TORONTO, Jan. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evergold Corp. (TSX-V: EVER, WKN: A2PTHZ) (“Evergold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a strategic non-brokered private placement (the “Financing”) with principals associated with the Ore Group, acting in their individual capacities. This investment marks the beginning of a broader repositioning of Evergold, including a singular strategic focus on the Company’s 100%-owned Golden Lion gold-silver project, located in the prolific Toodoggone district of British Columbia. The terms of the Financing are provided below.
Strategic Partnership with the Ore Group
The transaction brings together Ore Group’s capital markets and company-building expertise with a proven technical and operational team that has successfully advanced a number of exploration companies. Ore Group and Evergold’s principals have played key roles in the growth of companies such as American Eagle Gold Corp. and Metal Energy Corp., attracting strong institutional, retail, and strategic investor support.
Ore Group will advise Evergold on capital markets strategy, investor engagement, and corporate development as the Company enters its next phase of growth.
“We see Evergold as a clear value opportunity that has been overlooked by the market. The Company was founded and advanced by one of British Columbia’s premier technical teams, including Charlie Greig, Alex Walcott and Kevin Keough, who together had great success in exploring the Tatogga property with GT Gold, work which ultimately led to the sale of GT to Newmont in 2021. Golden Lion is a project with a meaningful history, and is a project better characterized as undercapitalized, rather than under-endowed. Located in the top-tier Toodoggone District, the technical evidence suggests that there is significantly more potential at Golden Lion than has been recognized to date, and the project clearly warrants renewed focus, capital, and systematic exploration,” said Stephen Stewart, Ore Group Chairman.
About Golden Lion
The Golden Lion property hosts a broad, near-surface, gold-silver-rich, base metals-bearing, low- to intermediate-sulfidation epithermal system (the GL1 Main Zone) adjacent to the Takla Fault, that is one of a number of extensive mineralizing systems in the Toodoggone District of north-central British Columbia. GL1 Main Zone lies just 9 kms up a broad valley and bulldozer track from road access to Thesis Gold’s Lawyers-Ranch project, for which a pre-feasibility study published in December 1, 2025 returned a very strong 55% internal rate of return.
An animated video of the GL1 Main Zone is available for viewing on the Company’s home page at www.evergoldcorp.ca and a powerpoint presentation summarizing all results to date is available at www.evergoldcorp.ca/investors/presentations.
- Prior to Evergold’s involvement, the system had been tested only in a single season of drilling and bulldozer trenching carried out by Newmont Corporation (“Newmont”) in 1984 (22 holes for 2,474 metres). This established a continuously mineralized low-grade envelope, with hints of higher-grade potential, over a core 400 metres of strike length and, with undrilled gaps, over 1.7 kms of strike length, with mineralization exposed at surface tested only to shallow depths.
- Newmont’s broadly-spaced drill pads and lack of any undercuts left the depth potential and continuity between holes largely untested. Evergold surmised that increasing the density of drilling would lead, as is commonly the case in such epithermal systems, to the identification of higher-grade domains within the broad envelope.
- Evergold drill-tested GL1 Main for the first time in 2020 (10 holes for 1,622 metres), primarily with the intent of replicating the Newmont results, which was accomplished, while also testing other targets on the property to the north and northeast, as well as peripheral parts of the zone (6 holes for 1,386 metres) (see news, November 30, 2020 and January 26, 2021).
- The Company’s best gold-silver results came in the final 3 holes (GL21-23/24/25) of a COVID-shortened drill program in 2021 (9 holes for 1,811 metres) when, drilling between previous Newmont intercepts, the Company identified the first high-grade domain within the broad system envelope. Lack of drill crews prevented immediate follow-up (see news, November 16, 2021).
Combined Bulk-Tonnage and High-Grade Components, Providing Both Volume and Value Drivers
- Bulk-tonnage style gold-silver mineralization has been demonstrated at GL1 Main Zone in 9 Newmont and 19 Evergold core holes to date. All of these holes collared at surface in mineralization, and all returned broad zones of lower to moderate-grade, near-surface, open-pit style mineralization, including for example, a true width 66.0 metres of 1.36 g/t Au & 11 g/t Ag in hole GL21-24. Notably, all holes carried intermittent gold and silver values down-hole beyond the significant intercepts cited, suggesting a potential system true width approaching 100 metres (see news, November 30, 2020, January 26, 2021, and January 13, 2022).
- High-grade domains occur within the broader system, for example a true width 3.3 metres of 11.30 g/t Au and 12 g/t Ag within the broader intercept cited above in hole GL21-24 and, in undercut GL21-25, an estimated 60% true width 11.3 metres of 5.4 g/t Au and 62 g/t Ag, including one metre of 26.1 g/t Au, 619 g/t Ag, 10.0% Zn, and 3.5% Pb (see news, November 16, 2021 and animated video of the GL1 Main Zone available for viewing on the Company’s home page at www.evergoldcorp.ca).
