Valor Gold Identifies Key Drill Targets at Courageous Lake

Valor Gold Corp has announced the identification of several key drill targets at the Courageous Lake project in the Northwest Territories. The company has refined its exploration strategy following a summer field program that included core relogging and resampling. Five priority areas have been defined for targeting non-refractory gold systems, which could significantly enhance the project's economics.

Mark Ashley, CEO of Valor Gold Corp, commented, "Expanding and integrating the Walsh Lake deposit into the mine plan could have substantial implications for the Courageous Lake project. Walsh Lake is a near-surface, non-refractory deposit that could be developed early in the mine plan, potentially improving project economics."

The initial priority for Valor Gold Corp will be to drill the Walsh Lake deposit to a measured and indicated resource. The current inferred mineral resource at Walsh Lake is 4.1 million tonnes grading 4.2 g/t gold, containing 550 Koz of gold. The deposit is defined over a 1 km strike length and to around 300 meters in depth. The company plans to drill an additional 12,000 meters to attain sufficient data points to delineate measured and indicated resources, with the goal of integrating this deposit into an updated prefeasibility study.

Detailed relogging has led to a refined structural interpretation at the Walsh Lake deposit. There appears to be strong structural and lithological controls on gold mineralization. Mineralization occurs in sheared rocks at the contact between greywackes and mafic volcanics. Gold is found on the fracture surfaces or on the margins of coarse-grained arsenopyrite adjacent to and within quartz veins. A syn-mineral fold in the center of the deposit focuses the best intercepts. The deepest hole along this hinge zone, CL-210, assayed 21.2 meters of 8.16 g/t Au at 448 meters (330 meters true depth).

The Walsh Lake deposit is also open to the south. Previous drilling has indicated that mineralization may extend an additional 300 meters. The prospective stratigraphic contact at Walsh Lake extends south to the Saucer Lake target, approximately 500 meters away. Exploration in the 1980s by Seabridge Gold Inc. defined two further opportunities, the Olsen and Marsh Pond targets, which are believed to be analogous to the Walsh Lake deposit.

At Olsen, previous drilling has defined a mineralized strike length of 200 meters. Mineralization occurs within greywacke sedimentary rocks with moderate intensity silica and sericite alteration. Throughout this alteration envelope, there is rhombic arsenopyrite adjacent to a broad array of thin and planar quartz veins. At Marsh Pond, mineralization occurs at the contact between felsic volcanic and sedimentary rock, believed to be the southern extension of the Salmita mine. Previous drilling has defined mineralization over a strike length of 220 meters. At this contact, there is an intense, silicified zone with quartz-sulphide veining containing rhombic arsenopyrite crystals.

To support the exploration efforts, Valor Gold Corp has reinitiated baseline environmental monitoring at Courageous Lake. This work includes a wildlife monitoring program, hydrology monitoring, meteorology, and fisheries work. The data collected will inform the company's understanding of baseline environmental conditions required for environmental assessment.

The company's next steps include a substantial diamond drill program at Walsh Lake in early 2027, with the goal of delineating measured and indicated mineral resources and integrating the deposit into an updated prefeasibility study. The exploration of the Olsen and Marsh Pond targets, as well as the potential for non-refractory gold systems, could significantly improve the project's economics.