
16-year mine life with life-of-mine average payable gold production of 176,700 oz per year and AISC1 of $1,566/oz Au
Average payable gold production of 202,000 oz per year in Years 1-5
US$411 million initial capital requirement for a large-scale, open-pit, run-of-mine heap leach operation with a 4.04 million oz Au Mineral Reserve
Base case after-tax NPV(5%) to initial capital ratio of 5.8 and payback of 2.0 years
Strong economics across a range of gold prices (after-tax):
NPV(5%) US$4.3 billion and 104% IRR at $4,500/oz Au
NPV(5%) US$1.2 billion and 33% IRR at $2,500/oz Au
Liberty Gold Corp. (TSX: LGD) (OTCQX: LGDTF) is pleased to announce the results of a Feasibility Study prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects at its 100%-owned Black Pine Oxide Gold Project in southern Idaho, USA.
The Feasibility Study establishes Black Pine as a large-scale, long-life oxide gold development project based on a technically straightforward, open-pit, run-of-mine heap-leach operation requiring no ore crushing, screening or agglomeration. The FS supports average annual payable gold production of 202,000 troy ounces in Years 1-5 from a 4.04 million oz Au Probable Mineral Reserve, with an initial capital cost1 of US$411.4 million and strong economic returns across a broad range of gold prices. The Feasibility Study assumes a base case gold price of $3,250/oz Au. All figures in this news release are stated in United States dollars.
The development configuration evaluated in the FS is aligned with the Company’s 2026 Mine Plan of Operations. The Feasibility Study does not replace the MPO that forms the basis for permit applications currently under review by the applicable regulatory agencies but rather incorporates potential future feasibility-level optimizations and refinements.
This news release should be read in combination with the Feasibility Study presentation available at https://libertygold.ca/wp-content/uploads/Black_Pine_FS.pdf
2026 Black Pine Feasibility Study Highlights
Large-scale production: 16-year mine-life with an average annual payable production of 202,000 oz Au in Years 1-5, at an average grade of 0.35 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”), including peak annual production of 277,400 oz Au in Year 5; and average annual payable production of 176,700 oz Au over life-of-mine (“LOM”), including peak LOM annual production of 294,600 oz Au in Year 13.
Probable Mineral Reserve containing 4.04 million oz Au: 433.3 million tonnes at a grade of 0.29 g/t Au, supporting the planned 16-year mine-life.
Capital-efficient development: The Project has an estimated initial capital cost of $411.4 million for a conventional ROM open-pit heap-leach operation. The ratio of the Project’s base-case after-tax Net Present Value (5%) to initial capital ratio is 5.8.
Competitive operating costs projected: LOM cash costs2 and all-in sustaining costs of $1,388/oz Au and $1,566/oz Au, respectively.
Robust projected Project returns: At the base case gold price of $3,250/oz Au, the Feasibility Study estimates an after-tax NPV(5%) of $2.397 billion, after-tax Internal Rate of Return of 60.5% and after-tax payback of initial capital of 2.0 years for the Project.
Black Pine generates strong projected economics across a broad range of gold prices: At $4,500/oz Au, the Project is estimated to generate an after-tax NPV(5%) of $4.336 billion (IRR of 104.3%) with a payback of 1.2 years. At a lower gold price, of $2,500/oz Au, the Feasibility Study continues to project positive economics, including an after-tax NPV(5%) of $1.215 billion (IRR of 33.4%) with a payback of 3.4 years.
Jon Gilligan, President and CEO of Liberty Gold commented:
“Our Feasibility Study on Black Pine, completed ahead of schedule and less than 2-years after the Preliminary Feasibility Study, confirms the opportunity to build a large-scale, long-life operation with strong economics and a technically 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, representing an important step in advancing the Company’s development strategy.
“Black Pine has the scale, production profile and capital efficiency to support a pathway to becoming a significant U.S. gold producer in the near term. Importantly, the Feasibility Study demonstrates substantial projected free cash flow generation with robust economics across a broad range of gold prices. The NPV-to-initial-capital ratio of approximately 9 times and a payback of just over one year at current gold pricing of over $4,000/oz, are competitive metrics in the gold development space today.
