White Gold Expands the High-Grade Core at Golden Saddle Deposit Intersecting 5.13 g/t Gold over 7.9m within 1.47g/t Gold over 38.1m and Significantly Extends the VG Deposit High-Grade Mineralization by 90m to 320m Down-Plunge Across 150m of Strike Length Intersecting 2.53g/t Gold over 18.9m

White Gold Corp. reports strong initial 2026 drill results, supporting robust PEA economics.

What the company is saying

White Gold Corp. (TSXV:WGO, OTCQX:WHGOF, FSE:29W) is emphasizing the significance of its first 2026 diamond drill results at the White Gold Project in Yukon, Canada, highlighting high-grade gold intersections at both Golden Saddle and VG deposits. The company frames these results as validation of its view that the deposits remain open for further growth, and as supportive of its recently published Preliminary Economic Assessment, which projects a C$1.86 billion after-tax NPV, 41% IRR, and 1.5-year payback. Management, including CEO David D'Onofrio, President Donovan Politt, and VP Exploration Dylan Langille, use confident language to suggest these results could drive meaningful resource growth and position the project as one of the highest-grade undeveloped open-pittable gold assets in Canada. The announcement stresses the scale of the 2026 program, which is the largest in company history and supported by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX:AEM, NYSE:AEM). The company also signals that 49 additional drill hole assays are pending and will be released in due course, with all four deposits described as open in multiple directions. The tone is optimistic, with repeated references to the potential for further resource expansion and future updates.

What the data suggests

The disclosed drill results are specific and material: at Golden Saddle, hole WHTGS26D0219 intersected 1.47 g/t Au over 38.08m from 397.12m, including a higher-grade core of 5.13 g/t Au over 7.88m and 10.48 g/t Au over 2.88m, extending the high-grade core by approximately 50m to the west at a vertical depth of 300m. Additional intervals in the same hole include 1.16 g/t Au over 12.60m from 140.50m and 4.05 g/t Au over 1.97m from 657.40m. At VG, hole QV26-026 intersected 2.53 g/t Au over 18.90m from 172.10m, including 4.27 g/t Au over 2.43m and 4.57 g/t Au over 1.84m, while QV26-024 returned 0.71 g/t Au over 38.45m from 244.55m, including 1.14 g/t Au over 6.18m. These results extend VG mineralization from 230m to 320m down-plunge and bridge a 120m gap to historical hole QV13-011 (2.43 g/t Au over 21.36m, including 3.40 g/t Au over 12.54m), establishing continuity to approximately 350m down-plunge. The project’s current resource stands at 1,732,300 oz indicated (1.53 g/t Au) and 1,265,900 oz inferred (1.22 g/t Au). True widths are estimated at 80–95% of core length at Golden Saddle and 90–95% at VG. The 2026 program represents about 20% of the 92,000 metres drilled prior to 2026, with 49 holes still pending. No updated resource or economic study is presented in this release, so the impact on overall project value remains to be quantified.

Analysis

The announcement provides detailed and credible technical results from the first holes of the 2026 drill program, including specific assay grades, intervals, and resource estimates, which are appropriate for an exploration-stage company. However, the tone is notably optimistic, with repeated references to the potential for 'continued growth,' 'further enhancement' of the PEA, and future resource updates, none of which are yet realised. The C$1.86B NPV, 41% IRR, and 1.5-year payback are PEA-level projections, not outcomes, and are presented alongside early-stage drill results rather than updated economic analysis. The program is described as the company's largest ever and 'fully funded,' but the benefits (resource growth, project advancement) are inherently long-term and contingent on future drilling and studies. The capital intensity is high, with significant drilling underway and more results pending, but no immediate earnings or production impact. Overall, the narrative is somewhat inflated relative to the actual progress, which is limited to initial drill results and not yet transformative for the project.

Risk flags

• ●Resource growth and economic upside are contingent on future drilling and subsequent resource updates; the current results, while strong, represent only a fraction of the total program and do not guarantee a material increase in project value until further assays are received and incorporated.
• ●The company’s optimistic narrative is based on early-stage results and forward-looking statements, with no new resource estimate or feasibility study yet published to confirm the implied value uplift; this introduces a risk that subsequent results may not match the initial high grades.
• ●Capital intensity is high, with the 2026 program described as the largest ever and supported by strategic partners, but no cost, cash, or expenditure data is disclosed, making it difficult to assess financial resilience if results disappoint or timelines slip.
• ●Operational execution risk remains, as 49 drill hole assays are still pending; delays, lower-than-expected grades, or technical setbacks could impact the pace and scale of future resource growth.
• ●The presence of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited as a strategic partner lends credibility, but their involvement does not guarantee future investment or project advancement beyond the current program.

