Surface Sampling Just Extended an Ontario Gold Trend to 560 Metres

COBALT, Ontario, Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada News Group News Commentary - The most useful exploration results are often the cheapest ones. A crew already on site, equipment already mobilized, a few weeks of stripping and sampling, and a target that was previously a set of scattered showings becomes a corridor with a measurable strike length. That is roughly what happened at the Castle East property near Gowganda, Ontario this July, where prospecting and stripping lengthened a known surface gold trend to approximately 560 metres. Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH, OTCQB: NPMMF, FSE: QN3) reported the results this week. Companies mentioned in today's commentary includes: Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH, OTCQB: NPMMF, FSE: QN3), IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG), Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL), Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE: PAAS), Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE).

Key Takeaways

• A prospecting sample returned 2.80 g/t gold, extending the strike length of known surface gold occurrences to approximately 560 metres along a northeast-trending corridor.
• Channel sampling returned 2.09 g/t gold over 1.6 metres, including 2.51 g/t over 0.7 metres and 1.77 g/t over 0.9 metres. Channel intervals are apparent widths.
• 34 samples were collected in total, with one certified blank and one certified standard inserted. All were also analyzed for silver.
• The gold sits in Archean rocks above and around the high-grade silver system the Company continues to target at depth. Management is explicitly not assuming the two systems are connected.
• The work was completed at minimal incremental cost because crews and equipment were already mobilized. A larger fall program is planned.
• The results are exploration results and do not constitute a current mineral resource estimate. Assays from recent deep silver drilling remain pending.
  
  

What the July Program Actually Did

Laurentia Exploration Inc. ran the program between July 13 and 21, 2026. The work extended a stripped exposure first opened in 2023 to roughly 10 by 5 metres, where four channels totalling 17 samples were cut on 0.40 to 0.70 metre intervals across newly exposed veins and the main mineralized zone. A separate 2015 exposure was enlarged to approximately 10 by 10 metres, where grab samples were collected. Prospecting traverses running southwest toward Miller Lake documented six new stations.

The headline number came from that southwestern end: sample L339955 returned 2.80 g/t gold and pushed the known strike length of surface gold occurrences to about 560 metres. Grab samples from the extended and previously exposed 2023 stripping returned 2.47 and 1.22 g/t gold, and the Company states plainly in its own release that grab samples are selective by nature and are not representative of average grades. That qualification belongs with the number rather than in a footnote.

Structural mapping identified three principal vein sets. The dominant subvertical set, striking north to north-northwest, was generally the most strongly mineralized. For a target at this stage, knowing which orientation carries the grade is arguably more useful than any single assay, because it tells the next program where to cut.

The Second Dimension Argument

“The gold corridor gives Castle East a second dimension at surface, above and around the high-grade silver system we continue to target at depth,” said Frank J. Basa, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer of Nord. “Because crews and equipment were already mobilized, this work was completed at minimal incremental cost. We are not assuming the gold and the silver-cobalt systems are connected; each target will be advanced on its own merits within one district-scale property.”

That last sentence is worth pausing on, because it is the opposite of what a junior explorer is usually tempted to say. The easier story would connect the surface gold to the silver at depth and describe a single mineralizing system. Management declined to make that claim. Two independent targets on one property is a more modest thesis than one large connected system, and it is also a more defensible one until the geology says otherwise.

What Came Before It

The July program builds on a run of earlier results. Surface sampling in 2023 returned multiple samples grading up to 3.2 g/t gold. Drilling beneath the cover rocks intersected gold below the surface showings, with hole CS-23-123 returning 3.05 g/t gold within an approximately 9 metre downhole zone of anomalous gold in strongly chloritized and fractured rock, including 1.41 g/t gold over 3.83 metres.

The same hole also carried significant silver in the diabase below. Nord has reported a high-grade interval of 5,441.4 grams per tonne silver over 0.37 metres at 446.55 to 446.92 metres downhole, and a second intercept of 3,730 grams per tonne silver over 0.75 metres from 461.25 to 462 metres. One hole carrying both gold near surface and high-grade silver at depth is the practical case for evaluating the two systems in the same program. All reported widths are downhole or channel lengths; true widths have not been determined.

The Company's July 13, 2026 news release consolidated the district's surface and drill gold results and outlined gold potential along the Ridout-Tyrrell corridor. This week's results extend that picture rather than opening a new one.

The Neighbourhood, Stated Carefully

The Castle Gowganda district lies along the Ridout-Tyrrell deformation corridor, the regional structure that hosts IAMGOLD's producing Cote Gold Mine near Gogama, with the Juby gold deposit in the Shining Tree district along trend. Alamos Gold's producing Young-Davidson Mine near Matachewan sits to the northeast on the separate Larder Lake-Cadillac deformation zone.

Two qualifications travel with that paragraph, and the Company states both itself. The extension of these regional structures onto Nord's property is interpretive and remains to be confirmed by exploration. And mineralization hosted on nearby or adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on Nord's property. Regional context explains why anyone is looking here. It is not evidence of what is under the ground.