“The proposed development of Black Pine anticipates supporting approximately 300 long-term jobs and Liberty Gold looks forward to continuing its engagement with local communities and state officials. With the Feasibility Study now complete and permitting ongoing, our focus has shifted to detailed engineering, planning, and other activities required to support execution readiness and a potential construction decision.”
Feasibility Study Overview
The FS incorporates geological, assay, hydrological, metallurgical, geotechnical, environmental and cultural information collected by Liberty Gold and its consultants and contractors, together with extensive historic information from the previous mining operation at Black Pine.
The Feasibility Study was prepared by M3 Engineering and Technology Corporation, with the assistance of Liberty Gold and independent consultants, and incorporates updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates together with mine planning, engineering design, project scheduling, capital and operating cost estimates and economic analysis.
The development configuration evaluated in the FS is aligned with the Company’s Mine Plan of Operations. It additionally incorporates potential future feasibility-level optimizations and refinements.
Table 1: Key Black Pine Project Metrics
| Project Economics | Base Case | |
| Gold Price | $3,250/oz | $4,500/oz |
| Pre-tax NPV(5%) | $2,929 million | $5,371 million |
| Pre-tax IRR | 63.7% | 109.4% |
| Pre-tax Cash Flow | $4,460 million | $7,990 million |
| After-Tax NPV(5%) | $2,397 million | $4,336 million |
| After-Tax IRR | 60.5% | 104.3% |
| After-Tax Cash Flow | $3,579 million | $6,343 million |
| After-Tax Payback Period | 2.0 years | 1.2 years |
| Production Profile | ||
| Mine Life | 16 years | |
| Process Throughput | 74,200 tonnes per day (LOM average) | |
| Total Tonnes of Ore Mined and Processed | 433.3 million tonnes | |
| Head Grade (5 year; 10 year; LOM) | 0.35 g/t Au; 0.30 g/t Au; 0.29 g/t Au | |
| Strip Ratio (Waste:Ore) | 1.34:1 | |
| Average Gold Recovery | 70.2% | |
| Total Gold Ounces Produced | 2,841 koz¹ | |
| Total Payable Gold Ounces | 2,838 koz¹ | |
| Average Annual Payable Gold Production (Yr 1-5) |
202 koz | |
| Peak Annual Payable Gold Production (Yr 1-5) | 277 koz (year 5) | |
| Average Annual Payable Gold Production (LOM) | 177 koz | |
| Peak Annual Payable Gold Production (LOM) | 295 koz (year 13) | |
| Unit Operating Costs | ||
| LOM Operating Cost | $8.98/tonne processed | |
| LOM Cash Cost² | $1,388/oz Au | |
| LOM AISC² | $1,566/oz Au | |
| Total Capital Costs | ||
| Initial Capital² | $411.4 million | |
| LOM Sustaining Capital2 | $254.0 million | |
| Closure Costs | $160.1 million | |
| LOM Total Capital | $825.5 million | |
¹ “koz” refers to thousand ounces ² Refer to “Non-GAAP Measures and Other Financial Information” below
Strong Economics Across a Broad Range of Gold Prices
Black Pine demonstrates significant upside leverage and downside resilience within the range of gold prices evaluated. An analysis of the FS base case illustrates the Project’s sensitivity to gold price, with all other material assumptions remaining constant, as summarized in Table 2 below.
Table 2: After-Tax NPV (5%), IRR and Payback Sensitivity to Gold Price
| Gold Price ($/oz) | $2,500 | $3,000 | $3,250 (Base Case) | $3,500 | $4,000 | $4,500 |
| After-Tax NPV(5%) ($M) | $1,215 | $2,006 | $2,397 | $2,786 | $3,562 | $4,336 |
| After-Tax IRR (%) | 33.4% | 51.6% | 60.5% | 69.4% | 87.0% | 104.3% |
| After-Tax Payback (years) | 3.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
Project Description
Black Pine is a large, Carlin-style, sedimentary rock hosted oxide gold system located in Cassia and Oneida counties, southern Idaho, USA, with site access directly off the I-84 highway. Black Pine is a past-producing open-pit, ROM heap leach mine, active from 1991 to 1997, when Pegasus Gold Corp. produced 434,800 ounces of gold and 198,000 ounces of silver from five open pits. Road access is well established, with up to 9.9 megawatts of grid power available at site, sufficient for the Project requirements. Additionally, Liberty Gold has secured sufficient existing water rights in the basin to support the Project.
