known at this time. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred Mineral Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Mineral Resources as an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource; furthermore, it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading Inferred Mineral Resources to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource category.

Commenting on the Belltopper Mineral Resource, Mike Spreadborough, Executive Co-Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer, said:

"The delivery of this maiden Inferred Mineral Resource at Novo’s Belltopper Gold Project marks an important milestone for The Belltopper Gold Project and for Novo generally. An initial 87,000 ounce Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate provides a solid foundation for what we see as a highly prospective asset, with encouraging potential for further resource definition given the previously released Exploration Target — all underpinned by the current gold price environment, which is as favourable as we have seen in a generation.

“The investment case for Victorian gold is compelling with multiple new projects approved and funded within Victoria We see potential for further value to emerge as Belltopper is advanced, and it remains a valuable and strategically important part of Novo's portfolio."

MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE MODELLING PARAMETERS

INTRODUCTION

A summary of material information pursuant to ASX Listing Rules 5.8 is provided below for the 2026 Leven Star Reef Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE26). MRE26 has been prepared in accordance with the principles of and using the guidelines and terminology of the JORC Code (2012 edition).

The Leven Star Reef is relatively shallowly drilled (44 holes in total – refer to Appendix 1 and 2 for details) and mineralisation remains open in multiple directions; providing a number of opportunities for resource growth.

GEOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

Geology and Mineralisation

The Leven Star Reef is part of Novo’s Belltopper Gold Project (Belltopper), a distinctive gold occurrence in the Malmsbury goldfield of central Victoria, located in the eastern area of the Bendigo Zone of the western Lachlan orogen (Figure 1).

_Figure 1. Belltopper Gold Project location map with regional gold occurrences and major structure.2 _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/61849c85-b63e-4b8f-81b2-4a6ceb1336d2

The deposit lies in Lower Ordovician turbiditic sedimentary rocks near two major Devonian granites, the Harcourt and Cobaw batholiths, and this spatial association is a central feature of its interpretation. Historically, the Malmsbury field produced gold from northwest to north-northwest–striking quartz lodes and from alluvial workings, though the Leven Star Reef differs from these more typical auriferous structures. The Leven Star Reef trends northeast, an unusual orientation for the Bendigo Zone, and drilling showed mineralisation to be continuous for approximately 800 m along strike (Figure 2).

_Figure 2. Map of Belltopper area showing the Leven Star Reef __Inferred Mineral Resource__extent and Exploration Target. Diagram also depicts other current __Exploration Target__Reefs: Missing Link; Never Despair; O’Connors; Queens/Egyptian; Hanover Fault; Piezzi/Stackyards and Western Domain Fault; in addition to other prospective key target faults. _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/093f2236-7935-4341-a8cd-d496e72d09d6

Geologically, Leven Star Reef is not a simple quartz-reef deposit. The mineralisation is hosted by a linear quartz-veined stockwork-breccia zone up to 10 m wide, rather than by the reverse fault-hosted laminated to massive quartz veins typical of many Victorian orogenic gold deposits. The Leven Star Reef cuts stratigraphy and post-dates both the dominant upright folding event and earlier reverse fault-hosted quartz veins; establishing it as a younger and geologically distinct event. Host rocks in the Belltopper Hill area show evidence of low-grade contact metamorphism superimposed on earlier regional sub-greenschist metamorphism.

The stockwork-breccia zone is surrounded by an alteration halo up to 12 m wide, dominated by carbonatization, sericitization, sulfidation, and locally silicification. Pyrite is widespread and commonly linked to microfractures and veinlets, whereas arsenopyrite and stibnite are concentrated near stockwork veins and larger quartz structures.

Mineralogically, Leven Star Reef is notable for its complex polymetallic assemblage, which differs from the simpler pyrite-arsenopyrite ± gold association of typical central Victorian orogenic systems.

In addition to native gold, the deposit contains Te-Ni-As-Bi-Sb-Cu-Zn sulphides and Cr-W-F-Sn oxide minerals. Gold occurs both as rare visible grains and as elevated concentrations within arsenopyrite and bismuth minerals, with analyses indicating lattice-bound gold in arsenopyrite.

Geological Interpretation and Wireframes

The Leven Star Reef reaches up to 8 m in width, follows a narrow, brittle fault zone with associated intense fracturing and quartz vein development in the country rock. Deformity and reef width are locally controlled by lithology with some of the best development occurring in coarser-grained sandstone units and/or rheological domain boundaries (e.g. siltstone /coarser-graoined sandstone interfaces).