The Part of the Business That Is Not Exploration

Nord is not solely an exploration story, and the rest of the business is what gives the exploration a funding argument. The Company is advancing the Gowganda Silver Tailings Project toward near-term production, and expects to complete an NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for that project within the next six months, followed by a technical report on the economics of reprocessing. The stated intent is to finance development on the strength of that study and use cash flow from reprocessing to fund exploration across its silver projects.

The infrastructure behind that plan already exists. Nord operates TTL Laboratories, described as the only permitted high-grade milling facility in Ontario's historic Cobalt Camp, which connects recovery of historical tailings and high-grade silver exploration to existing processing capacity. Its Re-2Ox hydrometallurgical process, validated at pilot scale through SGS Lakefield, is designed to address arsenic in complex silver-cobalt ores while producing technical-grade cobalt sulphate and other metal products. That places part of the business inside Ontario's emerging critical-minerals supply chain rather than purely in precious metals.

The flagship Castle property covers 63 square kilometres including 225 hectares of leases, and hosts three of the five most productive past-producing silver mines in the Gowganda Camp, being Siscoe-O'Brien, Castle and Millerett, along with the Castle East discovery. None of that constitutes a current mineral resource, and past production on a property is not indicative of future results.

What Happens Next

A more extensive fall program of prospecting and stripping is being planned, including further cleaning of the 2015 exposure to improve bedrock exposure. Results will be incorporated into an expanded Castle East geological model intended to explicitly define silver, cobalt and coincident gold domains. Assays from altered and mineralized zones intersected in the Archean rocks by recent deep silver drilling remain pending and will be reported once received and reviewed.

Those pending assays are the nearer-term item. A 560-metre surface trend defined by prospecting and channel samples is a target definition exercise. Whether it becomes anything more depends on drilling that has not been done, funded by capital that has not yet been raised, on a schedule subject to financing and permitting.

Other companies to keep an eye on:

The four companies below are established producers referenced solely to describe how the precious metals sector is performing where mines are already operating. They are not peers, competitors or financial comparables of Nord Precious Metals, which has no mineral reserves, no production and no mining revenue.

IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG)

IAMGOLD is the most directly relevant name here for a geological reason rather than a financial one, since its Cote Gold Mine sits on the same Ridout-Tyrrell deformation corridor referenced in Nord's release. Second-quarter 2026 attributable gold production was 188,100 ounces, with 371,700 ounces year to date, against full-year guidance of 720,000 to 820,000 ounces. Adjusted EBITDA was $507.3 million.

Cote produced 67,300 attributable ounces in the quarter. Replacement of a conveyor belt in May and commissioning of a second cone crusher allowed the plant to run at near full capacity in June, and President and Chief Executive Officer Renaud Adams said production is expected to rise and unit costs to decline through the second half. The company reported a net cash position with $1.3 billion in liquidity and returned nearly $150 million to shareholders in the quarter. Consolidated Cote and Gosselin mineral resources now exceed 20 million ounces measured and indicated, with an updated technical report expected in the fourth quarter. Shares rose sharply on the results.

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL)

Hecla is the closest thing to a scale reference for a North American primary silver producer, with operations exclusively in the United States and Canada. Second-quarter 2026 revenue was $334 million, described by the company as an expected pullback from a record prior quarter and primarily reflecting lower realized silver and gold prices. Income from continuing operations was $118 million, or $0.18 per share, down from $165 million and $0.25 in the first quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $199 million, down 25% sequentially but more than double the $93 million recorded a year earlier on the same basis. The quarter generated $136 million of consolidated free cash flow, which the company described as the second best quarterly result in its 135-year history, and it ended with $483 million in cash and no long-term debt outside capital leases, against net debt of $268 million a year earlier. Lucky Friday delivered record quarterly silver production. Adjusted earnings missed consensus, but shares rose after the presentation.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE: PAAS)

Pan American reported second-quarter 2026 results on August 11, 2026, generating $344 million in attributable free cash flow. Silver production was 6.5 million ounces, at the upper end of quarterly guidance, driven by performance at La Colorada and Juanicipio. Gold production was 166 thousand ounces, with management expecting production to increase over the balance of the year, weighted to the fourth quarter.

President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Steinmann noted costs per ounce were affected by lower gold production, higher consumables costs and increased labour-related costs and royalties, and reiterated the 2026 operating outlook for production and costs. The company returned a record $300 million to shareholders in the quarter through dividends and share repurchases, having repurchased more than seven million shares to date in 2026 under its normal course issuer bid, and ended the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash.

Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE)

Coeur is included because it illustrates what happens when a precious metals company converts assets into cash flow, which is the outcome Nord's tailings strategy is aiming at on a far smaller scale. Second-quarter 2026 revenue was a record $1.1 billion, up roughly 126% year over year, with record adjusted EBITDA of $478 million and record free cash flow of $387.5 million. Cash more than doubled since year-end to over $1 billion, the first time the company has held that balance.

