Liberty Gold Announces Robust Feasibility Study for Black Pine Project

Liberty Gold Corp. has announced the results of a feasibility study for its Black Pine Oxide Gold Project in southern Idaho, marking a significant milestone for the company. The study confirms the potential for a large-scale, long-life gold development project with robust economic returns.

The feasibility study, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, outlines a 16-year mine life with an average annual payable gold production of 202,000 ounces (oz) in the first five years, peaking at 277,400 oz in the fifth year. Over the life of the mine, the project is expected to produce 176,700 oz per year, with a peak production of 294,600 oz in the 13th year.

The project is based on a 4.04 million oz probable mineral reserve, with an initial capital requirement of $411.4 million for a conventional open-pit, run-of-mine heap leach operation. The development configuration aligns with the company's 2026 Mine Plan of Operations, incorporating potential future optimizations.

At a base case gold price of $3,250/oz, the project is projected to have a strong after-tax net present value (NPV) of $2.397 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 60.5%, with a payback period of just 2.0 years. The project is even more lucrative at higher gold prices, with an NPV of $4.336 billion and an IRR of 104.3% at $4,500/oz, and a payback of 1.2 years. At lower gold prices, the project remains economically viable, with an NPV of $1.215 billion and an IRR of 33.4% at $2,500/oz, and a payback of 3.4 years.

Jon Gilligan, President and CEO of Liberty Gold, commented, "Our Feasibility Study on Black Pine confirms the opportunity to build a large-scale, long-life operation with strong economics and a straightforward development path. This is an important milestone for Liberty Gold, reinforcing our confidence in Black Pine’s ability to generate long-term value for shareholders, stakeholders, and local communities."

The project is situated in Cassia and Oneida counties, southern Idaho, with established access off the I-84 highway. Liberty Gold holds a 100% ownership interest in the federal lode claims and state minerals lease hosting the mineral reserve. The project is subject to a 0.5% net smelter return royalty in favor of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., with a 50% buyback right exercisable for $3.6 million, a 0.25% net smelter return on certain private mineral lands, and a 5% net smelter return payable to the State of Idaho on production from the state minerals lease.

The feasibility study incorporates geological, assay, hydrological, metallurgical, geotechnical, environmental, and cultural information, alongside extensive historic information from the previous mining operation at Black Pine. The study was prepared by M3 Engineering and Technology Corporation, with the assistance of Liberty Gold and independent consultants.

Mining operations will involve conventional open-pit mining with two mining fleets providing operating flexibility. The open pits include the Discovery and Rangefront pits, along with the smaller CD, E, F, J, and M pits. The average annual total material movement over the 16-year mine life is estimated at 64 million tonnes, with a favorable strip ratio of 1.34:1.

Gold recovery will be achieved through ROM heap leaching with no crushing, screening, or agglomeration. Ore will be truck-stacked onto a phased heap leach facility followed by conventional cyanide leaching and processed through an adsorption, desorption, and recovery plant. The overall life-of-mine gold recovery is estimated at 70.2%.

The initial capital required for the project is $411.4 million, comprising process and site infrastructure, heap leach facilities, mine capital, pre-production activities, engineering, procurement, and construction management, contingency, and owner's costs. Sustaining capital over the 16-year mine life is estimated at $254.0 million, with reclamation and closure costs at $160.1 million. The total life-of-mine capital is estimated at $825.5 million.

The company plans to host a conference call and live webcast on September 8, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the feasibility study results.