Three alternative geological/wireframe models for the Leven Star Reef were produced (Models A, B and C – LSA, LSB and LSC). The LSC model was considered the most realistic interpretation of the Leven Star Reef. The LSC model integrates additional downhole data obtained from the recently drilled (2023) diamond hole BTD001. Hole BTD001 successfully extended the Leven Star Reef mineralisation up to 120 m down-dip from the previous MD16 intersections and confirmed the position of the Far East Hanover Fault.

The criteria for wireframe construction were:

Mineralized indicator grade: 0.3 g/t Au, Maximum consecutive internal dilution (downhole) of 2 m, No minimum downhole width.

Figure 3 provides an overview of the LSC wireframe and associated faults.

_Figure 3. Overview of the LSC model. _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0021b208-3319-4523-aa42-4dec39b0c9c1

The BTD001 intersections significantly influence the overall width of LSC at depth. Previous modelling had postulated that the widths identified in MD16 continued at depth, converging at an RL proximal to the intersections now assessed by BTD001 (Figure 4).

_Figure 4. Section of MD16 and BTD001 Novo Drillholes demonstrating the Leven Star Reef and repeat reef to the southeast of the Far East Hanover fault.1, 3and 4Section line shown on Figure 2. _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8364e9cb-abd4-4683-a691-be0b76c7706b

The true width of mineralisation in hole BTD001 appears to be narrower than previously interpreted. Additionally, the multiple reefs originally interpreted to intersect around the depth of BTD001 are likely to converge at greater depth. This concept is further supported by multiple interpreted Leven Star Reef intersections identified at depth in both MD03 and LSDDH7.

DRILLING, SAMPLING, SAMPLE PREPARATION AND ASSAYING

Leven Star Reef has been drilled intermittently since the 1980s, with the current database reflecting work by several operators over multiple campaigns. This includes Paringa’s early diamond drilling, Pittson’s 1990–1992 diamond drilling, Eureka’s 1994 RC and diamond-tail programme, GBM Resources Ltd (GBM)’s 2007–2008 diamond drilling, GBM–Novo JV drilling in 2021–2022, and Novo’s 2023 BTD hole. Across the deposit, gross drill spacing is about 50 m along strike by 20 m down dip, although spacing is locally variable.

The Leven Star Reef model is based on 44 drillholes; comprising 15 RC and 29 DD drillholes (Table 2). The collar locations are displayed in Figure 5. The DD holes were also used for density analysis and metallurgical testwork.

Table 2. Summary of drillholes used in MRE26.

| Hole type | #holes | #samples | Meters of drilling | | RC | 15 | 162 | 1,497 | | DD | 29 | 430 | 5,959 | | Total | 44 | 592 | 7,456 |

_Figure 5. Leven Star Reef collar plan - input drillhole data. _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a64fdf5f-9b84-4f4c-ab29-36d72780a211

Survey control is mixed, reflecting the age of the drilling. Most Pittson and Eureka collars were originally surveyed by a registered surveyor using a theodolite in AMG84 Zone 55, while some older DDHMA collars are less reliable because they were digitized from historic plans. Novo later validated most collars in the field, and a high-resolution LiDAR survey flown in December 2022 helped confirm collar locations across Belltopper and convert them into MGA94 Zone 55. Downhole survey methods also evolved through time: earlier diamond holes used magnetic single-shot surveys at collar, nominal 50 m intervals, and end of hole, while recent Novo drilling used modern tools such as the REFLEX EZ-TRAC and Boart Longyear TruShot, typically surveyed from 6 m depth and then every 25 m.

Diamond core drilling is regarded as the most appropriate drilling method at Leven Star Reef because it provides geological, density, and metallurgical information. Historical and recent diamond drilling programmes used standard HQ and NQ wireline methods. Core was logged and photographed, then split longitudinally, with half core submitted for assay and the remaining half retained. Sampling was to geological boundaries, over 0.3–2.0 m historically and 0.3–1.3 m in the recent Novo programme, with 1 m the preferred sample length. RC drilling was all pre-2008, to a maximum depth of 118 m, and samples were split with a Jones riffle splitter to about 3–5 kg. However, historical RC methods, sample security, and recovery documentation are sparse.

Core recovery was generally good (>90 %), though early (pre-2007) core recovery was not well-recorded. Some core loss is noted, particularly in highly fragmented zones where fines loss was high. Core loss zones were treated as zero grade in any significant intersection calculation.

