Gold Explorer Hits High-Grade Gold in Newfoundland District

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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Pirate Gold Corp. (YARR.TSX.V) has reported new exploration results from the Moosehead zone at its Treasure Island project in central Newfoundland, according to an August 28 release.

The project spans more than 90 kilometers of strike along the Valentine Lake fault zone in what has emerged as Canada's newest gold district.

Hole PGC-26-112, drilled near the southern end of the Eastern trend, intersected high-grade gold at an approximate vertical depth of 20 meters, returning 30.6 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 1.35 meters, including 89.7 g/t Au over 0.4 meters.

At the Western trend, PGC-26-087 tested an area 45 meters downplunge from the interpreted junction of the north-south trending Western Trend and the east-west trending Rib vein. The hole intersected 4.25 g/t Au over 6.65 meters, including 40.8 g/t Au over 0.5 meters.

Shallow drilling has now established strong gold grades along more than 500 meters of the Western trend and down to 140 meters. Surface trenching completed in 2024 exposed the interpreted junction between the Western trend and Rib vein, with channel samples grading 22.6 g/t Au over 4.85 m across the Western trend and 7.09 g/t Au over 8.1 m across the Rib vein, the release said.

Pirate Gold said it identified the Rib vein as a new discovery linking the Eastern and Western trend zones at Moosehead in April 2026. Earlier results included 65.1 g/t Au over 3.25 meters from PGC-26-028, including 309.5 g/t Au over 0.5 meters. Follow-up drilling expanded the zone, with PGC-26-033 returning 6.97 g/t Au over 5.35 meters, including 69.1 g/t Au over 0.45 meters, while PGC-26-080 later returned 6.15 g/t Au over 0.55 meters.

The company said it has now traced the vein structure between the Eastern and Western trends over more than 200 meters of strike and to depths reaching 90 meters. Drilling has yet to test the structure beyond its intersections with the Eastern and Western trend faults, while the vein remains open at depth.

Caribou Fault Adds Another Target

Pirate Gold's latest Moosehead discovery, the Caribou fault, sits roughly 150 meters west of and parallel to the Western trend fault zone. Nineteen shallow drill holes tested the structure across 400 meters of strike, with eight returning significant gold mineralization, the release said. PGC-26-100 produced 2.88 g/t Au over 2.45 meters, including 4.63 g/t Au over 0.9 meters, while the northernmost hole, PGC-26-103, returned 1.04 g/t Au over 4.35 meters.

Gold mineralization along the Caribou fault resembles the systems identified along the Eastern and Western trends, with networks of veins displaying massive, stylolitic, and brecciated textures. The mineralized zones generally contain pyrite and arsenopyrite, along with localized boulangerite.

"The Moosehead zone comprises a broad network of faults and veins, which to date have been traced along over 1,500 meters of strike length and to depths exceeding 200 meters in the case of the Eastern trend fault," Vice President of Exploration Greg Matheson said. "The discovery of the Caribou fault was no surprise, as we always believed that other parallel structures should exist here. The recent shallow drilling has shown that we have a fertile structure that is continuous along at least 400 meters and, most importantly, that it can host high-grade gold mineralization. I believe that further structural analysis and exploration of this fault in context with the more heavily explored Eastern and Western fault zones can lead us to identify additional high-grade mineralization along the structure, which remains open along strike and at depth."

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Denis Laviolette said Moosehead continues to deliver high-grade gold. "We're reporting 30.6 g/t gold over 1.35 meters and 4.25 g/t gold over 6.65 meters from established trends while also identifying another gold-bearing structure at Caribou," he said. "These results sharpen our understanding of the system and strengthen Moosehead's technical foundation. Together with the copper-gold opportunities we are advancing across Crippleback, Moosehead demonstrates the breadth of the discovery potential at Treasure Island."

