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New Found Gold Corp. (TSXV: NFG) (NYSE American: NFGC) (‘New Found Gold’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding term sheet for an up to US$75,000,000 loan facility (the ‘Loan Facility’).

The proceeds from the Loan Facility will be used as financing for the development of the Company’s 100% owned Queensway Gold Project (‘Queensway‘ or the ‘Project‘) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, including the procurement of long lead items, early construction activities, upgrading and expanding the Company’s 100% owned Pine Cove Mill to accommodate Queensway Phase 1 off-site milling, and general working capital purposes. The Loan Facility, alongside cashflow from the Hammerdown Gold Project (‘Hammerdown‘), is an important component of the Company’s overall finance strategy.

‘We are pleased to enter into the term sheet for this debt financing, which will support Phase 1 of our flagship Queensway Gold Project and enable us to remain on track with the development timeline outlined in our 2025 PEA,’ commented Keith Boyle, CEO of New Found Gold. ‘Once the Loan Facility is in place, we will be well capitalized as we advance towards a formal construction decision later this year, taking us closer to production at Queensway, which showcases a solid low-cost production profile via a phased mine plan, near-term cash flow generation and significant upside through exploration, as we aim for first production in late 2027.’1

Pursuant to the non-binding term sheet, the Loan Facility will be documented by way of a senior secured debenture and advanced in two tranches: US$50,000,000 to be funded at closing (‘Tranche 1‘) and, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions and if required by the Company, an additional US$25,000,000 to be funded no later than 15 months after closing (‘Tranche 2‘) at no additional standby fee. Both tranches will be subject to customary arrangement fees. The Loan Facility will bear interest at a fixed annual rate of 9.25% payable quarterly in arrears and will have a term of 24 months, and will be subject to a quarterly administration fee based on a fixed annual fee of 0.50%. The Company will have the option to extend the term by an additional six months. The funds to be advanced reflect principal amounts subject to an original issue discount, which will increase if the term is extended.

In connection with the Loan Facility and subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (‘TSXV‘), the Company will issue to Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II, LP (the ‘Lender‘) at closing non-transferable warrants for the purchase of common shares in the Company. The warrants issued in connection with Tranche 1 will have an aggregate value of US$3,750,000, and the warrants issued in connection with Tranche 2 will have an aggregate value of US$1,875,000. Each warrant will be exercisable for one common share of the Company at an exercise price equal to a 25% premium to the lower of the volume weighted average price of the common shares of the Company on the TSXV for the 20 trading days prior to (a) the date hereof, and (b) the date the warrants are issued, provided that the exercise price will not be below the market price as determined by the TSXV. The warrants will be exercisable for a period of 24 months following closing. If the Company extends the term of the loan by an additional six months, the expiration date of the warrants will also be extended by six months if permitted by the TSXV.

All direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company will guarantee the Loan Facility. The Company and such guarantors will secure the Loan Facility with first-lien security interests over all of their present and after-acquired real and personal property.

The provision of the Loan Facility remains subject to customary conditions precedent, such as the negotiation, execution, delivery and registration of definitive financing documents, completion of due diligence to the Lender’s satisfaction, receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals (including approval of the TSXV), and approval by the Lender’s Investment Committee. The term sheet includes a mutual break fee in the event of a termination by either party prior to closing.

Cutfield Freeman & Co. Ltd. (‘CF&Co‘), an independent global mining finance advisory firm, is acting as financial advisors to the Company in relation to the Loan Facility and its overall project finance strategy (see the New Found Gold press release dated November 28, 2025).

The Company appreciates the interest from other finance providers who were willing to support New Found Gold and were eager to be part of our Company’s growth.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of warrants in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The warrants have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ‘U.S. Securities Act‘) and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act, and applicable state securities laws.

About New Found Gold Corp.

New Found Gold is an emerging Canadian gold producer with assets in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Company holds a 100% interest in Queensway and Hammerdown, which includes the Hammerdown deposit and fully permitted milling and tailings facilities. The Company is currently focused on advancing its flagship Queensway to production and bringing the Hammerdown deposit into commercial gold production.

In July 2025, the Company completed a PEA at Queensway (see New Found Gold press release dated July 21, 2025). Recent drilling continues to yield new discoveries along strike and down dip of known gold zones, pointing to the district-scale potential that covers a +110 km strike extent along two prospective fault zones at Queensway.

Through 2025 New Found Gold built a new board of directors and management team and has a solid shareholder base which includes cornerstone investor Eric Sprott. The Company is focused on growth and value creation.

Keith Boyle, P.Eng.
Chief Executive Officer
New Found Gold Corp.

Contact

For further information on New Found Gold contact us through our investor inquiry form at https://newfoundgold.ca/contact/ or contact:

Fiona Childe, Ph.D., P.Geo.
Vice President, Communications and Corporate Development
Phone: +1 (416) 910-4653
Email: contact@newfoundgold.ca

Follow us on social media at https://www.linkedin.com/company/newfound-gold-corp and https://x.com/newfoundgold.

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 release.

Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation, including statements regarding the non-binding term sheet for the Loan Facility; the proposed terms of the Loan Facility, including the amounts to be funded and the timing thereof; the arrangement and administration fees; the interest rate; the term of the Loan Facility; the terms of the warrants to be issued in connection with the Loan Facility, including the aggregate value of each tranche, the calculation of the exercise price and the exercise period; the guarantees and security interests to be granted in connection with the Loan Facility; the expected use of proceeds; the Company’s overall finance strategy; the Company’s advancement towards a formal construction decision at Queensway; the future production at Queensway; and the Company’s focus on growth and value creation. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words ‘expects’, ‘plans’, ‘anticipates’, ‘believes’, ‘interpreted’, ‘intends’, ‘estimates’, ‘projects’, ‘aims’, ‘suggests’, ‘indicate’, ‘often’, ‘target’, ‘future’, ‘likely’, ‘pending’, ‘potential’, ‘encouraging’, ‘goal’, ‘objective’, ‘prospective’, ‘possibly’, ‘preliminary’, and similar expressions, or that events or conditions ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘may’, ‘can’, ‘could’ or ‘should’ occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made, and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange and NYSE American, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with the Company’s ability to complete exploration and drilling programs as expected, possible accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of exploration results and the results of the metallurgical testing program, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company’s exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company’s business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company’s Annual Information Form and Management’s Discussion and Analysis, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators’ System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca and on the website of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

1 See the New Found Gold technical report titled ‘NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Queensway Gold Project, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’, dated Sept. 2, 2025 prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.

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Copper Quest Exploration Inc. (CSE: CQX,OTC:IMIMF; OTCQB: IMIMF; FRA: 3MX) (‘Copper Quest’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce the completion of its AI-driven geological analysis at its 100%-owned Kitimat Copper-Gold Project (‘Kitimat’) in northwestern British Columbia confirming a large conductive anomaly consistent with a buried porphyry center.

Brian Thurston, CEO of Copper Quest, stated, ‘The completion of our AI-driven analysis marks a significant step forward at Kitimat. The AI generation of this very large conductive anomaly positioned along a structural magnetic boundary in fertile arc volcanics could very easily represent a concealed intrusive porphyry center. The historical mineralization drilled nearby delivered significant near-surface copper-gold intercepts that remain open and conforms with our geologic interpretation that those intercepts may represent the outer expression of a much larger porphyry system, perhaps of the AI generated anomaly now observed.’

