The company announced that an updated NI 43-101 technical report has been filed for the 100% owned San Francisco gold project in Sonora, Mexico, and the document confirms the presence of substantial contained gold together with meaningful exploration upside. The report, authored for Goldgroup by Micon International, carries an effective date of April 30, 2026 and was prepared by William J. Lewis, Richard M. Gowans and Tudorel Ciuculescu; Messrs.
Lewis and Ciuculescu are the Qualified Persons responsible for the MRE. The disclosure has also been reviewed by Craig Gibson, PhD, CPG, as the independent Qualified Person for this release.
Table of Contents:
Project summary and historical context
The updated technical study highlights that the property is fully permitted and includes two historic open pits (San Francisco and La Chicharra), combined heap leach processing facilities and supporting infrastructure located near the pits. Between 2010 and 2026, prior to Goldgroup’s acquisition, historic production totaled 1,299,502 ounces of gold. The deposits are described as roughly tabular, with multiple mineralization phases and gold predominantly occurring as free gold; they strike approximately 60°–65° west, dip to the northeast, vary from 4 to 50 metres in thickness and extend more than 1,500 metres along strike while remaining open for expansion.
Mineral resource estimate and exploration potential
The mineral resource estimate (MRE) reports combined Measured and Indicated resources of approximately 1.226 million ounces of gold, with an additional 178,400 ounces classified as Inferred. At the deposit scale, measured tonnages and grades translate into roughly 48,265 kt @ 0.375 g/t Au (Measured) and 56,821 kt @ 0.356 g/t Au (Indicated), summing to measured and indicated of about 105,086 kt at 0.361 g/t Au. The authors note a large historical database—about 668,051 metres of drilling across the property—which underpins the geological and resource interpretation and supports further growth strategies.
El Llano exploration target
Immediately adjacent to the San Francisco pit, the moderately drilled El Llano zone is called out as an Exploration Target based on widespread drilling. The conceptual target range is between 40 million tonnes at 0.61 g/t Au (possible ~788,000 oz Au) and 78 million tonnes at 0.38 g/t Au (possible ~960,000 oz Au). The authors emphasize these figures are conceptual in nature because current drilling does not meet the density required to convert the target to a compliant mineral resource, and additional work is required to confirm whether the target can be upgraded.
Economic assumptions and technical parameters
The MRE was prepared using open pit economic assumptions with a gold price assumption of US$3,500/oz. Recovery assumptions vary by deposit: recoveries range from 54.5% to 74.4% (average ~64%) for the San Francisco and La Chicharra pits, and roughly 54.5% to 73% (average ~67%) for North Pit. Operating cost inputs include an open pit mining cost of US$2.69/t, processing cost of US$5.10/t and general & administrative cost of US$1.00/t. The study used average pit slope angles of 50°, a royalty of 1.5%, specific gravity values between 2.0 and 2.85 g/cm3, and orthogonal block models with parent block size of 5 m x 5 m x 6 m. Calculated break-even and marginal cut-off grades are provided for each pit (San Francisco break-even 0.12 g/t and marginal 0.09 g/t; La Chicharra break-even 0.10 g/t and marginal 0.07 g/t; North Pit break-even 0.12 g/t and marginal 0.08 g/t).
Classification and cautionary notes
The resource inventory has been classified under Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories in accordance with CIM standards. The report clarifies that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and therefore do not have demonstrated economic viability until further study and conversion work are completed. Micon’s Qualified Persons did not identify material environmental, permitting, title or political issues that would adversely affect the MRE, but the company reiterates the usual forward-looking cautionary statements around costs, recoveries, financing and other risks.
Operational plan and next steps
Goldgroup’s leadership describes San Francisco as a company-building asset and has outlined plans to accelerate workstreams: the company intends to deploy multiple drill rigs for infill drilling to tighten historic spacing and advance mine planning, and to place idle equipment back into service, including crushing circuits and an ADR gold recovery plant. Management is targeting a potential re-start of mining and production in late 2026 or early 2027, subject to successful drilling, commissioning and other customary conditions. The company also notes it holds other Mexican assets, including the producing Cerro Prieto heap-leach mine, and has disclosed a proposed business combination with Gold Resource Corporation, which owns the Don David mine and the Back Forty project.
This technical update provides a renewed framework for resource definition, near-term operational planning and continued exploration across a sizable mineral package in Sonora, with both measured resource ounces and conceptual targets that could materially increase the asset base pending successful exploration and development programs.
