Lundin Gold Reports Further High Grade Results at FDNS Including 91.3 g/t over 20.65 Metres and Expands the Mineralized Footprint at FDN East
NEWS RELEASE
Vancouver, February 18, 2026
Lundin Gold Inc. Suite 2800, Four Bentall Centre Phone: +1 604 689 7842 lundingold.com
1055 Dunsmuir Street Fax: +1 604 689 4250 Email: [email protected]
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V7X 1L2
Lundin Gold Reports Further High Grade Results at FDNS Including 91.3
g/t over 20.65 Metres and Expands the Mineralized Footprint at FDN
East
Lundin Gold Inc. (TSX: LUG) (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUG) (OTCQX: LUGDF) (“Lundin Gold” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce additional strong results from its ongoing conversion and near mine
exploration drilling programs at the Fruta del Norte (“FDN”) gold mine in southeast Ecuador. Following
the declaration of inaugural Mineral Reserves at Fruta del Norte South (“FDNS”), continued drilling has
further confirmed and expanded high grade mineralization within the deposit . At FDN East, where the
Company recently announced its inaugural Mineral Resource, ongoing drilling has identified new high
grade mineralized veins that extend the known footprint from 500 to 650 metres and highlight meaningful
untapped potential.
Highlights
• FDNS Conversion Drilling : Drill results confirm gold mineralization with several outstanding
intercepts and delineate wide, high grade zones within the mineral envelope supporting further
Mineral Reserve expansion potential at FDNS.
• FDNS Exploration Drilling: Drilling returned exceptional results outside the Mineral Resource
envelope, discovering additional mineralized veins for further investigation in the southern sector
and along the northern extension of the deposit, highlighting the growth potential of this mineral
system.
• FDN East: Newly discovered mineralized veins extend the known footprint by approximately 150
metres beyond the inaugural Mineral Resource, validating the Company’s geological
interpretation of a much broader mineralized trend potentially extending under cover toward the
Sandia porphyry.
Jamie Beck, President and CEO, commented , “These results continue to demonstrate the strength and
scale of the Fruta del Norte epithermal gold mineral system. Conversion drilling at FDNS is delivering wide,
high grade intervals that strongly support future Mineral Reserve growth, while ongoing exploration
drilling has discovered new veins that potentially extend the deposit to the north and south beyond the
currently defined limits. At FDN East, results support our interpretation of a potential broader mineralized
trend that may extend up to a kilometre toward the Sandia porphyry. Collectively, these results highlight
the exceptional growth pipeline at Fruta del Norte.”
FDNS Conversion Program Drilling Highlights (not true widths):
• Drill hole FDN-C25-323 intersected 92.37 grams per tonne (“g/t”) of gold (“Au”) over 4.55m from
75.85m, including:
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o 1,010 g/t Au over 0.40m
• Drill hole FDN-C25-365 intersected 41.23 g/t Au over 8.40m from 12.05m, including:
o 131.86 g/t Au over 2.35m
• Drill hole FDN-C25-364 intersected 30.82 g/t Au over 8.30m from 35.60m, including:
o 67.53 g/t Au over 3.45m
• Drill hole FDN-C25-359 intersected 98.06 g/t Au over 5.80m from 28.45m, including:
o 405.08 g/t Au over 1.20m
FDNS Exploration Program Drilling Highlights (not true widths):
• Drill hole UGE-S-25-384 intersected 91.32 g/t Au over 20.65m from 91.75m, including:
o 405.57 g/t Au over 2.80m
• Drill hole UGE-S-25-395 intersected 18.44 g/t Au over 3.40m from 226.20m, including:
o 59.0 g/t Au over 1.0m
FDN East Exploration Program Drilling Highlights (not true widths):
• Drill hole UGE-E-25-401 intersected 12.75 g/t Au over 7.45m from 479.50m including:
o 47.67 g/t Au over 1.80m (Far eastern FDN East extension)
• Drill hole UGE-E-25-361 intersected 42.41 g/t Au over 2.10m from 137.40m, including:
o 220.00 g/t Au over 0.40m
DRILLING PROGRAMS
Lundin Gold’s near -mine exploration strategy is focused on extending mine life by discovering and
delineating new mineralized zones close to FDN’s operations. These efforts have contributed to significant
Mineral Reserve additions since the start of commercial production.
In 2025, the Company completed over 121,519 metres of drilling across 383 holes. In 2026, the program
is planned to expand to at least 133,000 metres, with 17 rigs now active across conversion and near-mine
exploration programs, the largest drilling campaign ever on the FDN land package.
FDNS
In 2025, conversion drilling successfully advanced in the central portion of the deposit, where the
Company recently declared an inaugural Mineral Reserve of 0.54 million ounces (“ Moz”) (2.50 million
tonnes (“Mt”) at 6.66 g/t Au) approximately 18 months after its discovery. Further information, including
the 2025 Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource statement, is available in the Company’s news release
dated February 17, 2026.
Conversion drilling in 2026 aims to continue to convert Inferred Resources to the Indicated category and
support further Reserve additions. Several results to date have confirmed mineralization in distinct areas,
including wide high grade zones in holes FDN-C25-365 (41.23 g/t Au over 8.40m) and FDN-C25-364 (30.82
g/t Au over 8.30m), within the central portion of FDNS.
Exploration drilling at FDNS has focused on its Northern and Southern Extensions. The exploratory hole
UGE-S-25-395 (15.32 g/t Au over 3.70m; 18.44 g/t over 3.40m ; 11.08 g/t Au over 3.55m) intercepted
several mineralized veins and indicated areas for further expansion to the North . To the south,
exploratory hole UGE-S25-384 (91.32 g/t Au over 20.65m ) delivered a remarkable intercept, indicating
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the presence of additional veins that warrant follow-up drilling. Two rigs are currently active at FDNS, and
full assay results are provided in Table 1.