Copper Quest announced its strategic partnership with U.S. based Exploration Technologies Inc. (‘ExploreTech’) on Decemeber 1, 2025, to deploy generative artificial intelligence across its project portfolio, beginning with the Kitimat Copper–Gold Project in British Columbia. Using the ExplorTech platform, historical information from the Kitimat project was integrated and reprocessed, including historical diamond drilling (including 2010 Jeannette Cu-Au Zone drilling), government airborne magnetics, VTEM conductivity data, structural and lithological interpretations, 2025 field observations and alteration mapping, as well as soil and rock geochemistry. The platform integrated this historical information into a unified probabilistic 3D geological framework while the AI system generated thousands of subsurface geological scenarios, ranking probability clusters for concealed intrusive centers and sulphide-rich alteration zones.

Alex Miltenberger, PhD, CEO of ExploreTech commented, ‘Our generative AI platform evaluates thousands of geological and geophysical permutations to identify the highest-probability mineralized centers. At Kitimat, the integrated magnetic, VTEM, drilling and geological datasets produce a coherent target architecture consistent with buried intrusive-related mineralization. This platform has been successfully applied on multiple porphyry systems worldwide and we look forward to supporting Copper Quest as they advance this project toward drill confirmation.’

AI modeling has identified a large, buried conductive body measuring approximately 1.5 km by 1.5 km in lateral extent. The anomaly demonstrates strong vertical continuity to at least 1 km depth—the maximum limit of the analysis—and begins just 50 meters below surface, concealed beneath sedimentary cover. The conductor is situated within a pronounced magnetic gradient/dipole corridor, with a spatial relationship suggestive of an intrusive contact or alteration boundary. It also lies in proximity to documented volcanic-hosted sulphide mineralization.

The geological setting—Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group volcanics intruded by Coast Plutonic rocks—further supports the exploration model. Collectively, these characteristics are interpreted by the Company as indicative of a concealed, sulphide-rich hydrothermal center. Permitting has been initiated for a 2026 Induced Polarization survey followed by a diamond drill program to test this compelling target.

These AI results have materially refined and strengthened Copper Quest’s theory that the project area hosts a large hydrothermal copper-gold porphyry system. ExploreTech’s modeling supports the geologic interpretation that the 2010 drilling at the Jeannette Zone may represent a peripheral expression of a larger concealed intrusive center (Figure 1), represented by the AI interpreted kilometer-scale conductive anomaly.

Presumed geological setting of the Jeannette zone within the larger Kitimat claim block taken from National Instrument 43-101 report written on the Kitimat property by Jeremy Hanson, P.Geo, in 2020.

Figure 1: Presumed geological setting of the Jeannette zone within the larger Kitimat claim block taken from National Instrument 43-101 report written on the Kitimat property by Jeremy Hanson, P.Geo, in 2020.

The Kitimat Project hosts significant historical copper-gold drill intersections, mostly completed by Decade Resources Ltd. in 2010 at the Jeannette Zone. Notable intervals include 117.07m grading 0.54% Cu and 1.03 g/t Au (Hole J-7), 103.65m grading 0.55% Cu and 1.00 g/t Au (Hole J-1), 107.01m grading 0.45% Cu and 0.80 g/t Au (Hole J-2), and 112.20 m grading 0.33% Cu and 0.41 g/t Au (Hole J-8).

INFRASTRUCTURE ADVANTAGE

The Kitimat Project is supported by outstanding infrastructure that meaningfully strengthens its development potential. The property benefits from established road access via historic logging and exploration roads, proximity to rail infrastructure, access to high-voltage hydroelectric power, and deep-water port facilities at Kitimat. Located just 10 kilometers from the city within a stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction, the project is exceptionally well positioned. Collectively, this infrastructure base has the potential to materially enhance project economics in the event of a discovery.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Brian G. Thurston, P.Geo., the Company’s President and CEO and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

COPPER: GLOBAL SUPPLY DEFICIT & CRITICAL METAL

Global copper demand is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, fueled by electrification, electric vehicles, renewable energy deployment, expanding data centers, AI infrastructure, and large-scale grid modernization. At the same time, the industry faces mounting constraints while ore grades at existing mines continue to decline, new discoveries become increasingly rare, permitting timelines are lengthening, and meaningful supply deficits are projected over the coming decade.

In this environment, advancing new copper discoveries in stable, mining-friendly jurisdictions such as Canada and the USA has become essential to Western energy security and long-term economic growth. Copper Quest is strategically positioned to help deliver the next generation of North American copper discoveries.

ABOUT EXPLORETECH

ExploreTech is a mineral exploration company which specializes in AI-driven exploration workflows, including geological modeling, geophysical inversion, and drill-target optimization, to find concealed mineralized systems. ExploreTech is led by Alex Miltenberger, PhD, and Tyler Hall, PhD, both graduates of Stanford University in Geophysics and Geology respectively, with professional backgrounds in exploration and mining. The ExploreTech platform integrates geophysics, drilling, geochemistry, structural interpretation, and satellite data into a probabilistic 3D geological framework designed to rapidly identify possible concealed intrusive centers and mineralized systems. ExploreTech has successfully leveraged their technology on a number of different projects, with a particular strength in revealing hidden porphyry targets. More information on ExploreTech can be found at www.exploretech.ai

ABOUT Copper Quest Exploration Inc.

The company’s land holdings comprise 8 projects that span over 46,000 hectares in great mining jurisdictions of Canada and the USA. Copper Quest is committed to building shareholder value through acquisitions, discovery-driven exploration, and responsible development of its North American portfolio of assets. The Company’s common shares are principally listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘CQX’. For more information on Copper Quest, please visit the Company’s website at www.copper.quest.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the past-producing Alpine Gold Mine located approximately 20 kilometers northeast of the City of Nelson British Columbia, spanning 4,611.49 hectares with a 2018 National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects historical inferred resource of 268,000 tonnes, estimated using a cut-off grade of 5.0 g/t Au and an average grade of 16.52 g/t Au, that represents an inferred resource of 142,000 oz of gold (McCuaig & Giroux, 2018)*. Apart from the Alpine Mine itself the property hosts 4 other less explored significant vein systems including the past-producing King Solomon vein workings, the Black Prince and the Cold Blow veins system, and the Gold Crown vein system. *The Company has not yet completed sufficient work to verify the 2018 historic inferred resource results.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the road accessible Stars Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Property, spanning 9,693 hectares in central British Columbia’s Bulkley Porphyry Belt with Tana Zone discovery drill intersection highlights of 0.466% Cu over 195.07m* in drill hole DD18SS004 from 23.47m, 0.200% Cu over 396.67m* in drill hole DD18SS010 from 29.37m, and 0.205% Cu over 207.27m* in drill hole DD18SS015 from 163.98m. This highly prospective, approximately 5 X 2.5 kilometer annular magnetic anomaly is interpreted to represent an altered monzonite intrusion and surrounding hornfels.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the road accessible Kitimat Copper-Gold Property, spanning 2,954 hectares within the Skeena Mining Division of northwestern British Columbia located northwest of the deep-water port community of Kitimat, British Columbia. The property benefits from exceptional infrastructure, being within 10 km of tidewater, 1.5 km of rail, and 6 km of high-voltage hydroelectric transmission lines. Exploration on the Kitimat property dates to the late 1960s, with the most significant historical work conducted by Decade Resources Ltd. (2010), which completed 16 diamond drill holes totaling 4,437.5 meters in the Jeannette Cu-Au Zone, and drill intersection highlights of 1.03 g/t Au, 0.54% Cu over 117.07 m in Hole J-7 from 1.52 m, 1.00 g/t Au, 0.55% Cu over 103.65m in Hole J-1 from 9.15 m, 0.80 g/t Au, 0.45% Cu over 107.01m in Hole J-2 from 6.10 m, and 0.41 g/t Au, 0.33% Cu over 112.20m in Hole J-8 from 11.89 m.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Nekash Copper-Gold Project, a porphyry exploration opportunity located in Lemhi County, Idaho, USA, along the prolific Idaho-Montana porphyry copper belt that hosts world-class systems such as Butte and CUMO. The project is fully road-accessible via maintained U.S. highways and forest service roads and consists of 70 unpatented federal lode claims covering 585 hectares.

