Mr. Michael Bandrowski reports

BIG RIDGE GOLD INCREASES ITS OWNERSHIP IN HOPE BROOK GOLD PROJECT TO 80% AND ARRANGES FOR THE ACQUISITION OF FIRST MINING'S SHARES IN BIG RIDGE GOLD CORP.

Big Ridge Gold Corp. has completed its exercise of its second earn-in right at the Hope Brook gold project, thereby increasing its ownership percentage in the project from 51 per cent to 80 per cent. The company issued 10 million common shares to First Mining Gold Corp. in order to acquire the additional 29-per-cent interest in the project. First Mining will retain a free carry on its 20-per-cent ownership interest in the Hope Brook project until such time as Big Ridge completes a feasibility study on the project.

Immediately following closing of the earn-in exercise, the company arranged for the acquisition of all of First Mining's 36.5 million Big Ridge common shares by a group primarily comprising existing Big Ridge shareholders. Michael Bandrowski, president and chief executive officer of the company, stated: "The acquisition of First Mining's block by several existing and new shareholders demonstrates the confidence and support for the company's continued exploration and development of the Hope Brook gold project. The shares are now in the hands of long-time shareholders that have been supportive of management since announcing the Hope Brook earn-in agreement in April, 2021. The completion of the earn-in adds approximately 420,000 attributable gold ounces to the company's robust resource base and eliminates required project expenditures of approximately $4.2-million as part of the stage 2 earn-in."

Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 -- Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions, the issuance of the earn-in shares to First Mining constitutes a related party transaction but the company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the issuance in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a), respectively, of MI 61-101.

The 10 million common shares of the company issued in connection with the exercise of the second earn-in right shall be subject to a four-month hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws as well as the TSX Venture Exchange hold period.

Big Ridge gold overview

Hope Brook gold project, Newfoundland

The Hope Brook gold project is an advanced-stage, high-grade gold project that produced 752,162 ounces of gold from 1987 to 1995. Initial production consisted of an open pit before moving to underground mining. Hope Brook operated using both heap leach (1987 to 1990) and conventional cyanidation milling methods (1989 to 1997) with a later inclusion of flotation concentration to recover copper (1991). Gold recoveries for full years of operation between 1988 and 1995 averaged 84 per cent. Copper flotation during the second period of operation beginning in 1992 produced 7,000 to 10,000 tons of concentrate annually at approximately 22 per cent Cu and one oz/ton Au. The preceding information is obtained from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Industry, Energy and Technology via the Mineral Occurrence Database System. The company considers this information to be historic in nature.

Hope Brook hosts an indicated gold resource totalling 16.19 million tonnes grading 2.32 grams per tonne gold for 1.2 million ounces and inferred resources totalling 2,215,000 tonnes grading 3.25 grams per tonne gold for 231,000 ounces based on 0.4- and two-gram-per-tonne cut-off grade for open-pit and underground resources, respectively, and a long-term gold price of $1,750 (U.S.). The deposit also hosts a total of 47 million pounds of copper mineralization in the inferred category, defined within the gold resource model. These mineral resources are detailed in the "Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimate Update for the Hope Brook Gold Project, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada," dated April 6, 2023, as filed on SEDAR+ and the company's web page.

The Hope Brook gold deposit is a high-sulphidation epithermal gold deposit hosted in the Proterozoic-aged Whittle Hill sandstone and is intruded by a Late Proterozoic quartz-feldspar porphyry sill-dike complex of the Roti intrusive suite. The deposit is located adjacent to and within an extensive advanced argillic alteration envelope which includes pyrophyllite, kaolinite, andalusite and alunite. The principal gold mineralization occurs in a buff-coloured massive, vuggy silicic alteration with an associated, less developed grey silicic alteration, both having observable amounts of pyrite, chalcopyrite and lesser bornite, and other accessory minerals. Gold mineralization is also found with pyrite in units of advanced argillic alteration adjacent to or near silicic alteration horizons. The altered and mineralized zone is cut by mafic dikes whose contacts are often mineralized. All the altered and mineralized sequences and the intruded dikes have been folded.

Hope Brook is located 85 kilometres east of Port aux Basques, Nfld. The project has well-maintained infrastructure on site, including an operational 28-person camp, a 1,100-metre airstrip, ice-free docking facility and importantly, connection to the provincial electrical power grid via an on-site substation.

Significant exploration potential remains on the 24,000-hectare concession providing a great opportunity to expand the mine area as well as surface showings throughout the concessions.

Destiny gold project, Quebec

The 100-per-cent-owned Destiny project is in Despinassy township, Quebec, within the Abitibi greenstone belt. The Destiny project hosts the DAC and Darla zones where drilling has intersected gold mineralization. At the DAC zone a mineral resource estimate has reported 10.8 million tonnes of mineralization with average grade of 1.05 g/t Au in the indicated category calculated at the 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade. The mineral resource was prepared for Alto Ventures (now Big Ridge) and reported in the technical report and resource estimate of the DAC deposit, Destiny property, Quebec (effective date: March 1, 2011), available on the company's SEDAR+ profile.

Drilling by Big Ridge after completion of the resource estimate in the one km long Gap zone between the Darla and the DAC zones in 2012 confirmed the presence of gold within wide envelopes of anomalous mineralization. Drilling in 2021 provided additional positive gold results; drill hole DES-21-173 (8.90 g/t Au over 0.4 m), drill hole DES-21-177 (5.17 g/t Au over 5.8 m, including 43.1 g/t Au over 0.6 m), drill hole DES-21-179 (3.78 g/t Au over 16.3 m, including 8.85 g/t Au over 6.7 m and 42.6 g/t Au over one m).

Oxford gold project, Manitoba

The 100-per-cent-owned Oxford Lake property is in central Manitoba, approximately 150 km southeast of the city of Thompson in the Oxford-Knee Lake greenstone belt. On Oct. 13, 2020, Big Ridge and the Bunibonibee Cree Nation signed a long-term exploration agreement related to future exploration in the first nation's traditional lands at Oxford Lake.

The Oxford Lake property hosts the Rusty gold deposit, with historical resource of 800,000 tonnes averaging six g/t gold and containing approximately 154,000 ounces of gold hosted in banded iron formation (BIF). A qualified person (QP), as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has not done sufficient work to classify this historical estimate as current mineral resource. Several other gold occurrences are found on the property.

BIF deposits such as the Musselwhite mine in Ontario have the potential to host significant gold resources. The Rusty gold deposit and other potential BIF and orogenic-type gold targets, including the Blue Jay zone, lie along the Carrot River-Rusty-Blue Jay trend, that can be traced for 30 km as identified by Big Ridge's 2011 VTEM (versatile time-domain electromagnetic) and aeromagnetic surveys.

Qualified person

The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by William McGuinty, PGeo, the company's vice-president, exploration, and a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

About Big Ridge Gold Corp.

Big Ridge Gold is an exploration and development company managed by a disciplined and experienced team of officers and directors. The company is committed to the development of advanced-stage mining projects using industry best practices combined with strong social licence from its local communities. Big Ridge owns a 100-per-cent interest in the highly prospective Oxford gold project located in Manitoba and the Destiny gold project in Quebec. Big Ridge is the operator of the Hope Brook gold project located in Newfoundland and Labrador. The company currently owns 51 per cent of the Hope Brook gold project and has an option to earn up to 80 per cent by June, 2026.

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