Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. (CSE:GCC) (OTC:GCCFF) (WKN:A402CQ) (FSE:3TZ) announces that field activities have commenced for the Company’s 2026 exploration program at its Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine Property, located approximately 4 kilometers northeast of Hixon and 50 kilometers southeast of Prince George, British Columbia.

The 2026 mineral exploration program is designed to build on the momentum and technical successes of the previous exploration seasons. Company personnel have mobilized to the Property and are currently opening the access road and removing accumulated winter snow to ensure safe and efficient entry to the area. Currently, crews are readying the water line and pump systems required to support drilling operations. Initially, drilling will continue within QGQ25-28, currently drilled to a depth of 354.19m (1,162 ft) and is the northernmost drill string within the Halo zone. QGQ25-28 is collared about 200 meters (656 ft) north of QGQ24-20, which encountered significant gold grades found, in part, to be associated with a major fault along a northwesterly striking contact between the mafic to intermediate volcanic host rocks (greenstones) and a black argillite unit. QGQ24-20 returned 137.17m (450.0 ft) of 1.55 g/t gold and 16.05 g/t silver, including 4.29m (14.1 ft) of 16.43 g/t gold and 9.09 g/t silver and including 2.0m (6.1 ft) of 6.53 g/t gold and 957.0 g/t silver (August 12, 2025 News Release). Gold assays were done by PhotonAssay™.

The Company is embarking on a 7,500m (24,600 ft) surface diamond drilling program, targeting priority zones identified through geological mapping, sampling, and structural interpretation studies. In anticipation of deeper and more technically demanding targets, Golden Cariboo is also preparing for a transition from NQ to HQ-sized core in the near future. This upgrade is expected to improve core recovery and provide enhanced geological information from key structural and mineralized zones. Additional exploration activities this season will include over 1 km of trenching, mapping, prospecting, geochemical sampling, ground and airborne geophysical studies and ongoing refinement of geological models.

“Our team is energized as we begin the 2026 exploration season at the Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine Property,” said Frank Callaghan, President and CEO of Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. “With road access now opened and drilling set to advance north of the Halo zone from QGQ25-28, we are well positioned for continued success. The planned 7,500 metre drill program, along with trenching and other geological studies, represents our most comprehensive exploration efforts to date. As we prepare to transition from NQ to HQ core, we expect to gain even more detailed insight into the structures and mineralized zones that continue to drive our excitement for this Project.”

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jean Pautler, an independent consultant commissioned by the Company. Jean Pautler is a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.) registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of BC (“APEGBC”) and licensed by Engineers and Geoscientists BC, and is a “Qualified Person” with respect to NI 43-101.

About Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. 

Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. is rediscovering the Cariboo Gold Rush by proceeding with highly targeted drilling and trenching programs on its Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property which is bordered by Osisko Development (NSE:ODV/TSXV:ODV), partly intertwined with them at the north end of the Cariboo Gold Project, and located along a favourable corridor adjacent to the Spanish and Eureka thrust faults over a 94,899 hectare (234,501 acre) area. Historically, over 101 placer gold creeks on the 90-kilometer (56 mile) trend, from the Cariboo Hudson mine north to the Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property, have recorded production with successful placer mining continuing to this day.

Golden Cariboo’s Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property is 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) northeast of, and road accessible from, Hixon in central British Columbia. The Property includes the Quesnelle Quartz gold-silver deposit, which was discovered in 1865 and developed over a footprint of about 150m x 150m (< 6 acres) at the Main zone straddling Hixon Creek. Overall, the geological setting of the gold mineralization at the Company’s Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property shows strong similarities with the Spanish Mountain gold deposit, situated 120 km (75 miles) towards the southeast along the same geological trend. As a sediment-hosted vein (SHV) deposit, the Spanish Mountain deposit is considered to belong to the epizonal orogenic subclass of gold deposits which include some of the world’s largest deposits such as Muruntau, Uzbekistan and Bendigo, Australia.