Liberty Gold holds a 100% ownership interest in the federal lode claims and state minerals lease that host the Mineral Reserve at Black Pine. The Project is subject to a 0.5% net smelter return royalty in favour of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., with a 50% buyback right in favor of Liberty Gold for $3.6 million (assumed to be exercised in the economic analysis), a 0.25% NSR on certain private mineral lands, and a 5% NSR payable to the State of Idaho on production from the state minerals lease.
Mining
The FS utilizes conventional open pit mining with mine designs generated by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. The open pits include the larger Discovery and Rangefront pits, together with the smaller CD, E, F, J and M pits. Average annual total material movement over the 16-year mine life is approximately 64 million tonnes, at a favourable strip ratio of 1.34:1 (waste:ore).
Two mining fleets are planned to provide operating flexibility across the larger main pits and the smaller satellite pits. The FS has adopted a full OEM contract for mobile mine equipment maintenance and repair for the first five years of operations with phased in-sourcing thereafter. The smaller mining fleet is assumed to be supplied and operated by a mining contractor.
All mining is conducted with at least 50 feet of freeboard above the water table, and all open pits are considered dry and are not expected to require dewatering or depressurization.
Processing and Metallurgy
Gold will be recovered using 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 which will produce gold and silver doré bars that will be shipped off-site for further refining. The FS estimates an overall LOM gold recovery of 70.2%, based on recovery equations developed for the modeled metallurgical domains. Selected lower recovery ore will be stockpiled by metallurgical type for subsequent placement on the heap leach facility.
Black Pine has been the subject of extensive metallurgical testwork, including eight metallurgical programs completed since 2019 using bulk samples and large-diameter PQ core, at Kappes, Cassiday & Associates in Reno, Nevada. Additional programs are ongoing including the bulk sample column leach testing from surface ores collected across the deposit and sample testing from sonic drill holes in the Legacy Heap Leach Facility to evaluate its economic potential.
Capital and Operating Costs
Initial capital to develop Black Pine is estimated at $411.4 million, comprising process and site infrastructure, heap leach facilities, mine capital (including initial deposits for mining equipment), pre-production activities, engineering, procurement and construction management, contingency and owner’s costs. The FS assumes all mining equipment is leased at prevailing commercial rates.
In addition to initial capital, the FS estimates $254.0 million of sustaining capital over the 16-year mine life. Reclamation and closure costs are estimated at $160.1 million.
Total life-of-mine capital, including initial, sustaining and closure expenditures, is estimated at $825.5 million. See Table 3 below.
Table 3: Black Pine FS Capital Cost Summary
| Capital Costs | Initial $ Million | Sustaining $ Million | Total $ Million |
| Process Plant & Support¹ | $221.4 | $31.7 | $253.1 |
| Heap Leach Facility² | $87.0 | $140.2 | $227.2 |
| Mine Capital³ | $103.0 | $82.1 | $185.1 |
| Closure | nil | $160.1 | $160.1 |
| Total Capital Costs | $411.4 | $414.1 | $825.5 |
¹ Includes site general earthworks, process plant (ADR, refinery, reagents), power systems, ADR building and ancillaries, freight, construction support, EPCM, vendor support, spare parts, first fills, storm water controls, contingency and owner’s costs.
² Includes direct, indirect and contingency costs for the heap leach facility.
³ Includes mine capital equipment, mine pre-production costs and mining capital contingency, excludes ore inventory costs.
4Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Total operating costs for the LOM are estimated at $3,892 million, equivalent to $8.98 per tonne of ore processed and an AISC of $1,566/oz Au. See Table 4 below.
