Upside Gold Corp. has completed a comprehensive compilation of historic exploration data for its Kena Gold-Copper Property in southeastern British Columbia, revealing a mineralized system that extends significantly beyond previously defined boundaries. The work, which integrated geological, geophysical, and geochemical data from exploration conducted since 1974, has resulted in an updated digital 3D exploration model that identifies multiple priority drill targets for the 2026 program.
The compilation demonstrates that the gold-copper mineralized system at Kena extends beyond the historic mineral resource estimate of 2.77 million inferred ounces at an average grade of 0.486 g/t Au and 0.561 million indicated ounces at an average grade of 0.544 g/t Au of gold. The integrated data outlines a mineralized trend extending at least seven kilometres along strike, highlighting significant expansion potential across the 10,115-hectare property. This work supports the conclusion that a major gold-copper mineralized system exists within the property that remains open laterally, along strike, and at depth.
Dr. Trevor Boyd, Vice President of Exploration at Upside Gold, stated that integrating decades of exploration data into a modern 3D model is helping identify areas where mineralization may extend beyond the historic resource and focus 2026 drilling on the most promising expansion targets. The compilation work involved reviewing and organizing the property's geological, geochemical, and geophysical survey database, supported by verification through selected historical analog documentation and fieldwork completed during 2025.
A significant finding from the drillhole database compilation was the identification of substantial copper and silver values that had not been systematically recorded. While the database contained 24,200 core samples, only gold geochemical results were largely recorded, despite over 90% of historic drilling including multi-element analytical analyses. The program extracted silver and copper results from compiled digital and analog analytical certificates, adding them to the master database. Copper values reach up to 71,800 ppm, with more than 2,900 samples exceeding 500 ppm Cu, while silver values reach up to 145 ppm, with over 2,650 samples exceeding 1 ppm for Ag. These results occur within a drillhole database containing 6,300 samples grading greater than 0.25 g/t Au.
The integration of mapped geology and structural interpretation with geophysical survey results indicates that mineralization at Kena is predominantly structurally controlled by a major steeply dipping, southeast-trending hydrothermally altered fault zone known as the Kena Deformation Zone. This structure marks the contact between the Silver King Porphyry intrusive and Elsie Group intermediate volcanic rocks and is characterized by a dominant low magnetic signature that can be traced for at least 11 kilometres along strike. Induced polarization surveys covering much of the northern portion of the property identify zones of high chargeability and low resistivity that support the definition of disseminated pyrite-hosted mineralization.
Sporadic historic drilling of anomalies outside the Kena historic Mineral Resource has returned wide intervals of both lode and porphyry-style gold and copper mineralization. These include at or near surface intervals of 117 metres of 0.22% Cu and 0.14g/t Au, 88.69 metres of 0.13% Cu and 0.21 g/t Au, 210 metres of 0.17% Cu and 0.13 g/t Au, and 106 metres of 0.15% Cu and 0.18 g/t Au within the Kena Copper Zone. Additional results include 90 metres of 0.9 g/t Au and 115 metres of 0.67 g/t Au and 0.05% Cu in the adjacent South Gold Zone.
The addition of the extensive historic soil survey database to the exploration model, covering areas similar to the IP surveys, is consistent with the current geological model. Copper and gold geochemical anomalies are spatially associated with favorable IP and magnetic signatures. High soil gold anomalies also cover broad areal expanses southwest of the Kena lode gold body, consistent with geological interpretation that mineralization is associated with open, variably southwest-dipping high-grade shoots connected by low-grade gold-bearing halos that extend southwestward at depth beyond the boundaries of the Kena Historic Mineral Resource.
The majority of first priority gold-copper diamond drill targets for 2026 will focus on testing along strike to the southeast within the Kena Copper Zone, with the goal of demonstrating sufficient continuity and grade to define a second major mineralized zone on the property. The work also supports the belief that the precious metal and copper mineralized system extends across much of the southern half of the property, which has never undergone diamond drilling or detailed exploration. The Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia has been largely overlooked for gold and copper exploration in the past, offering opportunities for both new discoveries and the development of known historic prospects into viable mineralized bodies.
For more information on Upside Gold Corp., please visit the Company's website at https://www.upsidegoldcorp.com. The technical information in the press release has been reviewed and approved by Trevor Boyd, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of the Company and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 standards. The historical resource estimate is disclosed in the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Resource Estimate for the Kena and Daylight Properties" prepared by Sue Bird, P.Eng. of Moose Mountain Technical Services, dated May 3, 2021, and filed on SEDAR on behalf of West Mining Corp.