Copper Quest has an option to earn 100% interest in the past-producing road accessible Auxer Gold Mine, spanning 1,087 hectares located in Bonner County, Idaho, USA. This orogenic gold opportunity is positioned along one of the region’s most significant structural corridors located within the prolific Hope Fault system. Historical exploration has demonstrated exceptional gold grades, with the 1936 Platts report documenting up to 21.0 g/t Au in surface samples and underground workings showing consistent mineralization over 4.3-meter widths averaging 9.42 g/t Au at an 18-meter depth.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the road accessible Stellar Property, spanning 5,389-hectares in British Columbia’s Bulkley Porphyry Belt contiguous to the Stars Property.

Copper Quest has a 100% interest in the Thane Project located in the Quesnel Terrane of Northern British Columbia spanning over 20,658 hectares with 10 priority targets identified demonstrating significant copper and precious metal mineralization potential.

Copper Quest has an earn-in option of up to 80% and joint-venture agreement on the road accessible Rip Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Project, spanning 4,700-hectares located in the Bulkley Porphyry Belt in central British Columbia.

On behalf of the Board of Copper Quest Exploration Inc.

Brian Thurston, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Tel: 778-949-1829

For further information contact:

Investor Relations
info@copper.quest

https://x.com/CSECQX 
https://ca.linkedin.com/company/copper-quest

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain ‘forward-looking information’ and ‘forward-looking statements’ (collectively, ‘forward-looking statements‘) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, including without limitation, future operations and activities of Copper Quest, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’, ‘estimates’, ‘potential’, ‘possible’, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results ‘will’, ‘may’, ‘could’, or ‘should’ occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, risks associated with possible accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of exploration results, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company’s exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company’s business and prospects. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release, and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bc390adc-89c5-4413-bc0a-bd350735d023

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Oreterra Metals Corp. (TSXV: OTMC) (OTCID: OTMCF) (OTCID: RMIOD) (FSE: D4R0) (WKN: A421RQ)(‘Oreterra’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that, further to its press releases of February 10, 2026, February 12, 2026, February 18, 2026, February 19, 2026 and March 2, 2026, it has closed the second and final tranche of its oversubscribed and upsized non-brokered private placement with the placement of 154,444 hard-dollar units (‘HD Units’) of the Company at a price of $0.45 per HD Unit for gross proceeds of $69,500 and the placement of 660,000 flow-through units (‘FT Units’) at a price of $0.50 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of $330,000 (collectively, the ‘Final Closing’). Combined with the first closing of $9.3M, gross proceeds from the placement totaled $9.7M.

Offering Details:

The non-brokered private placement was upsized multiple times to $9,684,000 through the issuance of a combination of $5,500,000 in hard-dollar units (‘HD Units‘) of the Company at a price of $0.45 per HD Unit and $4,184,000 in flow-through units (‘FT Units‘) at a price of $0.50 per FT Unit (collectively, the ‘Offering‘).

Each HD Unit, priced at $0.45, comprised one (1) common share of the Company and one (1) common share purchase warrant (each a ‘HD Warrant‘). Each HD Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.60 per share for three years following the closing of the Offering.

Each FT Unit, priced at $0.50, comprised one (1) flow-through share of the Company (each a ‘FT Share‘) and one (1) common share purchase warrant (each an ‘FT Warrant‘). Each FT Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.60 per share for three years following the closing of the Offering.

Final Closing Details:

The Company paid one eligible finder a cash commission of $6,900 and issued 13,800 broker warrants (each a ‘Broker Warrant‘). Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.60 per share for three years following the closing of the Offering.

Canaccord Genuity Corp. acted as financial advisor to the Company and received 62,777 HD Units as compensation for its $28,250 advisory fee (inclusive of HST).

All securities issued under the Final Closing are subject to a hold period expiring on July 5, 2026.

The securities described herein have not been offered or sold within the United States. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

The FT Shares qualify as ‘flow-through shares’ within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the ‘Tax Act’). An amount equal to the proceeds received from the issuance of the FT Shares will be used to incur eligible resource exploration expenses which will qualify as (i) ‘Canadian exploration expenses’ (as defined in the Tax Act), and (ii) as ‘flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures’ (as defined in subsection 127(9) of the Tax Act) (collectively, the ‘Qualifying Expenditures‘).

Expenditures in an aggregate amount not less than the proceeds raised from the issue of the FT Shares will be incurred (or deemed to be incurred) by the Company on or before December 31, 2027 and will be renounced by the Company to the purchasers of the FT Shares with an effective date no later than December 31, 2026. The net proceeds from the issuance of HD Units will be primarily used for exploration activities at the Company’s Trek property, as well as for general working capital purposes.

Early Warning Disclosure Regarding Anastasios Drivas

Anastasios Drivas (‘Tom Drivas‘) previously filed an early warning report with respect to the securities of Oreterra on July 16, 2025. As a result of an increase in the issued and outstanding capital of Oreterra pursuant to the Offering, including the acquisition by Tom Drivas and affiliates of 690,000 FT Units (the ‘690,000 FT Units‘) pursuant to the Offering and the expiry of 833,333 warrants and 800,000 stock options held by Tom Drivas, the direct and indirect interest of Tom Drivas in Oreterra has been reduced to approximately 7.54% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Oreterra on a non-diluted basis and 8.72% on a partially diluted basis, assuming the exercise of the warrants held directly or indirectly by Tom Drivas. Therefore, Tom Drivas is no longer required to file an early warning report under National Instrument 62-103.

Tom Drivas has advised that the 690,000 FT Units were acquired for investment purposes and that he has no present intention to either increase or decrease his direct or indirect holdings in the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, he has advised that he may increase or decrease his beneficial ownership, control or direction over common shares of the Company through market transactions, private agreements, other treasury issuances or otherwise.

