Victoria Gold: Eagle Gold Mine Updated Technical Report

“We are pleased to provide a mine plan update that confirms strong production growth at the Eagle Gold Mine”, stated John McConnell, President and CEO. “This increased production is achievable utilizing our existing crushing and conveying circuit and mining fleet. The Eagle orebody continues to reconcile extremely well with our reserve model and gold production is in line with original recovery expectations. We have also seen a significant increase in mineral resources with the success of our recent exploration drilling, substantiating the operation’s long-term production profile and mine life.”

The Company uses certain non-IFRS performance measures throughout this news release. Please refer to the “Non-IFRS Performance Measures” section of this new release for more information. All currency figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

A supporting NI 43-101 Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com within 45 days of this press release.

Summary of 2023 Updated Life of Mine Plan:

The updated mine plan considers cost and operating data from the last three years of operations at the Eagle Gold Mine. Optimizations incorporated into this 2023 Eagle Technical Report include year-round stacking on the heap leach facility (“HLF”), stockpiling of lower grade material for end of mine life processing, and utilization of a mobile crusher to supplement and increase production rates. Key highlights of the updated plan are:

• After-tax net present value (“NPV”) at a 5% discount of $954 million ($1,257 million pre-tax), at US$1,700 per ounce of gold and a US$:C$ exchange rate of 0.75.
• Average gold production of 202,000 ounces per year over the first 8 years, with peak production of 219,000 gold ounces in 2025.
• Average free cash flow (“FCF”) of $166 million per year for the first 8 years with a total of $1,602 million of FCF over the LOM.
• Total gold production of 2,048,000 ounces over a mine life of 12 years. This total does not include gold production prior to 31 December 2022.
• LOM All-in Sustaining Cost (“AISC”) of US$1,114 per ounce of gold providing significant operating and profit margins at current gold prices.
• Throughput increase to steady-state level of 11.5 million tonnes processed per annum during 2025.
• Industry leading strip ratio of 0.99.
• Total Proven and Probable Reserves, as at December 31, 2022, of 124 million tonnes at 0.65 grams of gold per tonne for 2,584,000 contained gold ounces.
• Total Mineral Resources, as at December 31, 2022, of 245 million tonnes at 0.59 grams of gold per tonne for 4,665,000 gold ounces in the Measured and Indicated category. An additional 36 million tonnes at 0.63 grams of gold per tonne for 704,000 gold ounces are included in the Inferred category.

Updated Mineral Resource Estimate:

Since the 2019 Eagle Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”), an additional 35 drill holes were drilled proximal to the Eagle deposit for a total of 16,885 meters. The primary focus of this drilling was to test for mineralization extensions of the Eagle deposit to the west. A portion of these holes were also drilled within the existing deposit to test for mineralization at depth. Both the extension and depth drilling achieved positive results and were utilized in the updated MRE. The Eagle deposit remains open both to the Southwest and at depth.

In addition, an updated Olive MRE was prepared utilizing drilling completed since the 2016 Feasibility Study (“FS”). The 2019 Olive MRE was the same as the 2016 Olive FS MRE. 92 additional drill holes and 19 surface trenches were included in the updated Olive MRE.

The Company’s updated Eagle MRE gold ounces have increased by 17% in the Measured and Indicated category, and 38% in the Inferred category over the 2019 Eagle MRE, after depletion through December 31, 2022. The updated Olive MRE gold ounces have increased by 10% in the Measured and Indicated category and decreased by 1% in the Inferred category. The total Measured and Indicated resources have increased to 4,665,000 ounces, with an additional 704,000 ounces in the Inferred category. The new Eagle MRE represents an additional 629,000 ounces of Measured and Indicated and 136,000 ounces of Inferred over the 2019 Eagle MRE with most ounces coming from expansion of the resource beyond the 2019 MRE pit shell.

Further information is attached

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Except for statements of historical fact relating to Victoria, information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information, including any information related to the intended use of proceeds from the Term Facility and the Revolving Credit Facility, the amended terms and conditions of the Loan Facility, and Victoria’s strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “budget”, “target”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may”, “will”, “could” or “should” occur, and includes any guidance and forecasts set out herein (including, but not limited to, production and operational guidance of the Corporation). In order to give such forward-looking information, the Corporation has made certain assumptions about its business, operations, the economy and the mineral exploration industry in general, in particular in light of the impact of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease (“COVID-19”) on each of the foregoing. In this respect, the Corporation has assumed that production levels will remain consistent with management’s expectations, contracted parties provide goods and services on agreed timeframes, equipment works as anticipated, required regulatory approvals are received, no unusual geological or technical problems occur, no material adverse change in the price of gold occurs and no significant events occur outside of the Corporation’s normal course of business. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information. These factors include the impact of general business and economic conditions, risks related to COVID-19 on the Company, global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions, anticipated metal production, fluctuating metal prices, currency exchange rates, estimated ore grades, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in Victoria’s corporate resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, changes in development and production time frames, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainty of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, final pricing for metal sales, unanticipated results of future studies, seasonality and unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, requirements for additional capital, permitting time lines, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage and timing and possible outcomes of pending litigation and labour disputes, risks related to remote operations and the availability of adequate infrastructure, fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for mining operations. Although Victoria has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding Victoria’s expected financial and operational performance and Victoria’s plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. All forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof, as the case may be, and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management of the Corporation as at the date hereof. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information contained herein and the documents incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.