High-Grade Veins Anchor Moosehead

Moosehead, situated in the northern section of the Treasure Island project, is a high-grade orogenic fault network interpreted as a secondary structural system branching from the regional Valentine Lake fault, the company said. Gold occurs mainly within the parallel Eastern and Western trend fault zones, where drilling has traced high-grade mineralization across roughly 800 meters of strike and to an approximate depth of 200 meters. A third parallel structure, the 552 zone, occurs about 200 meters east of these trends and has also produced several high-grade intersections.

The 17th episode of the company's video series "Pirate Gold Treasure Hunters" provides an aerial overview of Moosehead, following its high-grade vein system and examining earlier discoveries and the structural controls that underpin the area's exploration potential. The program highlights more than 135,000 meters of drilling that have helped define Moosehead's mineralized vein network, along with discoveries across the Eastern and Western trends, including a previously reported Eastern trend intersection of 70.3 g/t Au over 9.05 meters from January 31, 2019.

The episode also features the Rib vein, which has connected the Eastern and Western trends across more than 200 meters of tested strike and previously returned 65.1 g/t Au over 3.25 m in a discovery hole reported on April 13. It also points to lightly explored fault corridors extending north toward Bow Tie Pond, where earlier drilling encountered visible gold.

Moosehead benefits from year-round road access from the Trans-Canada Highway near Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop's Falls. Multiple mineralized structures remain open, providing Pirate Gold with additional opportunities to expand the known system and identify further gold discoveries, the company said.

'Home-Run Hole' Draws Newsletter Writer's Eye

Bob Moriarty of 321gold.com has tracked Pirate Gold's assays throughout the year. Most recently, he told Streetwise Reports on September 1 that the company continues to advance its 100%-owned Treasure Island gold project in central Newfoundland, lately announcing assays of 30.6 g/t Au over 1.35 meters and 4.25 g/t Au over 6.65 meters.

"Located at the northern part of Treasure Island, the Moosehead structure is a high-grade orogenic fault system," Moriarty said. "The gold system is located between two parallel faults, which the company calls the Eastern and Western trends. Gold has been found over an 800-meter strike and as deep as 200 meters."

On June 22, he had flagged a second target: "Pirate Gold seems to have discovered a new copper/gold porphyry in central Newfoundland. Recent assays showed 0.54% CuEq over 180.8 meters at their Moby Dick project. Those assays indicate potential for a district-scale copper/gold project."

And on April 15, Moriarty called the "incredible" 65.1 g/t gold assay — over 211 gram-meters — a "home-run hole." "Those are wonderful numbers. A two-ounce gold is pretty rare, much less over a nice mining width," he wrote, adding, "For some reason, a number of high-quality shares are releasing really great assay results lately. Lucky me, I happen to own some of them."

The Catalyst: Expert Says Gold Dip Could Be Temporary 

According to Angela Leicht of CBS News MoneyWatch on September 1, gold has experienced a turbulent year so far, and further swings could remain ahead. After reaching a record US$5,589.38 per ounce on January 28, the metal lost considerable ground over the following months, despite several brief rebounds. By September 1, gold stood at US$4,369.19 per ounce, approximately 21.8% below its January high, although its path lower has been uneven and included a notable advance during August before another pullback as economic expectations changed.

The outlook for September remains difficult to determine because gold now trades well below its peak while the forces influencing its direction remain fluid. Interest-rate expectations will likely play an important role, particularly after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh indicated late in August that additional policy action could be necessary if inflation does not move firmly toward the Fed's 2% objective, Leicht wrote. Those comments prompted markets to raise their expectations for a September rate increase and contributed to an approximately 3% decline in gold on August 28.

Higher interest rates can weigh on gold because the metal does not generate interest income, unlike products such as certificates of deposit and high-yield savings accounts. As yields increase, interest-bearing assets such as bonds can become more appealing to investors, potentially reducing demand for gold and creating additional downward pressure on its price.

However, Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, believes the shift toward a more restrictive interest-rate outlook could represent a temporary correction rather than the end of the larger advance in gold and silver, according to a piece by Neils Christensen for Kitco News on August 31.

Speaking with Kitco News, Massabni said investors are reassessing U.S. monetary-policy expectations following Warsh's address at the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Warsh reaffirmed his priority of restoring price stability and indicated that the Fed could consider another rate increase if inflation remains above its 2% goal.