Table 4: Black Pine FS Operating Cost Summary
| Operating Costs | LOM $ Million | Unit Cost $/tonne ore |
| Mining | $2,635.8 | $6.08 |
| Process Plant | $898.6 | $2.07 |
| G&A | $347.1 | $0.80 |
| Refining | $10.7 | $0.02 |
| Total Operating Cost | $3,892.2 | $8.98 |
Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Environmental, Permitting and Community
Black Pine is currently advancing through federal and state permitting as a FAST-41 Covered Project, based upon the Company’s 2026 MPO.
The U.S. Forest Service published a Notice of Intent on April 3, 2026, formally initiating public scoping and preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Liberty Gold has maintained an active stakeholder and community outreach program since 2019, including regular engagement with local municipalities, county commissioners, the Idaho Legislature, regulatory agencies and community groups. No material environmental issues have been identified to date that are expected to preclude securing the permits and authorizations required to develop Black Pine.
Further Opportunities
The FS establishes a development case for Black Pine while identifying opportunities for further evaluation:
Pathway to a Construction Decision
Liberty Gold continues to advance Black Pine toward a potential construction decision through detailed engineering, procurement, financing and execution readiness, while permitting continues under the established FAST-41 schedule. The Company has recently selected M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation and NewFields Companies LLC as principal engineering partners for the detailed engineering phase and this work has commenced.
The recommended work program is proposed in two phases:
Black Pine Mineral Reserve Estimate
The FS includes an updated Mineral Reserve estimate, with an effective date of August 1, 2026. The FS establishes a 4.04 million oz Au Probable Mineral Reserve, comprising 433.3 million tonnes grading 0.29 g/t Au. The Probable Mineral Reserve consists of Indicated blocks above a cut-off grade of 0.05 g/t recoverable Au. There are no Measured Mineral Resources at Black Pine and, accordingly, no Proven Mineral Reserves.
Table 5: Black Pine Mineral Reserve Estimate
| Reserve Class | Million Tonnes | Au Grade (g/t) | Contained Gold Ounces (Million oz) |
| Probable | 433.3 | 0.29 | 4.04 |
| Total | 433.3 | 0.29 | 4.04 |
Notes:
Black Pine Mineral Resource Estimate
The FS includes an updated Mineral Resource estimate, with an effective date of April 30, 2026.
Indicated Mineral Resources total 521.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.29 g/t Au. Inferred Mineral Resources total 148.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.21 g/t Au, containing 996 thousand ounces of gold.
Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
Table 6: Black Pine Mineral Resource Estimate
| Material Type | Area | Resource Class | Thousand Tonnes | Average Grade | Contained Metal | ||
| Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Au (koz) | Ag (koz) | ||||
| In-Situ | CD | Indicated | 37,614 | 0.28 | — | 336 | — |
| Inferred | 12,223 | 0.20 | — | 80 | — | ||
| Discovery | Indicated | 188,399 | 0.35 | 1.4 | 2,097 | 8,147 | |
| Inferred | 27,503 | 0.19 | 1.0 | 169 | 912 | ||
| E Pit | Indicated | 9,657 | 0.26 | — | 82 | — | |
| Inferred | 11,825 | 0.22 | — | 82 | — | ||
| F | Indicated | 6,543 | 0.32 | — | 66 | — | |
| Inferred | 1,217 | 0.24 | — | 10 | — | ||
| J Zone | Indicated | 3,601 | 0.33 | — | 38 | — | |
| Inferred | 12,731 | 0.25 | — | 104 | — | ||
| M Zone | Indicated | 7,324 | 0.51 | 2.6 | 120 | 606 | |
| Inferred | 5,406 | 0.21 | 1.3 | 36 | 217 | ||
| Rangefront | Indicated | 237,679 | 0.26 | — | 1,998 | — | |
| Inferred | 59,787 | 0.19 | — | 371 | — | ||
| Total In-Situ | Indicated | 490,816 | 0.30 | — | 4,737 | 8,754 | |
| Inferred | 130,691 | 0.20 | — | 851 | 1,133 | ||
| Backfill and Waste Dumps | Indicated | 0 | — | — | 0 | — | |
| Inferred | 18,144 | 0.25 | — | 145 | — | ||
| Legacy Heap Leach Facility | Indicated | 30,844 | 0.19 | — | 190 | — | |
| Inferred | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||
| Total | Indicated | 521,660 | 0.29 | — | 4,927 | 8,754 | |
| Inferred | 148,835 | 0.21 | — | 996 | 1,133 | ||
Notes:
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical information in this announcement has been reviewed and approved for release by Peter Shabestari, Vice President Exploration at Liberty Gold and the Company’s designated Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. He has verified the data disclosed in this release and consents to its inclusion in the form and context in which it appears.