This news release is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 – The Early Warning System and related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues of the Canadian Securities Administrators, which also requires an early warning report to be filed with the applicable securities regulators containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters. A copy of this early warning report in respect of this transaction will be available on Oreterra’s issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Adoption of the 2025 Stock Option Plan

At the Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders of the Company held on January 16, 2026, the Shareholders adopted the new 2025 Stock Option Plan (the ‘2025 SOP‘). The 2025 SOP was appended to the Company’s Management Information Circular (the ‘Information Circular‘) dated November 28, 2025 as Schedule ‘C’, a copy of which Information Circular was filed on sedarplus.com on December 10, 2025. All changes to the 2017 Stock Option Plan made pursuant to the 2025 SOP are set out in a black-lined version of the 2025 SOP appended as Schedule ‘D’ to the Information Circular. The Company wishes to bring to the attention of shareholders the following amendments to the 2017 Stock Option Plan resulting from the adoption of the 2025 SOP. The 2025 SOP requires that the Company obtain disinterested shareholder approval of any decrease in the exercise price of or extensions to any stock options granted to individuals that are insiders at the time of the proposed amendment. In addition, the 2025 SOP clarifies the fact that any option that has an expiry date that occurs within ten (10) Business Days from the end of a Blackout Period shall not be extended and shall expire if unexercised by the original expiry date.

In addition, the amendments to the 2025 SOP provide that both the Company and any Optionee that is an Employee or Consultant are responsible for ensuring that such Optionee is a bone fide Employee or Consultant of the Company and that any adjustments to options, other than pursuant to a stock split or consolidation, are subject to prior acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. Other minor clarifications with respect to the 10% limit applicable to Insiders and limits on options granted to persons providing investor relations services in the event of an acceleration of the Expiry Date are reflected in the 2025 SOP.

About Oreterra Metals Corp.

Oreterra Metals Corp. commenced trading on February 2, 2026, under the new ticker OTMC, following a months-long effort to restructure the former Romios Gold Resources Inc. Management took on the task because it believes the Company’s wholly-owned Trek South porphyry copper-gold prospect represents, based upon the impressive results of the spectrum of geosciences applied to the target area to date, among the finest new targets of its kind in BC’s Golden Triangle. The Company recently released (news, January 22, 2026) a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Trek property which recommends two initial phases of drilling at Trek South, for execution in the approaching 2026 field season. A copy of the Technical Report is available on the Company’s website at www.oreterra.com, and on the Company’s SEDAR+ issuer profile at www.sedarplus.com.

Additional wholly-owned Company property interests include two former producers in Nevada: the Kinkaid claims in the Walker Lane trend covering numerous shallow Au-Ag-Cu workings over what is believed to be one or more porphyry centres (source: J.Biczok, P.Geo, June 2025, Kinkaid Gold-Copper-Silver Project, www.oreterra.com), and the Scossa mine property in the Sleeper trend which is a former high-grade gold producer (source: J.Biczok, P.Geo, July 2025, Scossa Historic Gold Mine Property, www.oreterra.com). The Company also holds a 100% interest in the large Lundmark-Akow Lake Au-Cu property adjacent to the northwest of the Musselwhite Mine in northwestern Ontario, where drilling by the Company has produced highly encouraging, broad VMS-style Au-Cu intersections.

For further information, visit www.oreterra.com or contact:

Kevin M. Keough
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 613 622-1916
Email: kkeough@oreterra.com
Stephen Burega
President
Tel: 647 515-3734
Email: sburega@oreterra.com

 

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 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 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.

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Precious metals prices are down on potential for economic fallout from escalating US-Iran War.

Volatility has returned to the precious metals market this past week. All eyes are on the breakout of a full-scale war across the Middle East prompted by a coordinated assault on Iran by the United States and its ally Israel. Oil prices are up, which means inflation risks are once again on the minds of Federal Reserve board members as they contemplate upcoming interest rate decisions.

Let’s take a look at what’s got the precious metals moving over the past week.

Gold price

The price of gold is showing remarkable resilience in the face of strong volatility this past seven very eventful days. On Thursday (February 26), the yellow metal managed an intraday high of US$5,200 per ounce, well above the low of US$4,440 per ounce reached in the first few days of February following US President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to replace Jerome Powell as the next Fed chair.

Gold continued this upward trend on Friday (February 27) rising to an intraday high of US$5,270 per ounce. Over the weekend, tensions in the Middle East erupted into a full-scale war as the US and Israel launched a massive military campaign targeting multiple locations across Iran. Consequently, Iran quickly escalated the conflict into a large-scale regional war including missile strikes and drone attacks in Israel, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The events lit a fire of safe-haven demand for gold, pushing prices up over US$5,400 per ounce on Monday (March 2). However, the yellow metal just as quickly reversed course on profit-taking and dropped as low as US$5,263 per ounce before recovering to a close of US$5,328 per ounce.

By Tuesday (March 3), the precious metal had lost further ground, following slightly below the psychologically important US$5,000 mark during morning trading, before finishing the day at US$5,088 per ounce.

Gold was trading back up at US$5,195 per ounce early Wednesday morning, as investors sought to buy the dip–a sign that strong confidence remains in the long-term bullish outlook for the metal. Gold closed the day at US$5,145.24 per ounce as investors balance safe-haven demand with the potential for higher interest rates for longer.

Gold price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

Gold price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

Here are the primary drivers for gold this past week:

  • Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East remains the primary driver for safe-haven gold this week. Investors once again flocked to safe-haven gold, pushing the precious metal to near-record highs.
  • Expected profit-taking brought a healthy correction to the gold market, which contributed to the sharp, short-term drop on Tuesday.
  • Investor faith in gold’s long-term value brought on a buy-the-dip sentiment, giving the metal a strong level of support.
  • Concerns that rising oil prices as a result of the US-Iran war will lead to increased inflation is likely to place pressure on the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts until later in the year. This takes a bit of the wind out of the sails for gold prices.
  • The likelihood of interest rates staying pat for longer strengthened the US Dollar and raised 10-year Treasury yields, both of which are also price negative for gold.

In other gold news, the World Gold Council reported that for the first time in more than a decade the Bank of Korea will begin investing in overseas-listed physical gold ETFs.

In gold mining sector news, SSR Mining (NASDAQ:SSRM,TSX:SSRM,OTCPL:SSRGF) has agreed to sell its majority stake in the Çöpler gold mine in Turkey for US$1.5 billion in cash.

Silver price

Silver has also experienced a volatile week of trading influenced by geopolitical tensions and concerns over the Fed’s next monetary policy moves.

Still well below its all-time high of more than US$120 per ounce it reached on January 29, 2026. The white metal traded at an intraday high of US$88.95 Thursday (February 26) before surging as high as US$94.14 per ounce the following day.

For Monday (March 2), silver continued higher to reach US$95.71 per ounce in early morning trading. Tracking gold’s decline, silver prices touched as low as US$86.61 that day before recovering to close at US$89.34 per ounce.

Tuesday’s (March 3) dip saw silver sink as low as US$79.734 per ounce in early morning trading before closing up at US$82.05 per ounce. Silver managed to hold on to those gains Wednesday (March 4) to close the trading day at US$83.56 per ounce

Silver price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

Silver price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

As the world’s most electrically and thermally conductive metal, silver is still receiving strong support from industrial demand. The entrenched silver supply deficit also continues to provide a floor of support for the metal’s price.

In silver mining news, major silver producer Fresnillo (LSE:FRES,OTCPL:FNLPF), reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of US$2.80-billion for the 12 months ended December 31, 2025, up more than 80 percent over the previous year. This allowed the company to payout a total of US$950-million, or 128.92 cents per share, to shareholders for 2025.

