Nord Initiates MECP Pre-Submission Consultation for Gowganda Silver Tailings Recovery Program
Cobalt, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 5, 2026) - Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH) (OTCQB: NPMMF) (FSE: QN3) ("Nord" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has initiated pre-submission consultation with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks ("MECP") regarding the environmental permissions that may be required for its silver tailings recovery program in the Gowganda Silver Camp, Ontario.
On July 21, 2026, the Company's technical team met with MECP's North Bay District Office and Northern Region Technical Support Section to review project information and identify the materials expected to support future environmental submissions alongside the Company's planned Mineral Recovery Permit application under Ontario Regulation 463/24 (Part VII of the Mining Act).
The engagement advances the Company's build-out. Over the past six months, Nord expanded capacity: the March 31, 2026 acquisition of four mining leases consolidated the historical silver tailings and the most productive past-producing ground in the Gowganda Camp, complementing TTL Laboratories, the only permitted high-grade milling facility in the historic Cobalt Camp. Capacity alone does not produce ounces. The Company has therefore expanded capability in step: a dedicated permit team, specialist consultants, and defined contacts and workstreams with Ontario's regulators.
Management Commentary
"It is not enough to expand capacity; you must expand capability," stated Frank J. Basa, P.Eng., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nord. "Six months ago we consolidated the ground, the tailings, and the only permitted high-grade mill in the camp. Now we have built the team and opened the regulatory channel to convert that capacity into production: one window at each ministry, one accountable coordinator on our side, and a defined set of studies on a single schedule. The tailings get stabilized, the erosion stops, and the metals pay for the cleanup."
"The Ministry told us what it needs first: a project description, a site plan, a preliminary water balance, and the baseline characterization program. Each workstream has an assigned owner and each is in motion," said Alex Kuhnert, P.Eng., Owner's Representative. "The sequencing is the job, and the sequence is set."
From Capacity to Capability: Team, Permitting Pathway, and Work Program
The expanded capability is embodied in the team engaged with the ministries:
Frank J. Basa, P.Eng., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, provides metallurgical and Qualified Person oversight of the program.
Alex Kuhnert, P.Eng., Owner's Representative (President, ERNESCO Technical & Advisory Services Inc.), is the single accountable coordinator of Nord's retained consultants and the Company's point of continuity with both ministries. His career spans industrial water treatment with Nalco, minerals processing technology with FLSmidth, and technical services with Bureau Veritas.
T Engineering Inc. (retained April 8, 2026), led on the file by Principal Bernie Ting, P.Eng., is responsible for process and mechanical engineering, including the preliminary process flow sheet presented to MECP at the July 21 session and the preliminary site water and mass balance now in preparation.
Okane Consultants, an internationally recognized specialist in mine-waste geochemistry and geotechnical services, leads geotechnical and geochemical characterization, including metal leaching/acid rock drainage ("ML/ARD") assessment, through senior geochemist Hannah Balkwill Tweedie, M.Sc., P.Geo.
GeoVector Management Inc. is preparing the updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the Gowganda property.
Pathway Group leads government and stakeholder relations through Bill Mauro, a former Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, and Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Al MacDermid, a former senior policy advisor in Northern Development and Mines, coordinating the Company's engagement across both ministries.
Ontario's Recovery of Minerals regime under Ontario Regulation 463/24, in force since July 2025, was established to streamline and accelerate the recovery of minerals from historical tailings while advancing the remediation of legacy mine sites. As previously reported by the Company, the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") has provided an advanced application template and outlined an approximately 80-day review pathway for a complete Recovery Permit application, and the first permit under the framework was issued in February 2026 to STLLR Gold Inc.'s Hollinger Tailings Project in Timmins. The environmental track runs in parallel: at the July 21 session, MECP designated a district contact to coordinate its technical specialists and advised that, depending on final design, the project may require a site-specific Environmental Compliance Approval for sewage works and a Permit to Take Water for processing-related water takings. Baseline characterization is intended to support submissions to both ministries and reduce duplication across permitting processes, while records of consultation with Indigenous communities will form part of the Company's submissions.
In written follow-up received July 22, 2026, MECP confirmed the consultation framework and requested a single consolidated submission covering a concise project description, site maps, available baseline data, anticipated water requirements, timelines, land information and Indigenous consultation. The Company's package will include the preliminary site water and mass balance and the geochemical recommendations memorandum now in preparation, and a district staff site visit will be scheduled once availability is confirmed.
The first phase contemplates on-site physical separation of historical silver-cobalt tailings through modular gravity concentration, with flotation retained as an option subject to technical and regulatory review, producing a silver-bearing mineral concentrate and a cleaned tailings fraction potentially suitable for engineered backfill while maximizing process-water recycling. The material was mined approximately a century ago and remains at surface; its recovery requires no blasting, hoisting or underground development. The processing installation is contemplated as modular and mobile, with closed-loop water handling, no poured concrete and the capability for redeployment across the Company's district tailings holdings. Over the longer term, the Company may evaluate third-party tailings sources, with any such opportunity subject to land access, commercial arrangements, permit scope and all required environmental approvals. Subsequent downstream metals recovery is contemplated under a separate corporate and commercial structure and is being advanced separately.
Figure 1. Gowganda silver tailings, Gowganda Silver Camp, Ontario.
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Figure 2. Gowganda silver tailings deposit, Ontario.
