A larger resource, a pending concession

How Unigold Inc. (TSXV:UGD) gets the Candelones gold deposits in the Dominican Republic through permitting is the question that matters most for the company. As of 4 November 2026, it has a much larger resource base after an August update, community backing for an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), and a cash balance last reported above C$9 million. It is still waiting for a presidential decision on the exploitation concession it applied for in 2024. Unigold trades on the TSX Venture Exchange and in Frankfurt as UGB1.

Company and assets

Unigold has worked in the Dominican Republic since 2002. Its main asset is the 100%-owned, 9,990-hectare Neita Sur concession in Dajabón province, in the north-west of the country, which hosts the Candelones gold deposits. Next to it lies the 10,902-hectare Neita Norte exploration concession, awarded in the second quarter of 2023. Under an agreement disclosed by the company, Barrick Gold can earn up to 60% of Neita Norte by spending at least $12 million over eight years and delivering a prefeasibility study. It can earn a further 20% by financing a feasibility study within the following four years.

Candelones contains a small near-surface oxide zone and a much larger body of sulphide mineralisation that also carries copper and silver. A feasibility study on the oxide portion was delivered in the fourth quarter of 2022. In a February 2026 release, Unigold said that study assumed a gold price of US$1,650 an ounce and projected an after-tax internal rate of return of 44% with a payback of 1.5 years. It also noted that oxide reserves make up less than 10% of the property's measured and indicated resources. Those Economics are dated and historical.

The August 2026 resource update

On 14 August 2026 Unigold published an updated mineral resource estimate for Candelones, with an effective date of 6 August 2026. The update reported 69.1 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 1.03 grams per tonne gold, for 2.291 million ounces of gold. The same category also contained 4.277 million ounces of silver and about 131.9 million pounds of copper. An inferred category was reported separately.

For comparison, the 2021 estimate prepared by Micon International for a preliminary economic assessment had 24.0 million tonnes at 1.50 g/t gold, or 1.158 million ounces, in measured and indicated resources. The 2026 estimate therefore roughly doubles the measured and indicated ounces at a lower average grade. Readers should note that a resource is not a reserve, and that no current economic study covers the sulphide material.

Permitting and community relations

Most of the year's news concerns permitting. In February 2026 Unigold reported preliminary survey results showing more than 70% local support for accelerating environmental studies and community consultation. At that time it expected to table an initial ESIA towards the end of the second quarter of 2026, with consultation and approval taking about 12 months and construction of a 100,000-ounce oxide operation taking eight to 14 months after approval.

In early April the company received an exploration work permit for Neita Sur, and in May it said its work permits had been renewed and that it expected programmes to continue through 2026. That May update followed a presidential announcement on 4 May concerning Mining in San Juan province, where the separate Romero project is located. Unigold emphasised that Neita Sur lies in Dajabón province, outside San Juan. On 1 September 2026 the company said the Restauración municipal development council, the town council and the mayor had written to the Dominican president supporting the project and asking for authorisation to begin the ESIA, and that residents had delivered a petition with 725 signatures. Unigold said it expects to begin further feasibility work on the sulphide deposit and start the ESIA process in the fourth quarter of 2026. The exploitation concession is still pending.

Balance sheet, financing and dividends

Unigold produces no Revenue and funds itself through equity. In February 2026 it closed a non-brokered private Placement of C$1,470,060. In April it received about C$8.9 million from Warrant exercises. The company reported cash above C$9 million as at 31 March 2026. On 1 September 2026 there were 339,303,817 shares in issue and the stock closed at C$0.235, giving a Market Capitalisation of about C$79.7 million. Its 52-week range is C$0.115 to C$0.465.

Unigold pays no dividend, and both trailing and indicated yields are nil.

Sector conditions and risks

Gold prices have been strong compared with the US$1,650 assumption in the 2022 oxide study, and that generally helps explorers raise money. However, prices cannot overcome a permitting obstacle. Unigold's central risk is political and regulatory: the exploitation concession needs presidential approval, and mining has been a sensitive public issue in parts of the Dominican Republic. Community support in Restauración is encouraging, but it does not replace formal approval, and residents' concerns about water and land use will need to be addressed in the ESIA. Other risks include dilution from future financings, the technical and cost uncertainty of developing a sulphide project, dependence on a single main asset, and the fact that the oxide economics are four years old.

Milestones to watch

Based on company disclosures, the next milestones are a decision on the Neita Sur exploitation concession, authorisation to start the ESIA and the planned fourth-quarter start of sulphide feasibility work and ESIA activities, and any exploration that Barrick funds on Neita Norte. The company has not given a firm timetable for construction, and earlier timelines have already slipped. Unigold now has a substantially larger resource and cash in hand, but whether Candelones advances depends largely on government decisions rather than on the company itself.