Inferred Resource
180,000 oz Au
4 Mt @ 1.38 g/t Au (0.4 g/t cut-off) — 99m mean DDH depth (82m median, 201m max)
Land Package
50,000+ hectares
50 km prospective shear zone — 31 mineral rights
Exploration Upside
13 identified targets
~14 km mineralized corridor — only 2 targets diamond drilled per the 2021 NI 43-101 (99m mean DDH depth, 201m max)
Best Drill Intercepts
20.5m @ 4.69 g/t Au (FCC002)
Also: 6.4m @ 19.18 g/t (trench) • 5.1m @ 9.35 g/t (DDH)
Depth Potential
99m mean DDH depth
Comparable orogenic deposits mined at 2–3 km depth
Phase III Program
5,000m drilling
Fully funded — drilling and IP surveying underway
Download the technical report here; PB-Technical-Report-2021.pdf
Exploration at Pedra Branca spans multiple campaigns from 1980s discovery through to the current Phase III program. The consolidated database includes 253 drill holes (90 diamond and 163 RC) totaling 15,517m of drilling, plus 650 surface trenches (56,892m of trenching), across 9 NI 43-101 targets (part of 13 identified anomalies). Drilling and trenching are distinct sampling categories and are not combined.
The Maiden Inferred Resource of 180,000 oz Au (4.0 Mt @ 1.38 g/t, 0.40 g/t cut-off) was defined from only 3 of the 13 targets, drilled to an average depth of just 99m. Metallurgical testing confirms 92–98% gold recovery via conventional CIL processing, with 63.8% gravity-recoverable gold.
| Target | Hole | Type | Width | Au g/t | G×W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queimadas | FCC002 | DDH | 20.5m | 4.69 | 96.1 |
| Queimadas | FCC016 | DDH | 3.0m | 14.61 | 43.8 |
| Igrejinha | TIG044 | TR | 6.4m | 19.18 | 122.8 |
| Igrejinha | TIG043 | TR | 7.0m | 10.29 | 72.0 |
| Mirador | FMC008 | DDH | 5.1m | 9.35 | 47.2 |
| Mirador | FMC005 | DDH | 3.9m | 11.90 | 45.8 |
| Mir Coelho | PBTR013 | TR | 3.1m | 18.85 | 57.5 |
| Barra Nova | PBTR047 | TR | 3.0m | 32.63 | 97.9 |
| Target | Category | Tonnes (Kt) | Grade (g/t Au) | Au (koz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queimadas | Inferred | 3,189 | 1.24 | 128 |
| Mirador | Inferred | 638 | 1.97 | 40 |
| Igrejinha | Inferred | 215 | 1.73 | 12 |
| TOTAL | Inferred | 4,042 | 1.38 | 180 |
Cut-off grade: 0.40 g/t Au. QP: Rodrigo Mello, FAusIMM (RBM Consultoria). Effective date: March 16, 2021. Inferred resources have insufficient confidence for economic evaluation. View all SAO filings on SEDAR+.
| Metric | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CIL Gold Recovery | 97.7% (Coelho); 92.6% (Queimadas 2022) | NI 43-101 (2021); SAG Metallurgical Testing (Nov 2022) |
| Gravity Gold Recovery | 63.8% (Falcon Concentrator, Queimadas) | SAG Metallurgical Testing (Nov 2022) |
| Ore Type | Fresh, sulfide-bearing (pyrrhotite-dominant, free-milling) | NI 43-101 (2021); Phase III Exploration Data Study |
| Arsenic Risk | Negligible (arsenopyrite trace, non-refractory) | NI 43-101 (2021); Sulfide Mineralogy Assessment |
Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report (March 16, 2021, QP: Rodrigo Mello, FAusIMM) and SAG Metallurgical Testing Program (2022)
On April 14, 2026, the Company announced commencement of mobilization for its fully funded Phase III diamond drill program at Pedra Branca. The 5,000-metre program, announced April 14, 2026, comprises diamond drilling across three priority targets over approximately 8 months.
