Unigold Receives Overwhelming Community Support - Accelerates Development of the Candelones Deposits in the Dominican Republic
Unigold Receives Overwhelming Community
Support - Accelerates Development of the
Candelones Deposits in the Dominican
Republic
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2026) - Unigold Inc. (TSXV: UGD) (OTC Pink: UGDIF)
(FSE: UGB1) ("Unigold" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the status of the
Candelones deposits in the Dominican Republic.
Unigold completed a bankable feasibility study in late
2022 on the oxide deposits at the Candelones site in northwestern Dominican Republic.
The study, done
using a US$1650 gold price assumption, showed a 44% after-tax IRR and a 1.5 year payback (for
complete results, please see
PR2022-12
and
NI43-101 Technical report dated October 7 2022
available on our website).
The Oxide Reserves comprise less than 10% of the available M&I Resources
on the property.
Stakeholder Engagement and Community Feedback shows overwhelming support for
Environmental Studies
Unigold has maintained a fully-staffed Community Information Office in the local communities for many
years.
The Company completed a stakeholder survey in 2020 prior to commencing the Oxide Project
Feasibility Study.
A new outreach program was completed in February 2026 to provide information prior
to commencing a full Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA").
The survey asked a series
of questions of stakeholders in order to gauge the degree of public support for the Candelones project.
Preliminary results show overwhelming support (greater than 70%) for the acceleration of
environmental
studies and full community consultations.
A similar portion of respondents indicated that they felt the
project should proceed if the results of the environmental and social impact assessments are positive.
Most people in the remote local communities are interested in the employment and economic spin-off
opportunities as well as potential infrastructure improvements in terms of transportation, utilities, health
and education.
The communities expressed concerns regarding water quality, surface impacts and
benefit sharing agreements.
This study gives the Company the framework for future Community
Engagement programs and helps us design benefit sharing agreements that will provide the highest
impact to local communities.
Unigold intends to immediately move forward with an ESIA
Unigold completed baseline environmental work in 2022 as part of the feasibility study and now has over
5 years of baseline data available to use in its consultation and design work.
The full environmental
baseline report is substantially complete.
The Company has been awaiting the granting of the Terms-of-
Reference ("ToR") by the Dominican Government authorities prior to completing the ESIA report and
scheduling further stakeholder consultations.
Unigold has been notified by the Ministry of the
Environment and Natural Resources, the Approval Authority for all environmental reviews, that its has
finished its project review and that a site visit with their teams will be held on March 3, 2026.
The site visit
is the final step before the delivery of the ToR.
The Company is confident that it will be able to table an
initial ESIA study towards the end of Q2 2026 and will immediately start to schedule stakeholder
meetings for consultation during this process.
Unigold estimates that the ESIA consultation and approval process will take approximately 12 months to
complete.
In parallel with the stakeholder engagement process, the Company will commence detailed
engineering for the 100,000 oz Oxide Project in order to be in a position to commence construction
immediately following approval of the ESIA.
This work will ensure that long-lead time items are available
and that supply-chain logistics are well understood prior to starting construction and development. The
construction period is estimated to be 8 to 14 months.
Joseph Hamilton P.Geo., CEO of Unigold has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.
For further information please visit
http://www.unigoldinc.com
or contact:
Mr. Joseph Hamilton
Chairman & CEO
T. (416) 866-8157
About Unigold Inc. - Discovering Gold in the Caribbean
Unigold is a Canadian based mineral exploration company traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under
the symbol UGD and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol UGB1.
The multi-million ounce
Candelones gold deposits are within the 100% owned "Neita Sur"
concession located in Dajabón
province, in the northwest part of the Dominican Republic.
This 9,990 Ha concession has moved
smoothly through various permitting stages and now awaits the granting of an Exploitation Concession.
The application rests with the President's office for final approval.
The Company delivered a feasibility
study for the oxide portion of the Candelones deposit in Q4 of 2022. The 10,902 Ha "Neita Norte"
Exploration Concession was awarded to the Company in Q2 2023.
In early 2024 Unigold completed an
earn-in agreement with Barrick Gold which allows Barrick to earn up to a 60% interest in the Neita Norte
concession by spending a minimum of $12 million over an eight year period and delivering a Pre-
feasibility Study on an identified deposit.
Barrick can earn a further 20% in the Neita Norte concession
by electing to sole-fund a feasibility study within the following 4 years.
The two concessions together form
the largest single exposure of the volcanic rocks of the Cretaceous Tireo Formation.
This island arc
terrain is host to Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide deposits, Intermediate and High Sulphidation
Epithermal Systems and Copper-gold porphyry systems.
Unigold has identified over 20 areas within the
concession areas that host surface expressions of gold systems.
Unigold has been concentrating on the
multimillion ounce Candelones mineralization and is moving to bring these deposits into production.
Unigold has been active in the Dominican Republic since 2002 and continues to receive strong support
from the local communities for its exploration and development activities.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this document, including statements regarding events and financial
trends that may affect our future operating results, financial position, rates of return, and cash flows,
may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These
statements are based on our assumptions and estimates and are subject to risk and uncertainties.
You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words like "estimate", "strategy",
"expects", "plans", "believes", "will", "estimated", "intends", "projects", "goals", "targets", and other
words of similar meaning. You can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to
historical or current facts. We wish to caution you that such statements contained are just predictions
or opinions and that actual events or results may differ materially. The forward-looking statements
contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update the
forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. Where applicable, we claim the protection of the
safe harbour for forward-looking statements provided by the (United States) Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Neither 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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/285626