Valiant Gold Advances Comet Underground Mine Re-entry, Sets Stage for Accelerated Production Restart

Favorable Underground Conditions Enable Potentially Faster Restart

The successful re-entry into the Comet Underground Mine has uncovered conditions surpassing Valiant Gold’s expectations, offering a positive outlook for restart activities. Teams from Valiant and Mako Mining completed a detailed initial inspection of the Comet portal and Pinnacles underground infrastructure, allowing a thorough preliminary evaluation of site conditions. Findings across multiple critical areas were notably positive, indicating the mine’s condition post-re-entry is substantially better than anticipated.

Water management was among the most encouraging results, with Pinnacles water levels significantly lower than expected and generally dry underground conditions observed. Essential services such as air, water, pipelines, ventilation, and escapeways remain largely operational, reflecting effective preservation during downtime. Importantly, pre-existing ground support was assessed as generally good, requiring only minimal rehabilitation. Collectively, these findings suggest the potential to reduce the scope and duration of certain restart activities, possibly enabling accelerated timelines.

Strategic Location and Processing Infrastructure Access at Comet Gold Project

Situated 20 kilometres southeast of Cue in Western Australia's Murchison Province, the Comet Gold Project benefits from proximity to the Tuckabianna Mill and is approximately 90 kilometres from the Bluebird Mill via the Great Northern Highway. This advantageous location provides immediate access to established processing infrastructure, a key benefit for restarting production. Valiant Gold has secured an Ore Processing Agreement with Westgold Resources to process ore through both mills, removing the need for capital-intensive on-site milling facilities.

The Comet Mine Trend includes multiple gold deposits—Eclipse, Comet, Comet North, and Pinnacles—comprising a combined mineral resource of 3.77 million tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold, totaling 304,000 ounces. This resource base offers a defined production target, while the long-section schematic details ounce per vertical metre distribution and historical mined volumes. Access to existing mills significantly lowers development complexity and capital requirements compared to greenfields projects, providing a substantial advantage for this brownfields restart.

Critical Underground Data Collection to Support Engineering and Mine Planning

The re-entry has enabled Valiant Gold to gather vital underground data supporting mine engineering, initial design, and operational planning. These data are essential to comprehensively understand current mine conditions, ground stability, and infrastructure needs ahead of restart. Information collected during inspection will be integrated into ongoing site establishment, engineering studies, and mine planning, forming the technical foundation for the restart strategy.

Ongoing mine engineering and technical studies are underway to develop an initial Life of Mine design and operational timeline. Concurrently, Mako Mining’s site establishment and dewatering activities at Comet are progressing rapidly. The positive re-entry findings will inform these studies, with potential options to accelerate the restart timeline under evaluation. The company will update the market as these efforts advance, keeping investors informed on progress toward production. Additionally, awarding a full underground mining contract for Comet Mine is anticipated as a forthcoming milestone.

Company Overview and Asset Portfolio Post-Demerger

Valiant Gold is an emerging gold producer in Western Australia focused on unlocking value from established brownfields assets in the Murchison Province. The company was spun off from Westgold Resources Limited, acquiring 100% ownership of the Reedy and Comet gold projects. These brownfields assets have historical production records and existing infrastructure, contrasting with early-stage greenfields exploration. Combined historical production from both projects exceeds 1 million ounces, demonstrating operational feasibility.

The company’s combined mineral resource estimate totals 1.2 million ounces across Reedy and Comet, providing a strong exploration and development foundation. With Mining Leases already secured, Valiant Gold has a near-term production pathway without lengthy permitting. The Ore Processing Agreement with Westgold Resources offers immediate processing capacity, eliminating major capital expenditure on milling. The company’s focus on restart and resource growth positions it well for advancing its next development phase leveraging these proven assets.

Accelerated Site Establishment and Dewatering Efforts

Mako Mining Pty Ltd is actively conducting site establishment and dewatering at Comet, with these critical activities accelerating as production restart progresses. Dewatering, a standard underground mining requirement, may proceed faster due to the lower-than-expected water levels discovered. These parallel initiatives demonstrate management’s commitment to advancing the restart timeline efficiently.

The successful re-entry clarified dewatering needs and the condition of existing infrastructure, informing the scope and schedule for these tasks. Site establishment includes workforce mobilisation, safety protocols, equipment deployment, and infrastructure readiness. By executing these alongside engineering and planning, Valiant Gold maximizes restart preparation efficiency. Management is evaluating further acceleration options to bring production forward beyond current plans.

Timeline Reassessment and Restart Acceleration Options

Prompted by positive re-entry results, Valiant Gold is actively reviewing opportunities to expedite the mine restart timeline. Superior underground conditions, including infrastructure and ground support, plus reduced water levels, may allow compression of scheduled restart activities. This reassessment spans site establishment, dewatering, engineering, mine planning, and technical studies, with safety and operational integrity remaining priorities.

Management expressed confidence in the restart pathway, highlighting positive initial observations regarding water levels, ground support, and infrastructure. Findings may reduce the scope and duration of certain activities, suggesting a smaller restart scope than initially anticipated. The imminent award of a full underground mining contract represents another near-term milestone enabling active underground operations post-preparations. Investors will watch for announcements on the mining services provider and any updated production timeline guidance.

Defined Mineral Resource and Production Objective

The Comet Gold Project’s mineral resource estimate stands at 3.77 million tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold, equivalent to 304,000 ounces. This resource underpins the company’s production target and Life of Mine design currently in development. The mineral resource spans multiple deposits within the Comet Mine Trend—Comet, Eclipse, Comet North, and Pinnacles—offering operational flexibility and geological diversity for production planning.

Valiant Gold refers to its Prospectus dated 16 February 2026, amended by the Supplementary Prospectus dated 20 February 2026, for detailed mineral resource information. The company confirms no new data materially affects the estimates and that all assumptions and technical parameters remain valid. The long-section schematic illustrates mineral resource inventory with ounce per vertical metre breakdown and historical mined volumes, providing geological context and demonstrating prior successful extraction, which reduces geological uncertainty.

Engineering Studies Advancing Life of Mine Design

Ongoing mine engineering and technical studies are shaping the initial Life of Mine design and operational restart timeline. These critical efforts translate geological data into a practical mining plan. Data from the re-entry directly informs these studies, providing current insights into mine conditions, infrastructure status, and ground support needs for engineering design.

The Life of Mine design will define mining sequence, extraction methods, ore scheduling, and production rates. It will consider mineral resource geology, infrastructure condition, surface facility availability, and processing capacity via the Ore Processing Agreement with Westgold Resources. As studies progress, the company will refine the timeline to production, enabling clearer investor guidance on mining commencement. Completing these studies marks a key milestone toward finalizing the restart plan and initiating mining operations.

Upcoming Underground Mining Contract and Operational Rollout

Awarding a full underground mining contract for Comet Mine is a forthcoming milestone in Valiant Gold’s restart plan. This contract will establish operational parameters, including responsibilities, equipment, workforce, and safety protocols for underground mining. Selecting a qualified contractor is essential for safe, efficient, and productive operations.

Contract execution will transition the project from exploration and re-entry into active mining preparation and commencement. Such contracts typically cover ore extraction, waste handling, ground support, and infrastructure maintenance. The contract timing will provide investors with a clear milestone on progress toward production. Once awarded and mobilisation begins, systematic ore extraction will commence, with production ramping up to steady-state operations.