Platinum price

Platinum prices were trading well above the US$2,200 mark on Thursday (February 26), reaching as high as US$2287.50 per ounce. Friday brought further gains, with the precious metal pushing up past the US$2,400 per ounce level, although only slightly and very briefly.

However, by Monday (March 2) the price of platinum had slid as low as US$2,291.50 in the morning trade before finishing the day at a four-week high of US$2,325.70 per ounce.Tuesday (March 3) brought further volatility for platinum prices as they sank as low as US$2,015.70 as part of a broader liquidation event in the commodities markets. Yet, platinum managed to swing back slightly above the US$2,100 level by the end of the trading day.

Wednesday (March 4) saw platinum hanging on to those gains and moving upward to close at US$2,165.80 per ounce.

Platinum price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

Platinum price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

Platinum prices this week were supported by a March 3 report from the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) highlighting the fourth consecutive annual platinum market deficit with a 240,000 ounce shortfall expected in 2026. Although that is much lower than the 1.1 million ounce deficit recorded in 2025.

Demand is being driven by the metal’s essential role in the emerging hydrogen economy. The WPIC reports it sees support for platinum will come from a 7 percent rise in hydrogen stationary applications in 2026.

Palladium price

Palladium also succumbed to the downward trend for precious metals prices this past seven days. On Thursday (February 26), palladium retreated from the one-month highs above the US$1,900 level experienced last week to slip as low as US$1,770.50 per ounce in morning trading and struggled to finish the day close to US$1,800 per ounce. Friday found the metal back up to an intraday high of US$1,856.50 per ounce.

On Monday (March 2), palladium lost ground again, dipping to a low of US$1,781 per ounce before closing out the day at US$1,803 per ounce. However, the following day palladium’s price tracked its sister metals in a runaway slide that brought prices to a low of US$1,631 per ounce. By the end of the trading day it had only managed to claw back to US$1,672 per ounce.

After rebounding to US$1,730 per ounce in early morning trading Wednesday, palladium closed out the day at the US$1,700 level.

Palladium price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

Palladium price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.

It seems investors are reassessing palladium’s value with a focus on broader economic risks to industrial demand brought about from potential shipping route closures in the Strait of Hormuz.

Market tightness persists due to output disruptions in South Africa and uncertainty over Russian exports, which provide a partial floor for prices.

Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison faced a barrage of tough questions from Republicans during a Wednesday House hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state, with most of the questions focused on one key theme: What did they know, and when did they know it?

Walz and Ellison were asked multiple times for specifics regarding when they were first made aware of the fraud problems and faced sharp rebukes from Republican members, including Rep. Virginia Foxx.

‘You did not do your job, you did not do your job,’ Foxx told Walz. ‘You did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. It is unfortunate, as somebody said, that you can’t be held personally responsible at this stage in the game.’

An exchange between GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and Walz sparked immediate pushback from conservatives on social media. 

‘Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?’ Jordan asked during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Minnesota fraud on Wednesday.

The exchange centered on Walz’s past public statements that a judge ordered the Minnesota Department of Education to continue reimbursements in April 2021 after the agency had halted payments over fraud concerns.

Jordan pointed to a 2022 court-authorized news release from then-Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann that disputed the governor’s characterization of the events.

‘So either you’re lying or the court’s lying. And I’m just asking you which one is it?’ Jordan said.

One of the most contentious exchanges came during questioning from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace when she pressed Walz for specific numbers on how many children are in his state, the massive increase in autism care spending and why that occurred without getting specific numbers back from Walz.

‘Ok, so your excuse before — that you didn’t know what the 2017 autism numbers were — because you were not governor, and today you can’t answer the numbers about 2024 as governor, and you still said you prepared for this hearing today. It’s unbelievable.’

Walz shot back that he wouldn’t be a ‘prop’ for Mace, and she eventually said, ‘I expect you to know this information. Thank God you’re not vice president of the United States.’

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins confronted Ellison in another heated moment asking him to say he was ‘leading’ the fight against rooting out corruption without getting the specific answer he was looking for, prompting him to call for Ellison’s resignation. 

‘I’m not talking about Medicaid fraud, don’t hide behind that,’ Higgins said, interrupting Ellison. ‘You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to, and this thing is big. I’m giving you an opportunity sir, are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board…or not?’ Higgins pressed.

‘We are following the law,’ Ellison said before Higgins cut him off again.

‘You are not leading, I’m going to say, Mr. Chairman, that the attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign,’ Higgins said.

At the close of the hearing, things became tense again when GOP Rep. Nick Langworthy suggested that Walz, who is still serving as governor despite dropping out of his re-election bid due to the fraud scandal, should be impeached for ‘malfeasance,’ citing Minnesota’s own state Constitution. 

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

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Iran’s tyrannical and ruthless regime is disintegrating. After yet again massacring thousands of its own citizens for voicing their dreams for liberty and better governance, the Iranian regime meantime resumed pursuing nuclear capability and its aggressive ICBM program. The regime’s overconfidence in U.S. inaction cost it its leader and its core military capabilities are going up in smoke. Against this backdrop, the conflict has spread to the Gulf, threatening the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum, and forcing the rest of the world to rethink how it prices energy risk and political alignment.

This is not another regional flare-up. This is a rupture of an old equilibrium in which sanctioned oil, shadow fleets and calibrated escalation kept markets stable enough to function. That equilibrium is now breaking. A rapid political-military shift in the Middle East is unfolding alongside a restructuring of the global energy order.

When I was in Afghanistan during the surge, Tehran’s active support for the insurgency fighting the United States and Afghan forces fomented instability and amplified violence for which civilians paid the biggest price, a dynamic that so many across several nations have tragically encountered for decades. But Iran was never a contained regional problem.

While its terrorism was widely perceived as a Middle East issue, its cyber and intelligence operations spanned continents, with assassination plots that included the American president. As to global effects, Iran’s energy has always made its regime globally significant.

At this stage of the conflict, the most economically significant and immediate geography is the Strait of Hormuz which Iran is working to choke off. Roughly one-fifth of global petroleum and a substantial portion of liquefied natural gas move through that narrow corridor. As strikes intensified, vessels paused transit, insurers reassessed exposure and operators rerouted cargoes. Markets adjusted immediately. Energy security and geopolitical stability are now inseparable; maritime risk has become the pressure valve through which regional conflict spills into global consequence. 

This realignment did not begin in the Gulf this weekend. It started with U.S. actions in Venezuela. Caracas holds the world’s largest proven crude reserves — about 303 billion barrels — and even marginal normalization under a more U.S.-cooperative government alters the supply calculus for Washington and its allies.

The new U.S.–Venezuela arrangement has already generated roughly $2 billion in transactions in just weeks, pulling Venezuelan barrels back into wider circulation and altering the discount ecosystem Moscow had grown accustomed to. Stack that with a post-crisis Iran re-entering markets on different terms, and the shadow ecosystem of discounted, sanctioned crude — Russia, Iran, Venezuela — begins to fracture and reprice simultaneously.

But the most consequential energy recalibration runs through Beijing. China is essentially Iran’s oil export market. In 2025, China bought more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil, averaging ~1.38 million barrels per day, about 13.4% of China’s seaborne crude imports—meaning Beijing is simultaneously Tehran’s economic lifeline and its strategic choke chain.

