De-Risking the Depths: 1911 Gold’s Strategic Restart at True North

VANCOUVER, BC – November 02, 2026

In an era where global stability is increasingly tethered to resource security and supply chain resilience, the mining sector's pivot toward brownfield assets offers a masterclass in strategic risk mitigation. Building new, greenfield extraction operations in the current geopolitical and economic climate is fraught with inflationary pressures, permitting labyrinths, and capital exhaustion. Instead, competitive systems are increasingly built on the bones of past infrastructure.

1911 Gold Corporation's latest dispatch from the True North Gold Project in Manitoba perfectly encapsulates this trend. The company recently released robust assay results from its ongoing 6,483-metre underground infill and delineation drill program, a critical step in derisking the asset ahead of a targeted 2027 mine restart. By focusing on high-grade intercepts and leveraging an estimated $400 million in existing, fully permitted infrastructure, the company is scripting a blueprint for how to responsibly and economically revive domestic resource production.

The Geology of De-Risking: V-1020 and V-1010 Veins

The fundamental challenge of underground gold mining lies in the battle against geological uncertainty. To that end, 1911 Gold deployed three underground drill rigs—two on Level 16 and one from the Hinge decline—to execute 30 diamond drill holes targeting the L10 Zone. The objective was clear: upgrade inferred resources to indicated status and solidify the early-year mine plan outlined in the project's Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

The results provide compelling evidence of the system's potential. The standout intercept emerged from drill hole UG16-26-102, which returned a remarkable 14.86 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 7.20 metres in the V-1010 vein. This broad intersection included hyper-concentrated sub-intervals, notably 19.52 g/t over 4.60 metres and 31.70 g/t over 0.60 metres.

However, geological systems are rarely uniform, and the data reveals the nuanced realities of the Rice Lake Greenstone Belt. While drilling on the V-1020 vein aligned tightly with grade expectations—highlighted by 18.70 g/t over 0.60 metres and 13.98 g/t over 1.20 metres—the V-1010 vein presented a classic "pinch-and-swell" geometry. This structural characteristic, common in Archean orogenic gold systems, results in localized high-grade shoots interspersed with thinner mineralization.

"Pinch-and-swell structures are notorious for complicating mine plans if not properly delineated," noted one independent structural geologist familiar with the region. "By identifying this geometry early, the operator knows that tighter drill spacing is required to maintain grade control and prevent the kind of dilution that has historically plagued operations in this belt."

Crucially, the infill program also intersected significant gold mineralization outside the boundaries of the 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). Mineralization was extended by up to 75 metres down-plunge on the V-1020 vein and up to 70 metres on the V-1011 vein, suggesting that the system's total endowment remains open for expansion.

Shaun Heinrichs, President and CEO of 1911 Gold, emphasized the strategic nature of the data. "We are pleased with the ongoing positive results from the infill and delineation drill program at True North. This program is providing strong support for a potential mine restart decision in 2027," Heinrichs stated. "The infill drilling at L10 continues to derisk our mineral resources in this zone, which is readily accessible from Level 16, where we are currently advancing underground development to access zones for test mining and bulk sampling in 2026 and 2027."

Brownfield Economics in a Volatile World

To understand the true strategic value of the True North project, one must look beyond the drill core and examine the infrastructure. Historically known as the San Antonio Gold Mine, the site boasts a legacy of over 2 million ounces of gold produced during nearly a century of intermittent operations, including 36 continuous years of production starting in 1932.

Yet, the site's more recent history under previous operators, such as Klondex Mines, serves as a cautionary tale in operational execution. Previous regimes struggled to achieve cash flow targets, largely due to the deployment of oversized mining equipment in narrow vein structures. This mismatch resulted in severe dilution—sometimes up to 25%, and historically even higher under earlier operators—effectively reducing a 6 g/t underground resource to a 1 to 2 g/t head grade at the mill.

1911 Gold's current strategy is a direct countermeasure to these past failures. By prioritizing tight infill drilling and right-sizing their underground development, the company aims to protect the grade profile.

Economically, the project is shielded by its brownfield status. The True North complex features a modern, fully permitted 1,300 tonne-per-day processing facility, a 1,500-metre shaft, a 200-person camp, and access to 30 megawatts of reliable hydroelectric power. According to the company's amended PEA, this existing infrastructure drastically compresses the initial capital expenditure required for the restart to just C$59.2 million.

Operating under a base-case gold price assumption of US$3,000 per ounce, the PEA outlines an 11-year mine life producing an average of 58,114 ounces annually, with an All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$1,897 per ounce. In a global market where new mine builds routinely face billion-dollar price tags and decade-long permitting delays, True North's lean capital requirements represent a highly competitive and resilient economic model.

Capitalizing the Path to 2027

A strategic vision requires robust capital to execute, and 1911 Gold has aggressively fortified its balance sheet to support the True North restart. The company's treasury has been systematically replenished throughout 2026 to fund the heavy lifting of underground rehabilitation, test mining, and the installation of a new crushing circuit.

In February 2026, the company secured a US$30 million secured credit facility with Auramet International, providing immediate liquidity for essential mining equipment and development. This was followed by a highly successful C$35.65 million upsized bought deal financing in July, ensuring the company has the working capital necessary to aggressively push its exploration and technical studies forward. The continued backing of prominent resource investors, including Eric Sprott through a previous C$13.2 million LIFE offering, signals strong institutional confidence in the asset's underlying geology and the management team's execution strategy.

This influx of capital is currently hard at work. The company reached Level 26 in its dewatering program earlier this year, and the mill is slated to be fully operational by mid-2026. The financial runway ensures that the three underground drill rigs can continue their critical delineation work uninterrupted, feeding data into the updated global Mineral Resource Estimate scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Community and Compliance as Operational Armor

In the modern geopolitical landscape, a mining company's resilience is dictated just as much by its social license to operate as by its balance sheet. Regulatory compliance and community integration are no longer secondary considerations; they are the armor that protects a project from operational paralysis.

1911 Gold operates under a revised Environment Act Licence (No. 2628 RRRR) issued by the Manitoba government, which meticulously outlines specifications for tailings management and effluent discharge. The company's inaugural 2025 Sustainability Report highlighted a flawless record of zero reportable environmental incidents and zero regulatory fines, with all water discharges from the Tailings Management Facility meeting strict regulatory thresholds.

Furthermore, the True North complex sits within the traditional territories of the Hollow Water First Nation and the Black River First Nation. 1911 Gold has prioritized transparent, cooperative, and meaningful communication with these Indigenous rights-holders. By embedding ESG principles into the core of their restart strategy, the company is mitigating the non-technical risks that frequently derail resource projects.

As the fourth quarter of 2026 approaches, the mining industry will be watching closely. The upcoming resource update will serve as the ultimate scorecard for this year's infill drill program, crystallizing the geological model and setting the stage for a formal restart decision in 2027. If 1911 Gold can successfully navigate the transition from exploration back to production, True North will stand as a premier example of how leveraging historical infrastructure, applying rigorous geological discipline, and maintaining a fortress balance sheet can create a highly resilient asset in a volatile world.