Canary Gold Corp. has mobilized its 2026 exploration program at the Madeira Project with the arrival of the first drill rig on site, marking the beginning of a comprehensive 20,000-metre dual-rig drilling campaign. The company has engaged Geosol, a leading drilling services contractor, to execute this program focused on defining near-surface mineralization across its strategic land position in Brazil's Madeira River region.
The exploration program employs a dual-rig strategy designed to combine specialized geological definition with rapid regional coverage. The first rig, already on site and mobilizing to initial collar locations, utilizes a screw-auger drilling system optimized for unconsolidated ground conditions. This specialized technique is specifically designed to recover high-quality samples from the favorable "Mocururu" geologic horizon and associated prospective gravel beds. The screw-auger program targets definition of high-priority geological zones with approximately 5,000 metres across roughly 100 drill holes on an initial grid of 200 m x 100 m, drilling to a maximum depth of approximately 50 metres per hole.
A second Reverse Circulation (RC) drill rig is expected to arrive during the second half of January to conduct regional reconnaissance drilling. While the screw-auger program focuses on defining specific near-surface geological units, the RC rig will be deployed to "sweep" the broader land package included in the original agreement with New Frontiers. This phase involves approximately 15,000 metres across roughly 300 drill holes on a wide-spaced reconnaissance grid of approximately 2,000 m x 1,000 m, consistently testing the oxide profile to a maximum depth of approximately 50 metres. The RC program aims to rapidly assess regional geological continuity and identify new priority targets across the property.
In parallel with drilling mobilization, the company has completed a comprehensive update of its corporate website and investor presentation to more clearly communicate the geological framework, exploration strategy, and scale of its land position. These refreshed materials reflect the company's transition into an active execution phase, providing improved technical context and a more structured overview of exploration objectives. The updated resources are available at https://www.canarygold.ca.
The company also announced the grant of an aggregate of 6,107,500 stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants pursuant to its Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan. The options have an exercise price of $0.27 per common share for a period of five years from the date of grant, with all securities subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day.
This drilling initiative represents a significant step in advancing the Madeira Project within Brazil's Rondônia State, described as one of the country's most prospective yet underexplored gold provinces. The dual-rig approach allows for simultaneous detailed geological work and broad-scale exploration, potentially accelerating the discovery process in a region with demonstrated gold potential. The program's success could have implications for regional development, potentially attracting further investment to the area and contributing to Brazil's position as a growing gold producer.
The scientific and technical information has been reviewed and approved by Andrew Lee Smith, P.Geo., Executive Director of Canary Gold Corp., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Verification included assessment of sampling methods, chain-of-custody protocols, and review of analytical methods used by Overburden Drilling Management Ltd., an independent Canadian laboratory specializing in heavy-mineral evaluation.