The FS was prepared by a team of independent industry experts. The independent Qualified Persons for the “NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study for the Black Pine Project, Idaho, USA”, with an effective date of August 1, 2026, will be filed within 45 days of the date of this press release and will be available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and on Liberty Gold’s website, are as follows:
Table 7: Qualified Persons
| Category | Name | Company |
| Mineral Reserve Estimate, Mining Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering | Todd Carstensen, RM-SME | AGP Mining Consultants Inc. |
| Heap Leach Operating Model | Brendan Fetter, P.E. | Forte Dynamics |
| Legacy Heap Leach Facility Resource Estimate | Don Hulse, RM-SME | Forte Dynamics |
| Metallurgy | Gary Simmons, MMSA | GL Simmons Consulting LLC |
| Environmental, Permitting & Compliance | Kyle Brangers, CPG | GSI Environmental Inc. |
| Mineral Processing | Benjamin Bermudez, P.E. | M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. |
| Infrastructure, Financial Evaluations, & Study Lead Engineer, Hydrology and Hydrogeology | Matthew Sletten, P.E. | M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. |
| Heap Design & Closure | Nicholas Rocco, Ph.D., P.E. | NewFields Companies LLC |
| Mineral Resource Estimate, Geology | Valerie Wilson, P.Geo. | SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. |
Non-GAAP Measures and Other Financial Measures
Alternative performance measures are furnished to provide additional information. These non-GAAP performance measures are included in this news release because these statistics are key performance measures that management uses to monitor performance, to assess how the Company is performing, to plan and to assess the overall effectiveness and efficiency of future potential mining operations. These performance measures, including Initial Capital Costs, Cash Costs, and AISC, do not have a standard meaning within International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and, therefore, amounts presented may not be comparable to similar data presented by other mining companies. These performance measures are intended to provide additional information to the user and should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with IFRS. This non-GAAP financial performance measure information is for a project under development incorporating information that will vary over time as the project is developed and mined. It is therefore not practicable to reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP financial performance measures.
Initial Capital Costs
Initial Capital Cost is defined as capital required to develop, construct and bring the Project to commercial production.
Sustaining Capital Costs
Sustaining Capital Cost is defined as capital required to sustain the operation after the commencement of commercial production.
Cash Costs and Cash Costs per Gold Ounce
Cash Costs are reflective of the cost of production. Cash Costs reported in the FS include mining costs, processing, on-site general and administrative costs, treatment and refining costs, and royalties. Cash Costs per ounce is calculated as Cash Costs divided by total LOM payable gold ounces.
AISC and AISC per Gold Ounce
AISC is reflective of all of the expenditures that are required to produce an ounce of gold from operations. AISC reported in the FS includes Cash Costs, sustaining capital, closure costs, Idaho Mine License Tax and Idaho property tax. AISC per ounce is calculated as AISC divided by total LOM payable gold ounces.
ABOUT LIBERTY GOLD
Liberty Gold is a U.S.-focused gold company advancing Black Pine, its 100% owned oxide gold project in Idaho, located within the Great Basin, one of the world’s most productive and mining-friendly gold regions. Black Pine is a large-scale, past-producing, run-of-mine heap leachable gold deposit progressing through feasibility and permitting toward a modern open-pit mining operation. The Company’s strategy is centered on advancing high-quality, long-life gold assets, with a clear focus on technical simplicity, strong environmental performance, project executability, collaborative permitting processes, and value creation. This reflects Liberty Gold’s commitment to the discipline of delivery. The Company is led by an experienced team with a track record of discovery, development, and delivering sustained long-term value.
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