Highlight intercepts include 2.68 g/t gold over 32 metres, 22.10 g/t gold over 6.3 metres, 3.12 g/t gold over 63.9 metres, 7.50 g/t gold over 12.6 metres

Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX) (NYSE: EQX) is pleased to announce new results from the 2025 diamond drill program at its Valentine Gold Mine located in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. Drilling has confirmed a new gold discovery – the Minotaur Zone – located 8 km northwest of the mill, and broad zones of high-grade. Drilling also encountered continuous gold mineralization in the Frank Zone, located along trend southwest of the existing Leprechaun open pit. These results further reinforce the Company’s confidence in the potential for new discoveries and resource expansion, underscoring the relatively untapped potential of the district (see previous news releases dated November 25, 2024 and February 11, 2025). The 2026 exploration program is targeting approximately 100 km of drilling across the Valentine property, focusing on Frank, Minotaur, resource expansion and additional greenfield discoveries.

Darren Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Equinox Gold commented: “These latest drill results continue to strengthen our confidence in the scale and quality of the Valentine Gold District. At the Frank Zone, located outside of current Resources we are seeing consistent, high-grade gold mineralization over broad widths, supporting the potential for a new open pit capable of contributing to both production growth and mine life extension beyond the current 14-year mine plan.

“Early drilling at the newly discovered Minotaur Zone also confirms that significant gold mineralization exists well outside the main Valentine Lake Shear Zone structure. Initial drilling in 2025 defined mineralization over a 700-metre strike length and remaining open in all directions, with step-outs suggesting the potential for the mineralized system to extend over approximately 2 km. While Minotaur exploration is still at an early stage, the presence of surface grab samples with visible gold grading as high at 650 g/t gold and multiple high-grade drill intercepts over meaningful widths underscores the broader, district-scale potential of the property. Given the significance of this new discovery, we are planning 15,000 – 20,000 m of drilling in the Minotaur Zone in 2026.

“With less than 15% of the 320-square-kilometre Valentine land package explored to date, results from Frank, Minotaur and other emerging targets continue to demonstrate that Valentine has the potential to support long-term growth well beyond the current mine plan.”

Initial Drilling Highlights from newly discovered Minotaur Gold Zone include¹:

• 2.68 grams per tonne gold over 32 metres and 2.67 g/t Au over 18 m (MT-25-011) – two separate zones
• 5.74 g/t Au over 8 m, 1.22 g/t Au over 12 m and 2.03 g/t Au over 8 m (MT-25-019) – three separate zones
• 1.78 g/t Au over 39 m (including 4.25 g/t Au over 11 m); 10.08 g/t Au over 1 m (MT-25-024)
• 5.85 g/t Au over 3 m (MT-25-022)
• 1.67 g/t Au over 7 m and 1.01 g/t Au over 14 m (MT-25-025)
• 0.83 g/t Au over 16 m (MT-25-003)
• 1.03 g/t Au over 13 m (MT-25-004)

Drill Highlights from Expanding Frank Gold Zone (Outside current Resources) include:

• 22.10 g/t Au over 6.30 m estimated true width (“ETW”); 1.05 g/t Au over 26.1 m (FZ-25-082)
• 3.12 g/t Au over 63.90 m ETW (FZ-25-095)
• 7.50 g/t Au over 12.60 m ETW (FZ-25-083)
• 1.06 g/t Au over 63.90 m ETW; 2.05 g/t Au over 18.90 m ETW; 10.64 g/t Au over 1.80 m ETW (FZ-25-074)
• 2.10 g/t Au over 31.28 m ETW (FZ-23-019-EXT)
• 16.45 g/t Au over 3.60 m ETW (FZ-25-085)
• 3.56 g/t Au over 16.02 m ETW (FZ-25-084)
• 2.36 g/t Au over 19.14 m ETW (FZ-25-100)
• 1.13 g/t Au over 30.69 m ETW; 2.92 g/t Au over 11.88 m ETW (FZ-25-075)
• 1.84 g/t Au over 21.84 m ETW (FZ-25-112)

