Puma Exploration Inc. (TSXV: PUMA) (OTCQB: PUMXF) announced that Kinross Gold Corporation is planning to fund a third year of exploration at the Williams Brook Gold Project in northern New Brunswick, maintaining its commitment under an existing Option Agreement. The Year 3 program carries a minimum $3 million work commitment, pending Kinross Board approval, with the technical committee set to confirm the final budget and program before year-end 2026. The renewed commitment follows more than $5 million in cumulative expenditures applied to the project since the Option Agreement began, and investors may be watching for further drill results from the Jaguar Gold Zone.

Key Points

  • Puma Exploration Inc. (TSXV: PUMA) (OTCQB: PUMXF)
  • Kinross Gold Corporation is planning to fund Year 3 exploration at the Williams Brook Gold Project under its existing Option Agreement
  • Minimum $3M work commitment for Year 3; more than $5M spent on the project to date; Kinross can earn a 65% interest by funding at least $16.75M over five years
  • Investors may be watching for Kinross Board approval and the confirmed Year 3 budget and program before end of 2026

Kinross Option Terms and Cumulative Spending at Williams Brook

Under the terms of the Option Agreement first announced in October 2024, Kinross has the option to earn a 65% interest in the Williams Brook Project — a 40,225-hectare land package comprising the Williams Brook, Jonpol, and Portage Properties — by funding at least $16,750,000 in exploration expenditures over five years. The release states that more than $5 million has already been applied to the project since the agreement began. Kinross will continue to serve as operator for the Year 3 program, with the technical committee responsible for defining the final budget and work plan prior to year-end 2026.

Jaguar Gold Zone Drilling Returns Wide Mineralised Envelope in 2026

During the Winter 2026 campaign, a five-hole, 1,360-metre drilling program at the Jaguar Gold Zone returned a notable intercept in hole WB26-195: 0.45 g/t Au over 56.50 metres, including a higher-grade interval of 1.03 g/t Au over 16.0 metres coinciding with a large Induced Polarization anomaly at surface. A subsequent Summer 2026 program added seven holes totalling 2,177 metres. Significant intercepts from that phase included 2.28 g/t Au over 1.0 metre in hole WB26-200, with additional lower-grade intersections across multiple holes in rhyolite-hosted mineralisation. True widths remain unknown and require further drilling to estimate.

Broader 2026 Field Programme Expands Coverage Across Williams Brook

Beyond drilling, the 2026 Summer-Fall programme encompassed regional prospecting by three field crews from May through September, three soil geochemistry grids collecting a combined total of more than 2,600 samples, 31 test pit trenches excavated in the Jaguar Gold Zone, and a drone magnetic survey covering 2,920.9 hectares that connects two previous surveys and extends magnetic data coverage from the Lynx Gold Zone to the Lion Gold Zone. The release states exploration focus has become increasingly concentrated on the Jaguar Gold Zone as the highest-priority target for follow-up drilling.