Bottom line

White Gold Corp.’s initial 2026 drill results at Golden Saddle and VG are technically strong, with high-grade intersections and meaningful extensions of known mineralization, supporting the narrative of ongoing resource growth potential. The company’s C$1.86 billion after-tax NPV, 41% IRR, and 1.5-year payback from its recent PEA remain the key economic reference points, but these are not updated in this release. The pending assays from 49 additional holes represent a significant catalyst, but until a new resource estimate or economic study is published, the impact on project value is speculative. The involvement of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited as a partner adds institutional support but does not ensure future funding or development. Investors should focus on the upcoming assay results and any subsequent resource or economic updates as the next material milestones. The main takeaway is that while the technical results are promising, the timeline to value realization is extended and subject to execution and geological risks.

Announcement summary

(TSXV:WGO) (OTCQX:WHGOF) (FSE:29W) (TSX:AEM) (NYSE:AEM) White Gold Corp. announced results from the first diamond drill holes of its fully funded 2026 exploration program at the flagship White Gold Project in the White Gold District of the Yukon, Canada. The initial assays from the 2026 drill program intersected significant high-grade gold mineralization in multiple lenses on both the Golden Saddle and VG deposits. The results validate the company's belief that these deposits remain open for continued growth and will further enhance its recently published Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which delivered a C$1.86 Billion After-Tax NPV, 41% IRR, and 1.5 Year Payback. The 2026 diamond drill program is the company's largest ever on its flagship deposits and is equivalent to approximately 20% of the roughly 92,000 metres drilled across Golden Saddle, Arc, VG, and Ryan's Surprise deposits prior to 2026. Assays are pending from an additional 49 holes designed to increase known resources and make new discoveries on the White Gold Project. At Golden Saddle, hole WHTGS26D0219 intersected 1.47 g/t Au over 38.08m from 397.12m, including 5.13 g/t Au over 7.88m, extending the high-grade core of the main zone approximately 50m to the west at a vertical depth of 300m. This hole also returned 1.16 g/t Au over 12.60m in the shallow hanging wall mineralization from 140.5m, and 4.05 g/t Au over 1.97m in the footwall. At VG, hole QV26-026 intersected 2.53 g/t Au over 18.90m from 172.1m, and hole QV26-024 intersected 0.71 g/t Au over 38.45m, including 1.14 g/t Au over 6.18m, extending drilled mineralization at VG from 230m to 320m down-plunge over a strike length of approximately 150m. The 2026 holes also bridge an approximately 120m gap to historical hole QV13-011, which returned 2.43 g/t Au over 21.36m, including 3.40 g/t Au over 12.54m, establishing continuity of mineralization at VG to approximately 350m down-plunge. The White Gold Project hosts four near-surface gold deposits (Golden Saddle, Arc, Ryan's Surprise, and VG) with a resource estimate of 1,732,300 ounces of gold in indicated resources (35.2 million tonnes grading 1.53 g/t Au) and 1,265,900 ounces of gold in inferred resources (32.3 million tonnes grading 1.22 g/t Au). The 2026 diamond drill program was designed to drill each of these deposits and new targets in close proximity. Hole WHTGS26D0219 was drilled at an azimuth of 161.6°, dip of -57.7°, and to a final depth of 777.3m. Above the Main Zone, this hole intersected 1.16 g/t Au over 12.60m from 140.50m and 1.36 g/t Au over 2.50m from 196.00m. Below the Main Zone, the hole intersected 0.61 g/t Au over 10.80m from 635.00m and 4.05 g/t Au over 1.97m from 657.40m. At VG, QV26-026 intersected 2.53 g/t Au over 18.90m from 172.10m, including 4.27 g/t Au over 2.43m and 4.57 g/t Au over 1.84m, approximately 320m down-plunge. QV26-024 intersected 0.64 g/t Au over 3.32m from 201.70m, followed by 0.71 g/t Au over 38.45m from 244.55m, including 1.14 g/t Au over 6.18m, approximately 300m down-plunge. True widths are estimated at 80-95% of core length at Golden Saddle and 90-95% at VG. The 2026 drilling was supported by strategic partners including Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX:AEM, NYSE:AEM). The company states that all four deposits of the White Gold Project remain open in multiple directions and that results from these holes will be incorporated into future mineral resource updates.

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