Great Northern Minerals Strikes 480,000oz Gold at Iron Butte Nevada

Great Northern Minerals Delivers Maiden 480,000 oz Gold and 11.5 Million oz Silver Resource at Nevada's Iron Butte — A Defining Moment for ASX:GNM

Great Northern Minerals Limited (ASX: GNM) has announced a landmark milestone in its evolution as a gold and silver explorer, delivering a maiden JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at its Iron Butte Gold-Silver Project in Lander County, Nevada. The Great Northern Minerals Iron Butte maiden gold silver resource in Nevada totals 480,000 ounces of gold and 11.5 million ounces of silver, positioning Iron Butte as one of the larger undeveloped gold-silver deposits in the state.

The announcement marks the culmination of extensive geological assessment and resource modelling across a dataset spanning decades of drilling by major operators. Furthermore, it sets the stage for what GNM believes is a substantial growth story in one of the world's most coveted gold mining addresses.

The Numbers That Matter: Iron Butte MRE at a Glance

The Great Northern Minerals Iron Butte maiden gold silver resource in Nevada is split across two distinct mineral domains — a gold-dominant zone and a silver-only zone — both reported under the JORC Code (2012) at the Inferred classification level.

Table 1: Au-Ag Inferred Mineral Resource (Au cut-off ≥0.25 g/t)

Table 2: Silver-Only Inferred Mineral Resource (Ag cut-off ≥4 ppm)

Combined, the two resource domains deliver a total silver inventory of 11.47 million ounces, alongside 480,000 ounces of gold, across a deposit that remains open along strike in all directions and at depth.

Eddie King, Non-Executive Chairman of Great Northern Minerals, commented: "Delivering the maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate at Iron Butte is a defining milestone for GNM and marks the completion of a major step for the Project. The MRE validates the development potential of Iron Butte and establishes the Project as a credible gold-silver project within one of the world's premier mining jurisdictions."

Nevada Gold Country: Why Location Is Everything

Iron Butte is situated in Lander County, Nevada, approximately 55 km south of the town of Battle Mountain — a community with deep roots in large-scale gold and silver mining. The project sits within the Battle Mountain-Cortez Mining District, one of the most historically productive and geologically endowed gold corridors on Earth.

The project's strategic positioning is underscored by its proximity to major operating mines:

• 45 km south of the Phoenix Au-Cu Mine (Nevada Gold Mines — a Barrick/Newmont JV)
• 70 km south of the Marigold Mine (SSR Mining)
• 100 km southwest of the Carlin Trend, hosting several world-class gold operations

Beyond district prestige, the project benefits from practical infrastructure advantages that matter enormously to future development economics. It is adjacent to a major highway and has access to grid power — features that many Nevada exploration projects still lack.

Northern Nevada hosts a well-established ecosystem of experienced mining professionals, contractors, and regulatory frameworks suited to large-tonnage, low-grade open pit operations. This broader operating environment provides important context for Iron Butte's development potential, subject to further studies and approvals.

How Iron Butte Stacks Up Against Nevada's Established Producers

One of the most compelling aspects of the Great Northern Minerals Iron Butte maiden gold silver resource in Nevada is how naturally it fits within the established peer group of Nevada bulk-tonnage gold-silver producers. The deposit's grade profile and mineralisation style closely mirror several mines already in operation across the state.

Iron Butte vs. Select Nevada Gold-Silver Operations

Note: Comparative data sourced from publicly available technical reports and company disclosures compiled by GNM as at 8 June 2026. Iron Butte figure represents maiden Inferred MRE only.

The grade alignment is notable. Iron Butte's 0.4 g/t Au sits comfortably within the range of established bulk-tonnage Nevada producers, several of which operate heap-leach extraction facilities with competitive all-in sustaining costs.

GNM notes that the oxide material at Iron Butte — 10.5 million tonnes at 0.5 g/t Au within the MRE — is particularly significant, given the processing advantages typically associated with near-surface oxide mineralisation in epithermal settings.

It is important to note, however, that comparisons with operating mines are provided for geological and contextual reference only. Iron Butte remains at an early exploration stage, and no metallurgical studies have yet been completed by GNM. Demonstrated economic viability has not been established.

Understanding Epithermal and Carlin-Style Gold Deposits: An Investor's Primer

What Is an Epithermal Gold Deposit?

An epithermal deposit forms when hot, mineral-rich fluids from volcanic or hydrothermal activity move upward through the Earth's crust and deposit gold and silver at relatively shallow depths — typically within 1,000 metres of the surface. Because these deposits form close to the surface, they often contain a significant proportion of oxide material: rock that has been chemically altered by weathering over millions of years.

Why Does This Matter to Investors?

Oxide material is generally easier and cheaper to process than fresh (sulphide) rock. Heap leach operations — where crushed ore is stacked on lined pads and washed with a cyanide solution to dissolve the gold — are well-suited to oxide material and are the dominant processing method across Nevada's bulk-tonnage mines. Lower processing costs translate to more competitive economics, even at modest gold grades.

What Is Carlin-Style Mineralisation?

Carlin-style deposits are named after the Carlin Trend in northeastern Nevada, where gold is typically found in microscopic form within carbonate-bearing sedimentary rocks. This style of mineralisation can be extremely high grade and deep-seated.