Oil tanker blazes near the coast of Oman in

By turning a sanctioned producer into a quasi-captive supply relationship — sustained through gray-market routing, reflagging and intermediary hubs — Beijing secured discounted barrels in normal times and leverage in crisis. Any sustained disruption of Iranian flows forces China into replacement buying that tightens global markets and exposes China’s own energy security; Iran exports about 1.6 million bpd mainly to China and such disruptions pushes Beijing to pivot to alternatives.

The relationship is therefore best understood as a dependency loop: Iran needs China for revenue and sanctions relief-by-proxy; China uses Iran as a discount supplier and as a pressure valve in the sanctioned crude system — one that can be tightened or loosened depending on Beijing’s broader negotiation posture with Washington and its appetite for risk in the Gulf. That Iran-China dependency is no longer stable.  With Iranian oil flows disrupted, China faces a choice between turning to alternative suppliers at higher cost or even tapping strategic reserves. Tightening global crude markets resulting from U.S. actions in Venezuela and now Iran give Washington leverage in energy pricing.

Beyond the tanker decks, this shift underscores the larger theme of reconfiguration: resources once bundled to manage sanctions are now subject to heightened geopolitical risk, forcing China to rethink dependencies while the U.S. and its partners are positioning to shape the post-conflict energy order. Energy supply patterns will restructure global power relations. And where China is recalibrating exposure, Russia is recalculating opportunity.

The same forces reshaping China’s calculations are altering Moscow’s. As India trims Russian purchases, Moscow has been pushing more barrels into China, and Reuters reports China’s Russian crude imports hitting new records in February while Russian sellers widened discounts to keep demand — Urals trading roughly $9–$11 below Brent for China deliveries, and other Russian grades also cutting hard as sellers chase Chinese refiners.

The new U.S.–Venezuela arrangement has already generated roughly $2 billion in transactions in just weeks, pulling Venezuelan barrels back into wider circulation and altering the discount ecosystem Moscow had grown accustomed to. 

This matters because China is also the anchor buyer for sanctioned Iranian crude; the ‘discount market’ is not infinite, so Russia and Iran are now competing for the same limited pool of Chinese buyers, driving deeper concessions and leaving cargoes idling — exactly the kind of sanctions-economy dynamic.

Add the West’s tightening focus on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ and the risk of seizures or insurance denial, and you get an energy chessboard where coercion moves from rhetoric to logistics: who can ship, insure and clear payments reliably becomes as strategic as who can produce.

In that context, Russia’s loud warnings about Hormuz disruption are not just diplomacy, they are a reminder that Moscow profits from volatility, but also needs a functioning gray-market channel to China, and Iran’s crisis threatens to scramble the very discount ecosystem Russia has used to finance its war in Ukraine. Structural realignment threatens the very gray-market architecture on which Moscow has relied.

Energy is only one layer of a global shift. Strategic minerals remain critical. The Trump administration has increased economic and maritime pressure on Cuba, tightening an effective oil blockade that choked off fuel imports. President Donald Trump has authorized tariffs targeting countries supplying oil to Havana.

WATCH: US forces board Veronica III crude oil tanker

This is not simply punitive policy. It reflects a broader strategic doctrine: deny adversarial regimes energy lifelines while repositioning the Western Hemisphere’s resource base toward U.S. leverage. Oil is only one domain. Rare earth elements are a strategic asset. Cuba’s nickel and cobalt output, combined with China’s tightening grip through rare-earth export controls indicates that leverage is not just oil fields but also supply chains. America achieving rare earth elements sovereignty will remain a strategic goal and such a global realignment on this front is much needed.

By the close of the first weekend, Iran appeared intent on accelerating its own collapse by compounding strategic error with strategic error. Iran felt it wise to respond to U.S. and Israeli strikes by pushing a half dozen other nations against it. On Saturday afternoon, Feb. 28, Iran launched attacks on seven sovereign nations – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Israel. It added Oman shortly after.

These nations now have a legal and political basis to deepen security ties with the U.S. and Israel that they could never have justified domestically before today. Iran has arguably done more to consolidate the anti-Iran regional architecture in one afternoon than a decade of American diplomacy. Watch for accelerated Abraham Accords-adjacent normalization with Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.

Any sustained disruption of Iranian flows forces China into replacement buying that tightens global markets and exposes China’s own energy security…

After massacring thousands of its own citizens for demanding better governance, the regime’s long-standing presumption of U.S. inaction cost the 1979 Revolution its dream of ruling over Iranians perpetually. After 47 years, its leader is gone, and its core military capabilities are being dismantled.

The lesson is not simply that the Iranian regime is falling. It is that when it falls amid energy chokepoints and great-power competition, supply chains, alliances and leverage structures shift simultaneously. Iran’s collapse is not the end of the story; it is the catalyst for a broader redistribution of power across energy, alliances, and great-power leverage. America should exploit these shifting dynamics fully. 

The views expressed here are his and do not reflect the policy or positions of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Advisory Council, U.S. Army or Department of Defense. 

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The partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security could impact how the federal government is able to address potential terror threats in the U.S., a public safety expert said, warning that the escalating conflict with Iran could encourage those wishing to harm Americans.

Jeffrey Halstead, a retired police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, and a former commander for Homeland Security for Phoenix police, told Fox News Digital that U.S. military actions could ‘escalate the mindset of some of these outlying or outlier terrorist entities’ wanting to take action. 

‘We’ve seen historically that any time there is a conflict, especially in the Middle East with escalating tensions, military action and now a declaration of war, there is a significant impact on the ability for us to work collectively to share intelligence and gather information in a timely manner from our federal partners,’ Halstead said. ‘With the current Department of Homeland Security shutdown, if something were to occur here in the United States, there could be some significant delays because FEMA and other very, very critical divisions of the federal government are basically shut down.’

He specifically pointed out the terrorist attack in Austin, Texas, over the weekend, which left 2 people dead and 14 injured. The suspect, Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old naturalized citizen born in Senegal, was also killed.

Authorities said they are investigating the shooting, which took place at a bar at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, as a ‘potential nexus to terrorism’ as Diagne appeared to wear a ‘Property of Allah’ sweatshirt and an undershirt depicting the Iranian flag. A Quran was also later recovered from his vehicle, and an Iranian flag and images of regime leaders were found at his home.

That attack comes after U.S.-Israeli joint military strikes, which began against Iran on Saturday morning, killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other leaders, triggering a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Halstead, who is also the director of strategic accounts at Genasys, a communications hardware and software provider that helps communities during emergencies, warned that events in the U.S. later this year, such as World Cup soccer matches and America’s 250th anniversary, could make the U.S. an ‘escalated target’ if the conflict in the Middle East remains active.

He also said anytime there is a government shutdown, there seems to be a ‘pretty significant distraction, both politically and administratively, in every facet of our federal government and the manner in which the government operates.’

‘Sometimes there is reduced staffing in some of these critical agencies, and some of the agencies aren’t being funded at all,’ he said. ‘This will delay and possibly impede some of that critical intelligence, which could be terroristic threat level intelligence, that needs to be in the hands of local police, so that the beat officers, the patrol officers, as well as all the supervisors, understand the latest and greatest threats, including high-profile targets that could be on the radar of some of these active cells in the United States.’

