2026 Metallurgical Program Achieves 90% Copper Recovery and 88% Gold Recovery at the Hope Brook Gold Project

Big Ridge reports high gold and copper recoveries at Hope Brook, exceeding historical benchmarks.

What the company is saying

Big Ridge Gold Corp. presents its 2026 metallurgical program at the 100%-owned Hope Brook Gold Project as a technical breakthrough, emphasizing that locked-cycle flotation yielded a concentrate grading 24% copper, 300 g/t gold, and 93 g/t silver, with 90.3% copper recovery. The company highlights an overall gold recovery of 88%—above historical production rates—by combining flotation and cleaner-tail leaching. CEO Michael Bandrowski frames these results as exceeding expectations and as a key enabler for advancing the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The announcement stresses the high-grade nature of the concentrate and the potential for further optimization through additional metallurgical work and process development. The company details a series of next steps, including further locked-cycle testing, flowsheet optimization, and resource estimate updates. The tone is confident and technical, with supporting commentary from both the CEO and qualified persons Stacy Freudigmann (Canenco) and Paul Robinson (Big Ridge), who have reviewed and approved the technical content. The release also references robust site infrastructure and government support for prior exploration.

What the data suggests

The 2026 metallurgical program achieved a flotation concentrate grading 24% copper, 300 g/t gold, and 93 g/t silver, with 90.3% copper recovery to concentrate. Overall gold recovery reached 88% when including leaching of cleaner tails, which is at or above the historical gold recovery range of 82% to 90% (1994–1997) and higher than the 78.8% to 85.9% range from 1987–1989. These results were obtained from mineralization with an average gold feed grade of 1.08 g/t, compared to historical averages of 3.0 g/t. Rougher flotation tests demonstrated up to 96.6% gold and 98.6% copper recovery. Gravity recovery tests showed 53.7% of gold could be recovered into 1.75% of the feed mass, with modeled plant gravity recoveries ranging from 27% to 40%. The Hope Brook project hosts an Indicated resource of 16,190,000 tonnes at 2.32 g/t gold (1.2 million ounces) and an Inferred resource of 2,215,000 tonnes at 3.25 g/t gold (231,000 ounces), using a US$1,750 gold price. Site infrastructure includes a 28-person camp, 1,100-meter airstrip, and grid power. The data is technically robust, but no economic analysis, cost figures, or production timeline is provided, limiting the ability to assess financial impact.

Analysis

The announcement is technically detailed and provides specific, realised metallurgical results from the 2026 program, including recovery rates and concentrate grades, which are directly supported by the disclosed data. The tone is positive, with management highlighting that results 'exceeded expectations' and that recoveries are 'above historical production figures.' However, the narrative inflates the signal by emphasizing the potential for improved recoveries and future optimization, while omitting any discussion of economic impact, costs, or timelines for production or cash flow. The majority of claims are realised laboratory results, but the forward-looking statements about plant recoveries and future engineering studies introduce some narrative inflation. The benefits of these results are long-term, as further metallurgical and engineering work is required before any production or financial impact can be realised. No large capital outlay is disclosed in this release, and the technical results are credible, but the absence of financial or economic data limits the investment signal to weak_positive.

Risk flags

• ●There is a significant scale-up risk: laboratory recoveries of 88% gold and 90.3% copper may not be fully replicated in commercial plant operations, especially given the lower feed grade (1.08 g/t) compared to historical averages. This matters because economic viability depends on consistent recoveries at scale.
• ●The absence of any disclosed economic analysis, capital cost estimates, or timeline to production means investors have no visibility on project economics or funding requirements. Without these, the technical success may not translate into shareholder value.
• ●The project’s advancement is contingent on successful completion of further metallurgical, engineering, and environmental studies, each of which could reveal new technical or permitting challenges. Delays or negative findings in these steps could materially impact project timelines and feasibility.

Bottom line

Big Ridge Gold Corp.'s metallurgical update for the Hope Brook Gold Project demonstrates strong laboratory recoveries for both gold and copper, with concentrate grades and overall recoveries exceeding historical benchmarks even at lower feed grades. The technical results are credible and suggest potential for improved project economics, but the company has not disclosed any cost estimates, production timelines, or economic metrics such as NPV or IRR. The next phase involves further testing and engineering work, meaning any financial benefit is likely years away and subject to scale-up and permitting risks. Investors should view this as a positive technical milestone, but the absence of economic data means the investment case remains unproven until future studies provide a clearer path to value. The most important takeaway is that while metallurgical performance is encouraging, the project's economic viability is still untested.

Announcement summary

(TSXV:BRAU) (OTCQB:ALVLF) Big Ridge Gold Corp. reported positive results from its 2026 metallurgical program on mineralization from its 100%-owned Hope Brook Gold Project (HBGP), located on the southwest coast of the island of Newfoundland. The metallurgical program was conducted at Base Metallurgical Labs and directed by Canenco Consulting Corp., supporting the advancement of the Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately 24% copper, 300 g/t gold, and 93 g/t silver, with 90.3% copper recovery to concentrate. Leaching of the cleaner tails resulted in an overall gold recovery of 88%. Michael Bandrowski, President and CEO of Big Ridge Gold, stated that the strong copper and gold recoveries and high-grade copper-gold concentrate exceeded expectations for the Hope Brook Project, and that the additional gold recovery potential from tails leaching returns recoveries above historical production figures. Metallurgical highlights include 90% copper recovery into a flotation concentrate grading 24% copper, a high-grade precious metal concentrate containing 300 g/t gold and approximately 93 g/t silver, and 88% overall gold recovery including gold to concentrate plus leached cleaner tailing. Up to 96.6% gold recovery and 98.6% copper recovery were demonstrated in rougher flotation testing. Gravity recoverable gold testing identified that 53.7% of the gold could be recovered into approximately 1.75% of the feed mass under laboratory test conditions. Gravity circuit modeling indicated potential plant gravity recoveries ranging from approximately 27% to 40%, depending on circuit configuration. Historical production data from 1994 through 1997 achieved gold recoveries ranging from approximately 82% to 90% at an average feed grade of approximately 3.0 g/t gold. The recent metallurgical program was conducted on mineralization with an average gold feed grade of approximately 1.08 g/t. The current test work indicates the potential to achieve increased overall gold recovery of approximately 88% using the revised flotation and cleaner-tail leaching flowsheet. Government records indicate that gold recoveries from milling ranged between a low of 78.8% in 1987 and a high of 85.9% in 1989. Government and company annual reports indicate that gold recoveries ranged between a low of 82.1% in 1994 and a high of 89.83% in 1996 following a change of ownership. Copper flotation produced a concentrate at approximately 22% Cu and 34.3 g/t Au for shipment in 1992. Hope Brook produced 752,162 ounces of gold from 1987 to 1997. The project hosts an Indicated gold resource totalling 16,190,000 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 a 0.4 and 2.0 gram per tonne cut-off grades for open pit and underground resources respectively, using a long-term gold price of US$1,750. The project has well maintained infrastructure, including an operational 28-person camp, a 1,100-meter airstrip, an ice-free docking facility, and connection to the provincial electrical power grid via an on-site substation. Big Ridge owns a 100% interest in the Hope Brook Gold Project, as well as 100% in the Oxford Gold Project in Manitoba and the Destiny Gold Project in Quebec. The Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Natural Resources provided financial support for the Company's 2023 exploration programs through the Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program. Qualified Persons Stacy Freudigmann, P.Eng. F.Aus.IMM., Principal SME for Canenco Consulting Group, and Paul Robinson, P. Geo., Vice President Exploration for Big Ridge, have reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.

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