Mr. Mike Bandrowski reports

BIG RIDGE GOLD CORP PROVIDES CORPORATE UPDATE

Big Ridge Gold Corp. has provided an update of continuing activities and goals for 2026 at the company's flagship Hope Brook gold project (HBGP), located on the southwest coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Destiny gold project, located near Val d'Or, Que.

2026 milestones and events:

• Complete Hope Brook preliminary economic assessment;
• Finalize metallurgical testwork and produce concentrate samples for potential offtake partners;
• Destiny project partner Caprock Mining to release results from phase I drill program;
• Investor icebreaker: Michael Gentile Mining Showcase, Jan. 27, 2026;
• PDAC, March 1, 2026, to March 4, 2026.

Michael Bandrowski, president and chief executive officer of the company, commented: "Two thousand twenty-five was a significant year for Big Ridge and the company expects to build on that success by completing significant milestones in 2026. We have been working diligently preparing representative concentrate samples from Hope Brook ore for marketing studies and offtake discussions and the preliminary economic assessment remains on track. We are also anticipating initial assay results from the Destiny gold project in the coming weeks, where our project partner, Caprock Mining, is completing its phase I drill program."

Preliminary economic assessment -- plus two g/t (grams per tonne) Au (gold) open pit

Big Ridge engaged SGS Geological Services in late 2025 to prepare a preliminary economic assessment on the HBGP. The PEA continues to advance on time with a completion date in the first half of 2026. Historically, Hope Brook produced approximately 750,000 ounces of gold from 1987 to 1997. A flotation circuit was installed in 1992, which produced a concentrate grading approximately 22 per cent Cu (copper) and 34.28 g/t Au that was shipped to the Horne smelter, located in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., Canada.

Continuing metallurgical testwork -- high-quality Cu-Au concentrate

Given the high-quality concentrate historically produced at the HBGP and strong global demand for premium copper and gold concentrates, Big Ridge is currently producing representative concentrate samples for potential offtake and marketing purposes. More recent metallurgical testwork completed on Hope Brook ore has produced high-grade Cu-Au concentrates ranging from 26 to 30 per cent Cu with 270 to 539 g/t Au.

Strategically located on tidewater

The Hope Brook project is one of very few brownfield Au-Cu concentrate projects located on tidewater and in a Tier 1 jurisdiction. With current smelter treatment and refining charges at negative levels, the company believes its strategic location on the southwest coast of Newfoundland and Labrador will generate notable interest from potential traders and offtake partners that could support future project financing efforts.

Destiny gold project -- phase I drill program under way

Big Ridge currently owns 20.25 million shares of Caprock Mining, the company's partner on the Destiny gold project. Caprock commenced a phase I exploration drill program in the last quarter of 2025, targeting deep-seated, high-grade mineralization identified in two historical drill holes completed by a previous operator where gold grades as high as 26 g/t Au were intercepted. The company expects initial drill results from the program in Q1 (first quarter) 2026.

Investor icebreaker: Michael Gentile Mining Showcase

Big Ridge will be participating in the third annual investor icebreaker, Michael Gentile Mining Showcase, Jan. 27, 2026. The event will include a full day of one-on-one meetings with family offices, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

Michael Gentile is one of the most recognized and successful strategic investors in the resource sector. After a distinguished career as a professional money manager at one of Canada's largest asset management firms, Mr. Gentile transitioned to managing his own capital and taking strategic positions in high-potential mining and exploration companies.

Qualified person

Paul Robinson, PGeo, vice-president, exploration for Big Ridge, a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

About Hope Brook

The Hope Brook gold project is an advanced-stage, high-grade gold project that produced 752,162 ounces of gold from 1987 to 1997. 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). Government records indicate that gold recoveries from milling ranged between a low of 78.8 per cent in 1987 and a high of 85.9 per cent in 1989. Government and company annual reports indicate that gold recoveries ranged between a low of 82.1 per cent in 1994 and a high of 89.83 per cent in 1996 following a change of ownership. Copper flotation produced a concentrate at approximately 22 per cent Cu and 34.3 g/t Au for shipment in 1992.

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 2.0 g/t cut-off grades for open-pit and underground resources, respectively, using a long-term gold price of $1,750 (U.S.).

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 with pyrite, chalcopyrite and lesser bornite 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, the contacts of which 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.

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 our local communities. Big Ridge owns an 100-per-cent interest in its flagship Hope Brook gold project, located in Newfoundland and Labrador. Big Ridge also owns 100 per cent in the highly prospective Oxford gold project, located in Manitoba, and the Destiny gold project in Quebec.

We seek Safe Harbor.