He added that the government shutdown has an impact on the ability to ‘get that intelligence as fast as possible into the hands of those that need it’ and that delays could be ‘very, very catastrophic’ if the information is ignored or not sent.

Halstead noted that he has not seen any evidence that the shooting in Austin is directly tied to the government shutdown.

‘However, when there are military actions overseas, especially in a lot of these high-profile terrorist organizations or terrorist hosting countries, it elevates the mindset for other people to take actions against American citizens and institutions in America,’ he explained. ‘That could be schools and religious sites, and it could be the way that we live our lives with freedom.’

‘When these incidents overseas happen that are terror-related, it does instill in the mindset of some of these lone wolf-style actors to take action,’ he continued. ‘And if you look at [the case in Austin], that is exactly what the FBI has profiled to date, that this was a lone wolf probably acting upon the military action that was taken against Iran, and then wearing a shirt, ‘Property of Allah,’ that speaks to his either religious belief and/or possibility of some terroristic ties.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said: ‘I am in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.’

DHS, President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to place blame on Democrats for the shutdown. After the conflict with Iran began over the weekend, Democratic lawmakers remain unmoved, including those who voted to end the government shutdown in November.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., argued that DHS still has plenty of money left from Trump’s spending bill signed last year and that Democrats are not going to suddenly abandon their demands for reform. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, told The Hill that he sees no correlation between the funding negotiations and the ongoing war in Iran.

‘I don’t think there’s any relationship between FEMA and Iran — or the Coast Guard, for that matter,’ King said.

Republicans contend that the conflict makes DHS funding even more necessary, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., writing on X: ‘Following the successful strikes on Iran and the FBI’s warning of elevated threats here at home, it is dangerous for Democrats in Washington to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down.’

Halstead said the funding fight ‘looks like all the other shutdowns that we’ve seen,’ adding that it ‘becomes one side against the other, and then they will make some strong allegations and statements and then publicly the other side will make retaliation.’

‘This is probably some of the worst infighting I think I’ve seen in almost 40 years,’ he said.

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Modern society has a metals problem. The demands of modern consumer culture, the energy transition and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have created a dilemma.

As demand rises, the supply of many metals is at a bottleneck brought about by a number of factors, from government red tape to civil unrest, as well as lack of capital expenditures leading to fewer new discoveries and mines.

On top of this, mining companies focused on essential metals like copper are facing additional challenges, as in many cases the easy discoveries have already been made and existing mines are seeing declining grades, causing further constraints to supply.

BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) Digital Officer Mikko Tepponen suggests that the very technologies that rely on metals and mining can be the answer in his presentation at the 2026 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference.

Addressing data fragmentation in exploration

Once companies open up capital expenditures to the exploration side of the mining sector, several questions arise, most notably: Where are the minerals?

At its core, exploration relies on the geosciences, with a geologist in the field, sampling rocks, conducting surveys and using the data gathered to estimate where the best place is to put a drill for a look below the surface.

Mining is a data-driven enterprise, and depending on the project, the information can come from a range of methods, from modern techniques to historic observations, meaning the data is fragmented across a variety of sources and formats.

AI and machine learning can be good at processing and interpolating large quantities of information. However, data accessibility creates another roadblock.

“Across our industry, vast volumes of exploration data are sealed in archive rooms, and legacy systems can’t read through third-party data sets,” Tepponen said. “That data is neither structured, searchable nor interoperable. That means AI cannot make easy sense of it, and in many cases, that data was never extracted.”

For Tepponen, one of the challenges the mining industry needs to overcome is data fragmentation. Without enough data or proper information, there is an increased risk of making the wrong exploration decisions.

“Time matters because capital is finite. Drill meters are expensive, and decisions about capital allocation have multi-year impacts down the line,” he said.

The way BHP has implemented a data-centric approach is building a central data platform that integrates the decades of exploration data, standardizes it and makes it accessible through a central team within the company.

Tepponen says the platform supports 52 standardized core geoscience types, backed by more than 100 years of data, helping its exploration teams save months of time.

“Our geoscientists can access more than 4 million drill hole cores and 9,000 geophysical surveys through one portal,” he added.

Using BHP’s in-house AI extraction tool, one team of geoscientists obtained data from thousands of drill holes from 30,000 legacy document records. They then used the central data platform to combine that with modern drilling data.

According to Tepponen, the team completed the work in a few hours, while doing so manually would have taken months, and results were higher quality than the previous method.

However, he stressed that the integration of AI into its workflow wasn’t about replacing geoscience teams, but about “amplifying the work of geoscientists by creating a digital tool that enables them to focus on higher value.”

Additionally, the information in the platform is not limited to BHP’s data. Tepponen explained that the entire system is built on an open-source database designed to break down data silos and enable cross-sector collaboration.

Using targeted optimizations to avoid disruptions

While exploration poses a bottleneck to the development of new projects for future supply, disruptions to existing operations significantly impact current output.

It’s often impossible to predict major events like extreme weather, civil unrest or regulatory changes. However, operators can foresee some disruptions that result in hundreds of hours of downtime throughout the industry every year.

Tepponen outlined one persistent problem: oversized rocks and foreign objects making their way through processing plants.

“If an uncrushable rock or piece of metal gets into the crusher, it can cause blockages, damage belts and create significant downtime,” he said. “If it travels downstream, it can damage equipment and create critical bottlenecks.”

In Western Australia, BHP employs a hub-and-spoke model that connects five mines to a central processing facility. If one of the hazards disrupts operations at the facility, it can affect operations at the mines connected to it.

Additionally, fixing these issues exposes maintenance teams to higher-risk tasks, so eliminating the problem in the first place improves both productivity and safety.

Tepponen explained that historically, workers would be used to identify the hazards before they were loaded onto the truck, but once they reached the conveyor, they became much harder to remove.

The company now employs a real-time monitoring system that detects objects, alerts controllers and can automatically stop the conveyor.

“These are actually very simple technologies available commercially off the shelf. Cameras and machine learning control systems applied to a real world operational constraint,” he said.

In the prior three years, these incidents had caused over 1,000 hours of downtime, according to Tepponen. However, since it installed the monitoring system, the company hasn’t experienced any major disruptions or destruction events caused by oversized rocks, a change that he said amounts to hundreds of thousands of metric tons per year of increased processing.

“It’s a small system-level optimization that can deliver outsized returns on the AI journey. This is not a massive program. This is identifying simple constraints, applying proven technology,” he said, and emphasized the process of controlled testing, iteration and then deploying at scale. ‘That’s how systematic innovation actually happens.’

Testing scenarios with digital twin simulations

In his third use case example, he turned to BHP’s semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill at its Escondida operation in Chile, at which differing particle size and hardness in ore feed was impacting production.

The company used AI to create a digital twin of the value chain, which included everything that was known about the operation, such as ore body knowledge, processing behavior and operational constraints.

“That digital simulation enabled scenario testing and gave us the ability to inform blasting and blending strategies to predict granularity,” Tepponen said, noting that monthly production losses attributed to the problem fell by around 70 percent.

“The lesson, when the ore body knowledge is connected directly to the processing decisions, the system becomes more stable and predictable.”