Golden Lion Open at Depth, Along Strike, and As Yet Unmodeled
The shallow precious metals-rich zones at GL1 Main remain open both along strike and down dip, with soil and outcrop sampling by Evergold returning high gold and silver values along approximately 2.7 kms of strike, well beyond the limits of drilling to date. This is strongly suggestive of remaining exploration upside:
- Preliminary modelling suggests that the system may increase in intensity to depth.
- Surface geochemical anomalies (soil, talus fines and outcrop) at GL1 Main stretch for 2.7 km along trend and into covered areas, further suggesting exploration upside beyond drilled areas. For example, southeast of GL1 Main, outcrop sampling returned 1.3 kilograms per tonne silver from a narrow, mineralized horizon atop GL1 South Ridge and, to the north of GL1 Main at GL1 North Ridge, sequential soil sampling returned a 300 metre-long string of 10 very strongly anomalous gold and copper values with peaks of 14.95 g/t Au and 1.59% Cu (see news, February 10, 2020).
- Historical drilling was shallow and widely spaced. Modern infill and undercut drilling could materially expand the known footprint and lift overall grades with the identification of further high-grade domains.
Golden Lion Copper Potential and the Toodoggone District Context
- The Toodoggone district is a well-known, metal-endowed terrane, hosting both advanced and emerging projects and prospects, with good regional infrastructure including road access and airstrips, in spite of its northerly latitude. The district is well-established as a mining camp with past-producing and advanced-stage deposits, including Centerra’s Kemess Cu-Au porphyry mine, Amarc-Freeport’s recent ‘AuRora’ Cu-Au porphyry discovery, Thesis Gold’s Lawyers-Ranch project adjacent to Golden Lion, TDG Gold’s past-producing and actively explored Baker and Greater Shasta-Newberry projects, and Sun Summit’s JD project. Golden Lion benefits from this district-scale context while remaining underexplored relative to its peers.
- The Company recently acquired 100% of four inlier claim groups totaling 173 hectares located within the northern part of the Golden Lion property known as the “Copper King” claims (see news, July 9, 2025). Historical drilling in 1975 of five shallow holes each returned numerous references in drill logs to copper mineralization including native copper, bornite, chalcopyrite, malachite, azurite and chrysocolla, for the most part hosted within porphyritic andesite. None of the holes were assayed at the time and there has been no follow-up in the years since.
- Backpack drill sampling by the Company in 2021 and NQ-diametre core drilling in the previous year also returned high grades of copper with strong gold and silver credits from mineralized outcrop at several sites to the north and northeast of GL1 Main, for example: 11.9% copper, 0.69 g/t gold and 37.9 g/t silver over 1.47 metres in hole GL-21-BPD-024 and, in diamond core hole GL-20-014, drilled below previous outcrop sampling that had returned high values of copper with associated strong silver and gold, including 13.5% Cu, 122 g/t Ag, and 0.146 g/t Au in grab sample GLAA18-036R, a 1-metre intercept of chalcopyrite-rich sulphides which returned 3.34% Cu, 33.89 g/t Ag, and 3.66 g/t Au (see news, January 13, 2022). Readers should note that rock grabs and to a lesser degree backpack drill samples are by their nature selective, and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the property).
Path Forward
Evergold intends to focus its efforts at Golden Lion by:
- Refining the geological and structural model;
- Prioritizing high-confidence drill targets, primarily at the GL1 Main Zone;
- Advancing toward the next phase of drilling, which will be to systematically test to depth and along strike at GL1 Main.
- Further evaluate the porphyry potential in the vicinity of the recently acquired “Copper King” inlier claims on the northern part of the Golden Lion property.
Additional details regarding exploration plans, including anticipated drill timing and budgets, will be provided in early 2026.
Terms of the Financing
The Financing will consist of the sale of up to 1,304,348 units (the “Units”) of the Company at a price of $0.23 per Unit, with each Unit comprising one common share of the Company and one full common share purchase warrant (a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.30 for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance.
The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Financing for exploration activities on the Company’s properties (as described herein) and general corporate and working capital purposes. Completion of the Financing is subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued and issuable pursuant to the Financing shall be subject to a four month and one day hold period from the date of issuance.
Qualified Person
Charles J. Greig, M.Sc., P.Geo., the Company’s Chief Exploration Officer and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.
About Evergold
Evergold Corp. is a TSX-V listed mineral exploration company with projects in B.C. and Nevada. The Evergold team has a track record of success in the junior mining space, including the establishment of GT Gold Corp. in 2016 and the discovery of the Saddle South epithermal vein and Saddle North porphyry copper-gold deposits near Iskut B.C., sold to Newmont in 2021 for a fully diluted value of $456 million, representing a 1,136% (12.4 X) return on exploration outlays of $36.9 million.
For additional information, please contact:
Kevin M. Keough
President and CEO
Tel: (613) 622-1916
kevin.keough@evergoldcorp.ca
www.evergoldcorp.ca
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 this news release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward- looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to complete the offering of convertible debentures on the terms as announced or at all, failure to identify mineral resources, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