"We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. That's our job . . . our mandate . . . and our charge to keep," Warsh said in his speech.

Massabni said Warsh's comments led traders to assign nearly a 57% probability to a September rate increase. That change has created an immediate challenge for precious metals because higher real yields and a stronger U.S. dollar typically reduce their appeal. Still, he argued that markets should separate the current adjustment in rate expectations from the underlying factors that have supported the precious-metals rally.

"What we have seen so far is primarily a repricing of interest-rate expectations rather than a complete reversal of the fundamental forces that have supported gold throughout the broader rally," he said, according to Christensen.

Massabni acknowledged that elevated interest rates, rising Treasury yields, and a firmer dollar could weigh on gold in the near term, but he said mounting U.S. debt, questions about fiscal sustainability, geopolitical instability, and wider economic risks remain supportive over a longer horizon. He also highlighted a potential policy dilemma for the Federal Reserve, which must balance keeping rates restrictive enough to suppress inflation against the growing fiscal strain created by higher government borrowing costs.

"My core view is that Warsh's speech could temporarily stall gold's advance, but it does not necessarily signal the end of the medium-term bullish trend," Massabni said. His outlook calls for continued weakness in the immediate term as traders adjust to the possibility of a September rate hike, with the market potentially experiencing further profit-taking, sideways consolidation, and heightened volatility.

Ownership and Share Information¹

Pirate Gold Corp. has a market cap of CA$101.42 million, with 507.08 million shares outstanding. The company's 52-week range is CA$0.03-CA$0.39.

Institutions own 1.75% of shares, while strategic investors own 19.51%. Management and insiders own 5.75% of shares, and the remaining 72.99% of shares are held by retail.

Common Investor Questions

What did Pirate Gold announce? In an August 28 release, Pirate Gold Corp. reported new drilling results from the Moosehead zone at its Treasure Island project in central Newfoundland, including 30.6 g/t gold over 1.35 meters and 4.25 g/t gold over 6.65 meters from its established Eastern and Western trends, and the discovery of a new gold-bearing structure, the Caribou fault.

What and where is Moosehead? Moosehead is a high-grade orogenic fault network in the northern part of the Treasure Island project, interpreted as a secondary system branching off the regional Valentine Lake fault. The project spans more than 90 kilometers of strike along that fault zone, in what the company calls Canada's newest gold district, with year-round road access from the Trans-Canada Highway near Grand Falls-Windsor.

What were the standout results? The highest-grade hits include 30.6 g/t gold over 1.35 meters (with 89.7 g/t over 0.4 m) from the Eastern trend and, from earlier drilling on the Rib vein, 65.1 g/t gold over 3.25 meters (with 309.5 g/t over 0.5 m) — the intercept newsletter writer Bob Moriarty called a "home-run hole." The broader Moosehead fault-and-vein network has now been traced over more than 1,500 meters of strike, with high-grade gold across roughly 800 meters of the Eastern and Western trends to about 200 meters deep.

What is the Caribou fault? It's Moosehead's newest discovery, a parallel structure about 150 meters west of the Western trend. Nineteen shallow holes tested it across 400 meters of strike, eight returning significant gold, including 2.88 g/t over 2.45 meters. VP Exploration Greg Matheson said the find confirmed the team's view that "other parallel structures should exist here" and that the fault "can host high-grade gold mineralization."

How does Moosehead fit Pirate Gold's bigger picture? Alongside the high-grade gold at Moosehead, Pirate Gold is advancing copper-gold porphyry targets across the wider Crippleback intrusive suite, including its Moby Dick discovery. As CEO Denis Laviolette framed it, the two together "demonstrate the breadth of the discovery potential" at Treasure Island.

Why does the gold and copper backdrop matter? Gold has run to a high near US$5,500 an ounce in January before pulling back, and remains up sharply year-over-year, while copper has hit record highs above US$6.70 a pound on supply risks and rising demand from electrification, data centers and defense — a supportive macro setting for a company exploring for both metals.