GoldHaven Confirms Bedrock Gold System in Brazil's Juruena Province

VANCOUVER, BC – February 17, 2026 – Junior explorer GoldHaven Resources Corp. has announced a significant breakthrough at its Copeçal Gold Project in Mato Grosso, Brazil, confirming gold mineralization in bedrock for the first time. The results from the company's inaugural drilling program at the high-priority West Target validate a long-held geological model, suggesting a massive 6-kilometre surface anomaly is sourced from a deep, in-situ hydrothermal gold system.

The discovery, highlighted by drill hole COPE-PDH-008, is a critical technical milestone that substantially de-risks the project. This hole intersected a 39-meter interval of gold mineralization grading 0.11 grams per tonne (g/t) Au within unweathered granodiorite-gneiss, starting from a depth of 58 meters. While the grades are modest, their confirmation in fresh rock beneath a thick layer of weathered saprolite provides the first tangible proof of a primary gold system at depth.

"These latest drill results represent a major milestone for the Copeçal Project,” stated Rob Birmingham, CEO of GoldHaven Resources, in a press release. “For the first time, we have confirmed gold anomalism in fresh bedrock beneath the thick saprolite profile that previously masked the system... the results provide strong confidence that the robust surface geochemical anomaly is sourced from an underlying mineralized system."

Adding to the discovery's significance, the same drill hole also returned a high-grade interval of 1.69 g/t Au over 1 meter near the surface, within the weathered saprolite layer. This suggests the presence of high-grade structural shoots that extend to the surface, which could prove crucial for the project's future economics.

The Makings of a Bulk-Tonnage Play

The geological characteristics observed in the drill core—particularly sheeted quartz veins within granodiorite-gneiss—are classic hallmarks of an Intrusion-Related Gold System (IRGS). These systems are a prime target in the Juruena Gold Province and are known globally for forming large, bulk-tonnage deposits. While often lower in grade, their immense scale can make them highly economic, especially when amenable to open-pit mining.

While a bedrock grade of 0.11 g/t Au might seem low, it is significant in the context of large-scale Brazilian gold operations. For instance, Kinross Gold's massive Paracatu mine has operated profitably on reserve grades around 0.40 g/t Au, and other explorers in Brazil, such as Cabral Gold, have used cut-off grades as low as 0.1 g/t Au for resource modeling in similar geological settings. GoldHaven's results, therefore, fall within a plausible range for economic consideration, pending the definition of a sufficiently large mineralized body.

The near-surface, higher-grade saprolite mineralization offers another layer of economic potential. Saprolite, being softer weathered rock, is typically cheaper to mine and process. The intersection of 1.69 g/t Au near the surface, along with other saprolite-hosted intercepts like 7.0 meters at 0.46 g/t Au in a separate hole, could provide a pathway to early cash flow in a future mining scenario, offsetting initial development costs.

Jon Hill, GoldHaven’s Country Manager in Brazil and a former Exploration Manager for AngloGold Ashanti, commented on the technical achievement. “Prior to this program, all gold mineralization at the West Target had been confined to saprolite. A key exploration question was whether mineralization extends into underlying bedrock. Hole PDH-008 provides the first evidence that it does... This is a meaningful technical milestone that enhances our understanding of the mineralizing system and supports continued drilling.”

Reviving a Major's Legacy

The Copeçal project is not an entirely new discovery but rather the successful advancement of a project with a rich history. From 2010 to 2016, mining giant AngloGold Ashanti conducted extensive and systematic exploration on the property, investing approximately USD $1 million. Their work, which included soil geochemistry, geophysics, and shallow drilling, successfully delineated the very surface anomalies that GoldHaven is now testing at depth.

This raises a critical question: if the potential was there, why did a major like AngloGold Ashanti walk away? The answer likely lies in corporate strategy rather than geology. During that period and in subsequent years, AngloGold Ashanti engaged in a global portfolio optimization, divesting smaller, non-core assets to focus capital on larger, more advanced projects. Copeçal, in its early exploration stage, likely did not meet the company's internal threshold for scale required to justify further development within its massive global pipeline.

This strategic pivot by a major created a prime opportunity for a nimble junior explorer like GoldHaven. The company inherited a robust historical dataset that significantly de-risked the initial exploration phases. The presence of Jon Hill, who previously led AngloGold's efforts in the region, provides invaluable continuity and historical insight, bridging the gap between the past groundwork and the current discovery.

Charting the Course in a Gold Hotspot

GoldHaven's bedrock discovery places it firmly on the map within the Juruena Gold Province, an increasingly active and prospective belt in Brazil. The region hosts G-Mining’s recently commissioned Tocantinzinho mine and projects from other active players like Serabi Gold and Aura Minerals. Recent discoveries, such as Altamira Gold's Maria Bonita porphyry system, and new production plans from private companies like Keystone Mineração, underscore the province's significant endowment and ongoing investment appeal.

Unlike many remote exploration projects, Copeçal benefits from excellent existing infrastructure. It is located just 60 kilometers from the mining-friendly town of Alta Floresta, with year-round road access and nearby high-tension power lines from a major hydroelectric plant. This existing infrastructure significantly reduces potential logistical hurdles and future development costs.

With bedrock gold now confirmed, GoldHaven has a clear path forward. The company plans an integrated work program to vector toward the core of the mineralized system. This includes detailed physical property testing on the drill core to calibrate geophysical data, which will help directly target the high-grade structural shoots believed to be present. By integrating their new drill data with the extensive historical dataset from AngloGold Ashanti, GoldHaven aims to systematically outline priority corridors for follow-up drilling within the extensive 6-kilometre anomaly. The company is now positioned to aggressively advance what it believes could be a large and significant gold system.