Highlights from previously reported drilling at the Frank Zone include:

• 2.43 g/t Au over 172.80 m ETW (FZ-24-048)
• 2.12 g/t Au over 95.40 m ETW (FZ-24-046)
• 2.26 g/t Au over 78.32 m ETW (FZ-24-040)
• 3.08 g/t Au over 48.23 m ETW (FZ-24-062)
• At surface, 97.87 g/t Au over 3.89 m ETW; 1.62 g/t Au over 44.59 m ETW (FZ-24-064)

Minotaur Zone

The Minotaur Zone represents an exciting new gold discovery at the Valentine property, showcasing the early impact of integrating artificial intelligence with traditional exploration. Initially flagged in 2013 through grab samples grading up to 7 g/t Au, the area gained renewed interest through Equinox Gold’s use of VRIFY’s AI-powered exploration software, DORA. Using DORA, Equinox Gold’s geological team integrated multiple data layers including geochemistry, geophysics, and structural geology, which led to the Minotaur Zone being identified as a high-priority target with a top-tier VRIFY Prospectivity Score. This AI-supported analysis, combined with the discovery of visible gold and grab samples grading as high as 650 g/t Au, led to the first-ever drill program in the area. The results highlight how Equinox Gold is leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to enhance exploration success and accelerate value creation.

Frank Zone

Drilling at the Frank Zone, located immediately southwest of the active Leprechaun pit, has continued to identify broad zones of gold mineralization, delineating a gold corridor more than one km in length along trend from defined Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources. Equinox Gold believes the Frank Zone has the potential to be developed as a new open pit and has planned approximately 25,000 m of drilling in 2026.

Link 1 – Drill results figures

Link 2 – VRIFY figures

Link 3 – Drill results table

About Equinox Gold’s Valentine Gold Mine

The multi-million-ounce Valentine Gold Mine, located in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, poured first gold ahead of schedule in September 2025 and achieved commercial production in November 2025. The mine continues to ramp up with the expectation of achieving design capacity during Q2 2026 and producing 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold in 2026 with all-in sustaining costs² of US$1,200 to US$1,300 per ounce of gold sold. Once fully operational, Valentine will be the largest gold-producing mine in Atlantic Canada with production expected to average 175,000 to 200,000 ounces per year for the first 12 years of its 14-year reserve life. Encompassing a 320-square-km land package, Valentine has the potential to emerge as a new gold district. The project covers a highly prospective 32-km mineralized trend that hosts multiple deposits and offers strong exploration upside.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Equinox Gold maintains a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program for all its exploration projects using industry best practices. QA/QC protocols followed at Valentine include the insertion of blanks and standards at regular intervals in each sample batch. Drill core is cut in half with one half retained at site and the other half tagged and sent to Eastern Analytical Limited in Springdale, NL. All reported core samples are analyzed for gold by fire assay (30g) with AA finish. All samples above 0.30 g/t Au and those in economically interesting intervals are further assayed using metallic screen to mitigate the presence of coarse gold. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in the drill results table as core lengths and estimated true width (60 – 100% of core length). Additional information regarding the Company’s data verification processes is set out in the Valentine Gold Project Technical Report, which can be found on the Company’s website at www.equinoxgold.com and on Calibre Mining’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Qualified Person and Technical Information

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was approved by Nic Capps, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration, Newfoundland, for Equinox Gold who is a “Qualified Person” under National Instrument 43-101.

About Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining company positioned for growth with a strong foundation of high-quality, long-life gold operations in Canada and across the Americas, and a pipeline of development and expansion projects. Founded and chaired by renowned mining entrepreneur Ross Beaty and guided by a seasoned leadership team with broad expertise, the Company is focused on disciplined execution, operational excellence and long-term value creation. Equinox Gold offers investors meaningful exposure to gold with a diversified portfolio and clear path to growth.