At Iron Butte, GNM has identified evidence of Carlin-style mineralisation in the sedimentary rocks beneath the epithermal system. This is evidenced by a drilling intersection of 1.5m at 13.5 g/t Au, 11.5 g/t Ag from 405.4m, sitting within a broader interval of 13.7m at 1.5 g/t Au, 3.0 g/t Ag from 397.8m (hole AAU22-4).

Glossary of Key Terms

The Deposit Beneath the Deposit: Significant Exploration Upside

What makes the Great Northern Minerals Iron Butte maiden gold silver resource in Nevada particularly compelling is not merely what has been defined — it is what the geology suggests lies beyond and beneath the current MRE boundary.

The deposit is open in all directions, with only two drill holes (AAU22-4 and AAU22-1) penetrating the full depth of the mineralised footprint across a known extent of 1.7 km by 300 m. Those two holes returned the high-grade Carlin-style intersections referenced above — meaning the vast majority of the system's depth potential remains untested.

Key exploration upside factors include:

1. Open strike extensions — mineralisation is not closed off along the 030° strike direction
2. Open at depth — only two holes have tested beneath the MRE; geophysical data suggests significant resistivity and chargeability anomalies below the defined resource
3. Silver-only zone — an additional 4.8 million ounce silver resource sits peripheral to and below the gold-dominant domain, adding scale to the overall system
4. Multiple satellite targets — the expanded claim area, which now includes 70 total lode claims, provides a larger exploration canvas with additional regional targets to test

The current MRE footprint spans 1,900 m along strike, 800 m in width, and extends to 200 m depth — a geometry consistent with open pit mining methods employed at comparable Nevada deposits.

What's Next: Maiden Drill Program and Near-Term Catalysts

GNM has wasted no time translating the maiden MRE into actionable next steps. The company has initiated multiple workstreams in parallel, with the aim of commencing its maiden drilling program in Q3 CY2026.

Upcoming Milestones and Timeline

The drilling program will be designed to:

• Test strike and depth extensions of the current resource to grow overall ounces
• Target the Carlin-style mineralisation below the epithermal system
• Test additional regional targets within the expanded claims footprint

Critically, GNM enters this campaign from a position of financial strength, holding $3.9 million in cash — sufficient to fund the planned maiden drilling program without near-term capital requirements.

The Investment Case: Why Iron Butte Deserves Attention

Several factors converge to make the Great Northern Minerals Iron Butte maiden gold silver resource in Nevada a compelling story for investors following Nevada gold exploration.

1. Scale from the Outset

A maiden resource of 480,000 oz Au and 11.5 million oz Ag is not a small result. For context, Iron Butte already stacks up favourably against smaller established Nevada operations, and the deposit is open in multiple directions with the maiden drill program yet to commence.

2. Grade Consistency with Operating Peers

At 0.4 g/t Au, the Iron Butte resource grade is aligned with several operational Nevada bulk-tonnage mines. The oxide component at 0.5 g/t Au is particularly noted and enhances the project's near-term processing appeal.

3. Two Distinct Exploration Systems in One Project

The presence of both an epithermal oxide system (near-surface, potentially heap-leachable) and a deeper Carlin-style system (high-grade, significant depth upside) creates a dual-layered exploration thesis that is rare at the maiden resource stage.

4. A World-Class Jurisdiction

Nevada consistently ranks among the top global mining jurisdictions for investment attractiveness, rule of law, and operational infrastructure. The Battle Mountain-Cortez District has a demonstrated history of hosting major, long-life mines.

5. Funded for the Next Phase

With $3.9 million in cash and a maiden drill program in preparation, GNM is not facing near-term dilution risk to advance the project. In addition, this financial position allows management to focus entirely on value creation rather than capital raising.

6. Resource Classification Upgrade Pathway

The current Inferred classification reflects early-stage data quality. As GNM collects density measurements, QAQC data, and additional drill results, a pathway exists to upgrade portions of the resource to higher confidence categories — a potential re-rating catalyst.

Why Investors Should Keep Watching GNM

The delivery of this maiden MRE is a genuine inflection point for Great Northern Minerals. Prior to this announcement, Iron Butte was a promising exploration project with encouraging historical drilling. It is now a JORC-compliant resource of material scale, sitting within one of the world's premier gold mining districts, with a funded drill program months away from commencement.

The combination of a well-defined near-surface oxide system with potential heap-leach characteristics, an emerging Carlin-style exploration horizon at depth, a geographically expanded claims package, and a management team now focused exclusively on resource growth creates a near-term news flow profile that warrants close attention.

Great Northern Minerals has positioned itself as the holder of one of Nevada's larger undeveloped gold-silver projects, with a maiden 480,000 oz Au and 11.5 million oz Ag JORC resource, a funded maiden drill program targeting commencement in Q3 CY2026, and a geological setting that offers meaningful upside both at depth and along strike. With multiple catalysts approaching and the deposit open in all directions, investors should keep a close eye on GNM's upcoming exploration milestones.

All Mineral Resource data reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012). The Mineral Resource Estimate was completed by ERM Australia Consultants Pty Ltd. Mineral Resources that are not Ore Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Investors should review the full ASX announcement dated 12 June 2026 for complete technical details, including JORC Table 1 disclosures and Competent Persons' statements.

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