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Near-Term Silver Production to Unlock District-Scale Value
The tailings recovery program anchors the Company's strategy of advancing near-term silver production to unlock district-scale value, on a defined milestone pathway: an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the Gowganda property, being prepared by GeoVector Management Inc. and expected in the second half of 2026; reprocessing economics; permitting; commissioning of the modular recovery circuit; and evaluation of repeat deployment. Recovery from above-ground tailings offers a lower-capital, lower-risk route to first production than new mine development. Subject to successful technical work, demonstrated economics and receipt of all required approvals, cash flow from tailings recovery is intended to fund district-scale exploration and reduce reliance on repeated equity financing. A fully funded 5,000-metre phase is underway at Castle East within the broader planned 30,000-metre program, alongside the systematic advancement of the Company's previously reported gold occurrences and exploration targets across Castle-Gowganda (see the Company's July 13, 2026 news release).
Any previously reported figures for the Gowganda tailings constitute historical estimates only. A qualified person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources, and the Company is not treating them as current mineral resources.
Cautionary Note
The Company's Mineral Recovery Permit application under Ontario Regulation 463/24 remains a future step, and its scope, timing, and approval are subject to regulatory processes and to the completion of the supporting technical work. Pre-submission consultation with MECP, the assignment of a ministry contact, and a proposed site visit do not constitute approval of any application by any ministry. The approximately 80-day pathway previously described by MEM relates to the review of a complete Recovery Permit application and does not govern separate MECP approvals. No assurance can be given that any permit or approval will be obtained on any particular timeline, or at all.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Frank J. Basa, P.Eng. (PEO), director of Nord Precious Metals, a Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.
About Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.
Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH) is a silver exploration and development company focused on advancing the Gowganda Silver Tailings Project in Ontario into near-term production. The Company expects to complete a mineral resource estimate for the Project, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, within the next six months, followed by a technical report on the economics of reprocessing. Nord then intends to finance development of the tailings project on the strength of that study, with cash flow from reprocessing intended to fund exploration across its district-scale, high-grade silver projects, which have the potential for a significant impact on the value of the Company.
Nord's production strategy is anchored by existing infrastructure. The Company operates TTL Laboratories, the only permitted high-grade milling facility in Ontario's historic Cobalt Camp, establishing an integrated position that connects the recovery of historical tailings and high-grade silver exploration with existing processing capacity.
The Company's 63 sq. km flagship Castle property, including 225 hectares of leases, hosts three of the five most productive past-producing silver mines in the Gowganda Camp (Siscoe-O'Brien, Castle and Millerett) along with the Castle East discovery. Castle East hosts a historical estimate reported in 2020 as an Inferred Mineral Resource of 7.56 million ounces of silver grading 8,582 g/t Ag (250.2 oz/ton) in 27,400 tonnes across two sections (1A and 1B) of the Robinson Zone, beginning at a vertical depth of approximately 400 metres (NI 43-101 Technical Report, effective May 28, 2020).
The Company considers the estimate reliable for historical-context purposes because it was prepared by an independent Qualified Person from drill data the author considered suitable, and relevant because it informs ongoing Castle East exploration. Key parameters included a 1.3-metre minimum horizontal width including dilution, uncapped 0.5-metre composites, 1-metre cubic blocks, 3.4 t/m3 specific gravity and two-pass inverse-distance-squared interpolation within search ellipsoids. It was reported in situ without mining dilution at a US$125 mineable-shape cut-off (258 g/t AgEq), including mining, shipping and smelting costs and 95% recovery.
The Inferred Mineral Resource category is directly comparable to the category of the same name under current CIM Definition Standards; no non-CIM category was used. No more recent mineral resource estimate exists. The independent technical report effective December 3, 2025 reviewed subsequent data but reported no current mineral resource estimate, and later drilling remains unincorporated. Verification or upgrading requires Qualified Person validation of the drill, QA/QC and geological data; further drilling and analytical work as required; specific-gravity work; updated assumptions; geological modelling; and a new NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and the Company is not treating it as a current mineral resource.
Nord's integrated processing strategy is intended to support multiple metal-recovery streams. The Re-2Ox hydrometallurgical process, validated at pilot scale through SGS Lakefield, is designed to address arsenic in complex silver-cobalt ores while producing technical-grade cobalt sulphate and other metal products. Together with TTL Laboratories and underground mine access, this approach positions Nord within Ontario's emerging critical-minerals supply chain.
More information is available at www.nordpreciousmetals.com
For further information please contact:
Frank J. Basa, P.Eng.
Chief Executive Officer
416-625-2342
or
Wayne Cheveldayoff
Corporate Communications
P: 416-710-2410
E: [email protected]
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur.
Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding: the conduct, scope, and outcomes of pre-submission consultation with MECP and of coordinated review with MEM; the scope, phasing, sequencing, and timing of the Company's Mineral Recovery Permit application under Ontario Regulation 463/24 and of any associated environmental approvals, including any Environmental Compliance Approval or Permit to Take Water; the role of the Owner's Representative and the coordination of the Company's retained consultants; the anticipated deliverables described in this news release, including the consolidated submission package, preliminary water and mass balance, geochemical recommendations memorandum, and site visit; the contemplated gravity concentration work program and its expected products, including a cleaned tailings fraction potentially suitable for engineered backfill and a silver-bearing concentrate; the contemplated design and potential redeployment of the processing installation; the potential evaluation of third-party tailings sources; the contemplated separate structure for downstream metals recovery; the intended application and potential outputs of the Re-2Ox process; the Company's strategy of advancing near-term silver production to unlock district-scale value and the milestone pathway described in this news release; the intended use of cash flow from tailings recovery to fund exploration and reduce reliance on equity financing; the Company's drilling program and the advancement of exploration targets, including near-surface opportunities; the timing and outcome of the updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate being prepared by GeoVector Management Inc.; and consultation processes with Indigenous communities. There can be no assurance that the permit application will be submitted or approved on the timeline anticipated, or at all.
Although the Company believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by their nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with: general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategies; competition; the ability of the Company to obtain and retain all applicable regulatory and other approvals; commodity price fluctuations; and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties.
THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.
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.
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Source: Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.