Kenorland Minerals and Auranova Resources to drill South Uchi Project, Ontario

Kenorland Minerals Ltd. [TSXV: KLD; OTCQX: KLDCF; FSE: 3WQ0] reported the approval of a Phase 3 diamond drill program at the South Uchi Project, located in the Red Lake District of northwestern Ontario and held under an option agreement with Auranova Resources Inc. [TSXV: AURA].

The Spring 2026 exploration program and budget have been approved by Auranova and will include up to 3,000 metres of drilling across six drill holes at the Papaonga target area. This phase of drilling follows the successful identification of a new gold-bearing structural corridor discovered during the Phase 2 Fall 2025 drill program.

The planned drill holes are designed as large step-outs towards the west and east, testing strike extensions of the mineralised structural corridor concealed beneath deep glacial cover. Kenorland remains the operator of the Project, and drilling activities are scheduled to start by the end of March.

The upcoming drill program will consist of a series of drill fences approximately one km apart, stepping out along strike from drill holes 25PADD031 and 25PADD034, which intersected an approximately 200-metre-wide mineralized corridor characterized by strong deformation, pervasive sericite-albite-silica alteration and disseminated sulphide mineralization within mafic to felsic volcanic stratigraphy and feldspar porphyry intrusions. Within this corridor, multiple 10-metre-scale intervals contain anomalous gold values, highlighting the potential for significant mineralization.

Interpretation of regional magnetic datasets have identified the gold-bearing structure as a belt-parallel, east-west trending deformation zone, concealed beneath deep till and glaciolacustrine cover sequences. Despite limited bedrock exposure over the target area, grab samples from volcanic stratigraphy immediately north of the structural corridor returned values of up to 14.4 g/t Au, further underscoring the potential to host high-grade mineralization.

The South Uchi Project was first identified and staked by Kenorland based on the under-explored region’s prospectivity to host significant gold mineralized systems. The Project covers a portion of Confederation Assemblage volcanic rocks, as well as the boundary between the Uchi geological subprovince to the north and the English River geological subprovince to the south.

Multiple major east-west striking deformation zones associated with the subprovince boundary transect the Project, resulting in zones of strong shearing and folding of the supracrustal stratigraphy, which are favourable settings for orogenic gold mineralization. Prior to Kenorland staking the Project, records indicated little to no systematic exploration had been completed, and the land package remained under-explored.

The majority of gold deposits in the Red Lake District (Red Lake, Madsen, Hasaga, and others) are located on the northern margin of the Confederation Assemblage. However, recent discoveries such as the LP Fault Zone on the Dixie Project by Great Bear Resources Ltd. (acquired by Kinross Gold and renamed Great Bear Project) highlight the prospectivity of the entire Confederation Assemblage along the southern margin of the Uchi subprovince.

Kenorland reported December 2, 2024, that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Auranova, granting Auranova the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the project. Under the agreement, Auranova may earn an initial 51% interest in the project by making cash payments totalling $500,000 to Kenorland, completing a diamond drilling program with at least $8,000,000 in qualifying expenditures or completing 15,000 metres of drilling within two years of receiving a drill permit, issuing Kenorland 19.9% of Auranova’s common shares, and maintaining Kenorland’s 19.9% share position until Auranova raises a minimum of $10,000,000 through share issuances, after which Kenorland’s stake will remain at 10% on a pro-rata basis through to the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

Kenorland has received the $500,000 in cash payments and currently holds 9,242,267 common shares of Auranova and confirms that Auranova has now earned a 51% ownership interest in the Project. Further, Auranova may earn an additional 19% interest, for a total of 70%, by incurring an additional $10,000,000 in qualifying expenditures on or before the third anniversary of Auranova’s election to proceed with the second option. Kenorland will also retain a 30% carried interest in the Project through to the completion of the PEA, at which point a joint venture will be formed. Kenorland also holds a 2% net smelter return royalty on the project.

Kenorland’s exploration strategy is to advance greenfields projects through systematic, property-wide, phased exploration surveys financed primarily through exploration partnerships including option to joint venture agreements. Kenorland holds a 4% net smelter return royalty on the Frotet Project in Quebec, which is owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. The Frotet Project hosts the Regnault gold system, a greenfield discovery made by Kenorland and Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. in 2020, which contains an Inferred Mineral Resource of 14.5 Mt at 5.47 g/t Au for 2.55 Moz of gold.