The quarter was the first full period including New Afton and Rainy River, acquired from New Gold, with Rainy River in northwestern Ontario contributing $123.1 million of free cash flow, the highest single-quarter figure for any mine in the company's history. Coeur initiated an enhanced capital return program including its first dividend in 30 years. It also updated full-year 2026 guidance, reflecting lower metal prices and slower than assumed ramp-up rates at New Afton's C-Zone and Rainy River's underground operations, while its five legacy operations remain on track. Shares fell on the print before recovering strongly over the following sessions.

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Contact

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DISCLAIMER

Nothing in this publication should be considered personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation, and no communication from us should be deemed personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor a recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances.

This article is being distributed by Canada News Group, which is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited (“Market Equities”). This distribution is being made pursuant to a prior advertising and digital-media agreement for Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. under which Baystreet.ca Media Corp. (“Baystreet”) was paid a fee. Baystreet and Market Equities are separate companies. The owner/operator of Baystreet also serves as a director of Market Equities and receives a management fee from Market Equities for operating its business. Because of this relationship and the compensation described above, Market Equities and its owners, directors, and affiliates have a financial interest in the promotion of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc., which constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. We also expect to receive further compensation as part of an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, and no further notice will be given. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged not to use this publication as the basis for any investment decision.

Market Equities, Baystreet, and their respective owners, operators, directors, and affiliates do not currently own any shares of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc., but reserve the right to buy, sell, or hold shares of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. at any time without further notice, commencing immediately and ongoing, in the open market, through private placements, and/or through other investment vehicles. There may also be third parties who hold shares of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. and may liquidate their shares, which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock.

While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in this publication is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research.

The gold results cited in this article are exploration results and do not constitute a current mineral resource estimate. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.

Cautionary Note on Exploration Results and Mineral Resources. The gold intersections, grades, channel samples, and stripping results described in this article are exploration results reported by Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. and do not constitute, and should not be interpreted as, a current mineral resource or mineral reserve estimate. No current mineral resource or mineral reserve has been defined at the Castle East property. Any historical estimate referenced in respect of the Company's properties is described by the company as a historical estimate; a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify it as a current mineral resource or mineral reserve, the company is not treating it as current, and it should not be relied upon. Historical estimates prepared prior to, or otherwise not current under, National Instrument 43-101 are not compliant with current standards. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and inferred mineral resources are too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them. Exploration targets, structural interpretations regarding the Ridout-Tyrrell Deformation Zone, and any suggestion of continuity at depth are conceptual; there is no assurance that exploration will result in the delineation of any mineral resource. Statements regarding the planned fall prospecting and stripping program, any follow-up drilling, the expanded Castle East geological model, the anticipated mineral resource estimate and technical report for the Gowganda Silver Tailings Project, the tailings recovery program, the Re-2Ox process, and potential future production are forward-looking and subject to exploration, permitting, metallurgical, financing, and commodity-price risks.

Qualified Person. The scientific and technical information referenced in this article is drawn from Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.'s news release dated August 18, 2026, in which that information was reviewed and approved by Frank J. Basa, P.Eng. (PEO), a director of the Company and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Basa is not independent of the Company.

Cautionary Note on Sampling. Grab and prospecting samples are selective by nature and are not representative of average grades on the property. Channel sample intervals are apparent widths. All reported widths are downhole or channel lengths, and true widths have not been determined. Assays from altered and mineralized zones intersected by recent deep silver drilling remain pending and have not been reported. Mineralization hosted on nearby or adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. Readers should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings, available at www.sedarplus.ca, together with the forward-looking statements disclosure in the Company's own release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the Company's release referenced in this article.

Referenced Companies. References to IAMGOLD Corporation, Hecla Mining Company, Pan American Silver Corp. and Coeur Mining, Inc. are provided solely as market and sector context. Those companies are producers and are not peers, competitors, or financial comparables of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc., which has no production and no mining revenue. Their results, production, costs and share performance are not indicative of Nord's prospects. References to the Cote Gold Mine, the Juby deposit and the Young-Davidson Mine are provided for regional and geological context only. No partnership, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is implied, and none of the referenced companies has any involvement in Nord, this article, or its distribution.

Eagle Eye Disclosure. Eagle Eye is an investor signal-intelligence platform affiliated with the publisher of this article, and this reference constitutes promotion of an affiliated product. Eagle Eye is not a broker-dealer, and nothing in the platform or in this article is financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Data provided in the platform is for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Sources

1. Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc., “Nord Confirms Castle Surface Gold Trend to 560 Metres Long Within the High-Grade Silver Mineralization Zones,” August 18, 2026: nordpreciousmetals.com
2. Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc., prior disclosure on surface and drill gold results and the Ridout-Tyrrell corridor: July 13, 2026 news release
3. Second quarter 2026 results releases of the referenced companies, as linked in the body of this article.

Source: Canada News Group

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