Program scope (as announced April 14, 2026):
Funding: The program is valued at approximately C$3.0 million and is fully funded from the C$4.2 million private placement closed March 13, 2026. A concurrent $500,000 debt settlement via 10 million shares at the placement price was also completed at close.
Queimadas is the main host of the 180,000 ounces gold Inferred Mineral Resource (NI 43-101, March 2021, 4.0 Mt @ 1.38 g/t Au, 0.40 g/t cutoff), with previous drilling returning persistent gold mineralization to 201m (FCC019). Mirador and Igrejinha, together holding resource material, have not yet been extensively tested at depth.
These observations are based on preliminary field data; data processing and 2D/3D inversion will follow on completion of acquisition and, once reviewed by the Qualified Person, will inform target refinement and subsequent drilling design. Chargeability reflects the sub-surface distribution of sulphide minerals, which are not necessarily gold-bearing; geophysical anomalies represent exploration targets only and require drill testing and laboratory assay to evaluate.
The Pedra Branca Gold Project hosts a NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Mineral Resource of 4.0 million tonnes grading 1.38 g/t gold, containing approximately 180,000 ounces of gold, estimated at a 0.40 g/t gold cut-off grade (technical report effective March 16, 2021; QP: Rodrigo Mello, FAusIMM). An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than an Indicated Mineral Resource, must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve, does not have demonstrated economic viability, and there is no certainty that all or any part of the Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to a higher category.
The Phase III exploration program is conducted under the supervision of Marcelo Antonio Batelochi, P.Geo., MAusIMM (CP), Senior Vice-President, Exploration, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Matt Rees, P.Geo., a former senior geologist with IAMGOLD, serves as Technical Advisor to the project.
Marcelo Antonio Batelochi (P.Geo.), MAusIMM (CP), the Company's Senior Vice-President, Exploration, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who supervised the work program and preparation of the technical data on this webpage.
The high resolution drone survey was successful in the identification of magnetic signatures that enable the geological team to locate areas of interest for future exploration.
Pedra Branca is classified as a hypozonal orogenic gold deposit hosted within the Troia Massif — Archaean crust reworked during the Brasiliano Orogeny (~600 Ma). Gold mineralization occurs in amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks as shear-hosted and quartz-vein systems within amphibole schist, the signature host rock of hypozonal orogenic gold deposits worldwide.
The sulfide assemblage is pyrrhotite-dominant (po >> py > cpy), with gold associated with both disseminated sulfides (60–70% of intercepts) and high-grade quartz vein intercepts exceeding 90 g/t Au. Mineralization is controlled by NE-trending shear zones subsidiary to the regional Senador Pompeu Shear Zone, with second-order dilational jogs hosting the highest grades.
Depth potential: Hypozonal deposits globally extend 800–2,000m+ vertically (Hemlo: 21 Moz mined to 2,000m; Big Bell: 3.5 Moz to 1,200m; Challenger: 1.2 Moz to 1,000m). At Pedra Branca, the mean diamond drill depth is just 99m and the maximum is 201m — less than 10–20% of the expected vertical extent has been tested. Grade increases with depth at Queimadas (FCC016: 14.61 g/t at 91m), supporting the hypozonal model.
This page contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding planned exploration programs, drilling targets, and anticipated results. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Forward-looking information includes statements identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should."
Although the Company believes the forward-looking information on this page is reasonable based on information available to date, by its nature such information involves assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied herein. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable securities laws.
The mineral resource estimate for the Pedra Branca Gold Project (4.0 Mt @ 1.38 g/t Au for 180,000 oz Au at a 0.40 g/t cutoff, classified as Inferred) is not a mineral reserve and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred resources cannot be used to estimate economic mineable reserves, and there is no certainty that any part of the resource will be converted to a mineral reserve. The resource estimate was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 with an effective date of March 16, 2021, by Rodrigo Mello, FAusIMM, of RBM Consultoria Mineral, and is filed on SEDAR+.
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