Sample preparation and assaying are considered broadly acceptable, but with an important caveat. Pre-2008 documentation is incomplete. Fire assay with AAS finish is preferred and was used for most later work, including Novo’s recent ALS Adelaide programme, which used a 50 g fire assay charge after pulverizing to P85 75 µm. Some early Eureka samples were assayed by aqua regia digest, which is suboptimal for Leven Star Reef given the method is a partial extraction and understates refractory gold. Statistical comparisons in the report indicate that fire assay grades tend to be higher than aqua regia grades.

QAQC is weakest in the early drilling and much better from 2008 onward. Pre-GBM data include only a small number of blanks and poorly documented standards. By contrast, GBM and Novo inserted Certified Reference Materials (CRM) and blanks regularly. Most CRM results were acceptable, although GBM’s OREAS232 and Novo’s OREAS264 were considered marginal because of bias or outlier behaviour. Blank performance was good, with only two low-level breaches in 297 analyses. Duplicate data suggests little coarse gold, as RC and half-core duplicates showed low variability. Check assays were more variable, showing a positive bias of about 8–13%. This will reflect some “between” laboratory variation.

The CPs conclude that drilling, sampling, and QC are adequate for use in the MRE, but historical data gaps, recovery issues, and some QC weaknesses mean confidence remains low to moderate. This has been considered by the CPs during classification.

ESTIMATION APPROACH

The Leven Star Reef estimate was built from a staged workflow: data validation, data preparation, exploratory data analysis, geological interpretation and modelling, compositing, assessment of extreme values, variography, block model optimisation, block modelling/grade estimation, model validation, depletion assessment, classification and reporting. Datamine RM Pro software was used for estimation and Supervisor for statistical analysis. The input database includes historical and recent drilling from several campaigns. The Leven Star Reef block model is based on RC and DD, with DD holes also used to support density analysis and metallurgical work. Topography, oxidation and fresh-rock surfaces, and several fault wireframes were incorporated into the geological model. Only gold grade is reported.

Geological interpretation is based on the LSC model, integrates the 2023 BTD001 diamond hole, which extended the interpreted mineralisation down dip and improved understanding of the Far East Hanover Fault (Figure 3 and Figure 4). The LSC model includes the main Leven Star Reef structure and several minor parallel hanging-wall and footwall reefs.

For estimation, drillhole data were coded by mineralized domain, fault area and weathering state. Contact analysis found no strong grade break between oxide, transitional and fresh material sufficient to justify separate estimation domains at this stage, so weathering states were combined within each mineralized domain. Samples were composited to 1 m within domain boundaries. Gold top-cuts were applied only where required, notably in the 100 domain.

Given the current understanding of the geology (faulting occurring post-mineralisation) and the initial analysis, it was decided to combine the mineralized reefs across the faults, and to combine the oxide, transitional and fresh material by domain. The final estimation domain coding (Domain) is summarized in Table 3 and shown in Figure 6.

Table 3. Domain coding for gold mineralisation.

| Domain | Description | | 100 | LSC Main, oxide, transitional and fresh material | | 200 | LSC NW, oxide, transitional and fresh material | | 300 | LSC NW South, oxide, transitional and fresh material | | 400 | LSC SE, oxide, transitional and fresh material | | 500 | LSC Far N, oxide, transitional and fresh material |

_Figure 6. Long section showing estimation domains in LSC. _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2fb0b02f-41c7-4e4a-bfe0-32df32b38782

Grade estimation used Ordinary Kriging into a rotated block model aligned with the approximate strike of mineralisation. The block model used parent blocks of 2 m (E) by 40 m (N) by 30 m (RL), sub-celled to 0.5 m (E) by 2 m (N) by 2 m (RL) determined by Quantitative Kriging Neighbourhood Analysis (QKNA).

An initial (P1) search ellipse of 110 m by 30 m by 15 m was defined based on the results of the variography and assessment of the data coverage. A minimum of eight and maximum of 25 samples was used for the initial search pass. Second pass (P2) was two times the initial search ellipse with a minimum of eight and maximum of 25 samples. Third pass (P3) was three times the initial search with a minimum of four and maximum of 15 samples. The fourth pass (P4) was eight times the initial search pass with a minimum of two and maximum of 15 – run to populate all blocks. All passes had a maximum of three samples per drillhole applied for the gold estimate.

Figure 7 shows a long-section of the Leven Star Reef displaying block grades for Domain 100 (Main Lode) and overall extent of the classified MRE.

_Figure 7. Long-section showing block grades and overall extent of the classified MRE. _https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a7bf0dee-3f2a-4ab0-b523-30804621ec85