New Found Gold expands high-grade Dropkick zone

New Found Gold (TSX-V: NFG; NYSE-A: NFGC) expanded the gold discovery at its Queensway gold project in Newfoundland and Labrador as it delivered final results from its 2025 drilling campaign at the Dropkick zone.

The company intersected some of its strongest gold results to date west of the Appleton Fault zone, including 24.8 grams gold over 14 metres from 324 metres depth and 13.4 grams gold over 8.1 metres from about 368 metres depth, according to a statement Wednesday. Additional drilling produced 1.25 grams gold over 10.6 metres from 195 metres depth.

“These recent drill results continue to expand Dropkick both west and east of the AFZ, with the high-grade domain west of the AFZ demonstrating excellent continuity,” said President Melissa Render. “Dropkick remains open along strike and to depth; with our 2025 drilling, we have now expanded this zone over a 1.4 km strike extent and from surface to a vertical depth of 300 metres. We look forward to resuming drilling at Dropkick later this year and bringing this high-grade discovery into our next mineral resource estimate.”

Most of the gold mineralization discovered at Dropkick sits on the west side of the Appleton Fault zone. However, limited drilling on the eastern side has produced encouraging results in the same structural domain that hosts the Keats and Iceberg zones further south. Hole NFGC-25-2518, drilled east of the Appleton Fault zone, cut about 18.4 metres grading 6.75 grams gold from 282.6 metres depth.

High-grade interval

Recent drilling across the fault zone into the eastern portion of Dropkick intersected another high-grade interval, located just over 100 metres from a previously released intersection and about 940 metres from another significant interval. These results highlight the strength of the mineralizing system along this segment of the fault zone.

New Found Gold plans to resume drilling at Dropkick late in the second quarter, focusing on expansion at the southern extent before transitioning to targeted and reconnaissance drilling across the eastern domain. It also plans to advance target development further north along the Appleton Fault Zone in recently acquired ground.

Four drill rigs are now active at the site. Initial infill drilling will target open pit resource conversion before transitioning to underground resource conversion later in the year.

New Found Gold plans to expand its grade control drilling beginning in the second quarter. It will file an updated technical report for Queensway, including an updated mineral resource estimate, in the second half. Results from 2024 and 2025 drilling at Dropkick will be included in a mineral resource estimate update planned for release by Dec. 31.

Shares of New Found Gold rose 2.3% to $3.05 for a market capitalization of about $1.1 billion (US$800 million). The stock has traded between $1.47 and $4.89 in the past year.