Vancouver – September 30, 2026 -- Lode Gold Resources Inc. (TSXV: LOD; OTCQB: LODFF; X27: FR) has named Patrick W. Garretson as Senior Technical Advisor to its Fremont Gold Mine project in Mariposa, California, bringing 35 years of operational experience from South32, Newmont, Goldcorp, Barrick and BHP Billiton to the brownfield asset.
Garretson led feasibility work on South32's Hermosa Project in Arizona
Most recently, Garretson served as Project Lead for Technical Services and Feasibility Study at South32's Hermosa Project, overseeing the Taylor-Hermosa Feasibility Study through mine design, permitting and planning. He holds a B.Sc. in Geology from Fort Lewis College and is a member of the Geological Society of Nevada, Arizona Geological Society and AusIMM.
Fremont site historically produced at 10.7 g/t before 1942 wartime shutdown
The Fremont Gold Mine has 43,000 meters of historical drilling, 10,000 underground channel samples, 14 adits and two shafts across more than 3,000 acres of company-owned patented land designated as a federal Opportunity Zone. A 2023 preliminary economic assessment outlined 1.16 million ounces at 1.90 g/t gold within 19.0 million tonnes Indicated, plus 2.02 million ounces at 2.22 g/t within 28 million tonnes Inferred, with average true widths of 53 meters at a 1 g/t cutoff.
A 2026 mineral resource estimate update found that 89% of ounces remain unmined when comparing historical production against the current Indicated Resource base.
Company outlines path through scoping, drilling and feasibility stages
CEO Wendy T. Chan said Garretson's background covers the mine-development sequence Lode Gold is now navigating, including an internal scoping study, expansion drilling, resource upgrades, environmental permitting, mine-plan optimization, and subsequent PFS, FS and construction phases.
Ontario's Dingman property adds 423,000 ounces to the portfolio
Lode Gold's second key asset, the Dingman Property in Ontario, is an orogenic deposit with over 22,000 meters drilled. A 2013 resource estimate reported 376,000 ounces at 0.94 g/t gold within 12.5 million tonnes Measured and Indicated, plus 47,000 ounces at 0.71 g/t within 2.1 million tonnes Inferred.
Technical disclosures in the release were reviewed by Gary Wong, P.Eng., Vice President of Exploration at Lode Gold, as qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.