FDN EAST
The FDN East deposit is a buried epithermal system made up of multiple subparallel north–south-trending
veins located approximately 100 metres east of FDN’s existing underground infrastructure . Drilling in
2025 outlined a 500 metre strike length and supported an initial Mineral Resource of 0.42 Moz Au (2.17
Mt at 6.01 g/t Au). For further details refer to the Company’s news release dated February 17, 2026. The
deposit remains completely open.
Of note, the exploratory hole UGE-E-25-401 (12.89 g/t Au over 5.45 m and 12.75 g/t Au over 7.45 m)
discovered new mineralized veins located farther east, confirming mineralization continues
approximately 150 metres east of the initial Mineral Resource. Drill hole UGE-E-25-422, which intersected
typical epithermal hydrothermal alteration with brecciated quartz –chalcedony veining containing visible
gold, further confirms the downdip extension of this newly identified zone (Figures 3 and 4). Assay results
for UGE-E-25-422 are still pending.
These recently completed exploration holes support the Company’s geological interpretation that
favourable host rocks present at FDN and FDN East continue beneath the sedimentary cover for
approximately an additional one kilometre to the east. This interpretation is reinforced by the results of
the recently acquired 2D active seismic survey (Figure 4) . The potential mineralized trend identified
beneath this cover remains entirely untested and represents a significant area for future discovery around
FDN. Additional step-out drill holes are currently being planned. Two underground rigs are turning at
FDN East, and a surface rig is scheduled for mobilization to the area.
Figure 1: Map showing FDN deposit and FDNS selected drilling results
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Figure 2: Map showing FDN and FDNS deposit with selected FDNS conversion and exploration drilling
results
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Figure 3: Map showing FDN, FDNS, FDN East and the location of the newly intercepted veins with
selected FDN East drilling results
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Figure 4: 2D active seismic survey cross section showing FDN East deposit with selected FDN East drilling
results and new drill results along the east extension
Qualified Persons and Technical Notes
The technical information contained in this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Andre
Oliveira, P. Geo, Vice President, Exploration of the Company, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with
the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Samples consist of half HQ and NQ -size diamond core that are split by diamond saw on site, prepared at
the ALS laboratory in Quito, and analy zed by 50g fire assay and multi -element (ICP-AES/ICP-MS) at the
ALS Laboratory in Lima, Peru . The quality assurance -quality control (QA -QC) program of Lundin Gold
includes the insertion of certified standards of known gold content, blank and duplicate samples . The
remaining half core is retained for verification and reference purposes . For further information on the
assay, QA-QC, and data verification procedures, please see Lundin Gold’s AIF.
About Lundin Gold
Lundin Gold, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, owns the Fruta del Norte gold mine in southeast Ecuador.
Fruta del Norte is among the highest-grade operating gold mines in the world.
The Company's board and management team have extensive expertise and are dedicated to operating Fruta
del Norte responsibly. The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best
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practices. Lundin Gold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders through operational excellence
and growth, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities, fostering
a healthy and safe workplace and minimizing the environmental impact. Furthermore, Lundin Gold is focused
on continued exploration on its extensive and highly prospective land package to identify and develop new
resource opportunities to ensure long-term sustainability and growth for the Company and its stakeholders.
Additional Information
The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Lundin Gold under the EU
Market Abuse Regulation. This information was publicly communicated on February 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Pacific Time through the contact persons set out below.
For more information, please contact
Brendan Creaney
Vice President, Corporate
Development & Investor Relations
Tel: +1-604-376-4595
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements
Certain of the information and statements in this press release are considered "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking
statements" as those terms are defined under Canadian securities laws (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements").
Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections,
objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes",
"anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes",
or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will ",
"should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forwa rd-
looking statements. By their nature, forward -looking statements and information involve assumptions, inherent risks, and
uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict, and are usually beyond the control of management, that could cause actual
results to be materially different from those expressed by these forward -looking statements and information . Lundin
Gold believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given
that these expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. This information
speaks only as of the date of this press release, and the Company will not necessarily update this information, unless required to
do so by securities laws.
This press release contains forward-looking information in a number of places, such as in statements relating to the Company’s
exploration plans, activities and results and its plans to update its estimates of Mineral Reserves and Resources. There can be no
assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as Lundin Gold's actual results and future events could differ materially
from those anticipated in this forward -looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section
in Lundin Gold's Annual Information Form dated March 17, 2025.
Lundin Gold's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated . Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from any forward-looking statement or that could have a material impact on the Company or the trading price of its
shares include: instability in Ecuador; community relations; reliability of power supply; tax changes in Ecuador; security;
availability of workforce and labour relations; mining operations; waste disposal and tailings; environmental compliance; illegal
mining; Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates; infras tructure; regulatory risk; government or regulatory approvals;
forecasts relating to production and costs; gold price; dependence on a single mine; shortages of critical resources; climate
change; exploration and development; control of Lundin Gold; divide nds; information systems and cyber security; title matters
and surface rights and access; health and safety; human rights; employee misconduct; measures to protect biodiversity,
endangered species and critical habitats; global economic conditions; competit ion for new projects; key talent recruitment and
retention; market price of the Company’s shares; social media and reputation; insurance and uninsured risks; pandemics,
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epidemics or infectious disease outbreak; conflicts of interest; violation of anti -bribery and corruption laws; internal controls;
claims and legal proceedings; and reclamation obligations.