BHP has since applied the approach to other operations, including ones in Australia and Chile.

“The Gen AI integration is multicultural, so non-technical users and the technical users can run scenarios in their first language,” he said, an aspect that he said is very important for the local companies at its operations.

Building foundations, collaboration key to AI usefulness

Tepponen was emphatic that AI alone wasn’t a “superhero.” BHP needed to specifically design these AI platforms in order to achieve these results.

“One of the most important lessons we have learned is we don’t actually get value from AI by starting with AI. The value comes from the foundations, consistent data standards, interoperability. You need to start at the bottom and make your way to the top.”

Tepponen also stressed the value of collaboration, noting that companies tend to be protective of their intellectual property, but opportunities are being missed that could be mutually beneficial.

“The hard truth is, no company can solve this problem of data fragmentation and system integration,” he said, and the industry would benefit from a collaborative approach on standards, interoperability and data throughout the value chain.

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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An Iranian refugee held at gunpoint at school before fleeing Iran during the 1979 revolution is calling for hope, democracy and prayers for his homeland as the U.S. joins Israel in targeting Iran’s ruling clerical regime.

David Nasser, now an American pastor, spoke to Fox News Digital six days after Operation Epic Fury was launched in Iran — an event that reignited haunting memories for him and of the time when he was 9 years old.

‘As a child, my family and I were forced to escape Iran and run for our lives,’ Nasser, President and CEO of David Nasser Outreach recalled.

‘We found safe harbor as refugees granted political asylum here in the United States,’ Nasser said, before describing how his father had been a high-ranking officer in Iran’s military, meaning ‘his family became targets as the government collapsed.’

‘One of my most vivid memories of realizing that nothing was ever going to be the same again was at a school assembly on a military base – a soldier called out three names and mine was called first,’ he said.

‘When I got to the front, the soldier dropped a piece of paper, took a gun out of his holster and put it to my head and quoted the Quran. He told me that he was sent to make an example out of me,’ Nasser added.

The principal intervened, but the message he relayed was unmistakable. Nasser recalled.

‘They’re killing everybody who’s anybody. They’re trying to make an example out of people like our family, and they’re using fear,’ he remembered hearing at the time.

‘That’s one of my first memories of the revolution, but really just being completely scared for my life.’

Soon after, Nasser’s family devised an escape plan. They would pretend Nasser’s mother needed emergency heart surgery in Switzerland and buy round-trip tickets to avoid raising suspicion.

‘We bought round-trip airline tickets, like we were going and coming back, but we weren’t coming back. We were running for our lives,’ he said.

At the airport, Nasser remembers gripping his father’s hand tightly and hearing words he will never forget.

”If they find out we’re escaping, they’re going to kill us right here on the spot,” my father said as his hands shook, holding mine, he said. ‘The last time I was in Iran, I was a 9-year-old little boy running for my life,’ he said.

Now, watching events unfold in Iran from the safety of the U.S., Nasser said his heart remains with millions of desperate Iranians facing uncertainty.

‘We see them — I see them, I hear them. My heart is beating really fast for them right now, with hope and with prayers for their protection and their provision,’ Nasser said.

‘Protection. I’m praying for protection for them. I want to be a part of the provision for them. If Iran transitions from a theocracy to a democracy,’ he said, ‘I want to help rebuild.’

‘If this moment actually comes, and they go from a theocracy to a democracy, I want to be a part of the solution — for that 9-year-old little boy that I once was. I want to do this for him.’

Beyond political change, Nasser, who is also Teaching Pastor at New Vision Baptist Church, said he takes solace in what he describes as spiritual transformation already underway, calling it ‘the fastest-growing church in the world right now, or the underground church in Iran.’

‘We know there’s at minimum 4 million, at maximum 8 million Christians right now in Iran,’ he said.

‘In Iran, if you convert from Islam to Christianity, that can be a death sentence. If they come into your home and you’re gathering for Christian worship, they will take your home title, you will lose your home.’

‘They’re in prison. They’re being tortured. They’re being ridiculed. They’re being mocked,’ he added.

‘Above all, I came to America, and it was a land of opportunity, and I was given the gift of democracy, so I would love to see democracy in Iran, where all the boys and girls are afforded what I was afforded when I managed to escape.’

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Sranan Gold Corp. (CSE: SRAN,OTC:SRANF) (OTCQB: SRANF) (‘Sranan’ or the ‘Company’) continues to work towards the filing of its annual audited financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis, and CEO and CFO certifications for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 (the ‘Required Filings’). The Company has obtained approval from the Alberta Securities Commission to extend the Management Cease Trade Order (‘MCTO’) under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders (‘NP 12-203’) until March 15, 2026.

The additional delay in filing is attributable to the timing of certain outstanding third-party confirmations, including from an international vendor and the Company’s bank in Suriname, which were received later than anticipated. As a result, completion of the audit was deferred by approximately one week. The audit is now in its final stages, with only minor outstanding items remaining. Sranan remains in ongoing communication with its auditor to confirm any remaining documentation requirements and has committed to providing any outstanding materials promptly upon request. Sranan anticipates that the Required Filings will be completed on or before March 13, 2026. The interim first-quarter financial statements are expected to be filed within 48 hours thereafter, and in any event no later than March 15, 2026.

The Required Filings were due to be filed by January 28, 2026. In connection with the anticipated delays in making the Required Filings, the Company made an application for a Management Cease Trade Order (‘MCTO‘) under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders (‘NP 12-203‘) to the Alberta Securities Commission, as principal regulator for the Company, and the MCTO was issued on January 29, 2026. The MCTO restricts all trading by the Company’s CEO and CFO in securities of the Company, whether direct or indirect. The issuance of the MCTO does not affect the ability of persons who are not directors, officers or insiders of the Company to trade their securities. The MCTO will remain in effect until the Required Filings are filed or until it is revoked or varied.

Both the Company and its auditors are working diligently towards the completion and filing of the Required Filings, and the Company will provide additional updates.

The Company confirms that it intends to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines described in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of a news release until it meets the Required Filings requirement. The Company has not taken any steps towards any insolvency proceeding and the Company has no material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed.

For further information with respect to the MCTO, please refer to the Company’s news releases dated January 21, 2026, February 4, 2026, and February 18, 2026, available for viewing on the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

About Sranan Gold
Sranan is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Suriname. The Company’s flagship Tapanahony Project covers 29,000 hectares in one of Suriname’s most prolific artisanal gold mining districts and Sranan recently announced the acquisition of the 18,468-hectare Lawatino Project situated in southeastern Suriname along the Central Guiana Shear Zone.

For more information, please visit http://www.sranangold.com.

For further information, please contact:
Oscar Louzada, CEO
+31 6 25438975

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENT OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.

Forward-looking statements
Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute ‘forward-looking information’ and ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to Sranan and there is no assurance that the actual results will meet management’s expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as ‘anticipates,’ ‘believes,’ ‘targets,’ ‘estimates,’ ‘plans,’ ‘expects,’ ‘may,’ ‘will,’ ‘could’ or ‘would.’

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding management’s expectations about obtaining the MCTO and completing the Required Filings within the anticipated timeline. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sranan does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements or information, except as required by applicable securities laws. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company’s continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286289

News Provided by TMX Newsfile via QuoteMedia

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