Gold-Antimony PEA and Fast-Track Permit Converge on Reefton Project

A single project now carries a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment, a Fast-Track permitting application under New Zealand's one-stop-shop regime, and a 19,000-metre drill program already turning. The asset is the 100%-owned Auld Creek Gold-Antimony Project in the historic Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand's South Island, held by Rua Gold Inc. (TSX: RUA) (NZX: RGI) (OTCQX: NZAUF) (FSE: X9R).

The intersection of two macro tailwinds inside one project is unusual in the public market. Gold has spent 2026 setting record highs amid sustained central bank purchasing, with forecasts pushing toward US$5,000 per ounce by Q4 2026. Antimony was designated a U.S. Critical Mineral following China's late-2024 export restrictions and remains structurally short in Western markets. Rua Gold's Auld Creek project sits at the convergence of both trends, with a permitting pathway that has a 112-day precedent for speed.

The Auld Creek PEA: Base Case vs. Spot Case Economics

The PEA, released on May 5, 2026, reports an after-tax NPV5% of US$42 million and an after-tax IRR of 17% at long-term gold of US$3,300 per ounce and antimony of US$27,000 per tonne, with a 3.3-year payback. Using a spot gold price assumption of US$4,700 per ounce, the after-tax NPV5% increases to US$113 million, the after-tax IRR rises to 36%, and the payback compresses to 2.2 years.

Pre-production capital is US$132.6 million, inclusive of a US$29.8 million contingency representing approximately 29% of direct capital costs. Sustaining capital is estimated at US$63.9 million over the life of mine. The mine plan models a 5.5-year initial mine life with average annual production of approximately 26,665 ounces gold-equivalent – total LOM production of approximately 146,660 ounces. Total contained metals are 84,000 ounces of gold and approximately 9,000 tonnes of antimony. All-In Sustaining Costs are estimated at US$1,850 per ounce gold, placing the project comfortably inside the global gold cost curve at any reasonable price deck.

Metric	Base Case (US$3,300/oz Au)	Spot Case (US$4,700/oz Au)
After-tax NPV5%	US$42 million	US$113 million
After-tax IRR	17%	36%
Payback	3.3 years	2.2 years

CEO Robert Eckford framed the outcome: "The Auld Creek PEA highlights the strong cash flow generation, compelling economics, and scalability potential within the Reefton Goldfield. This study represents only a portion of the broader district opportunity, with significant upside remaining at depth and along strike."

The Resource Base and Mine Plan

The Mineral Resource Estimate for Auld Creek, effective February 27, 2026, reports 0.3 million tonnes Indicated at 5.67 g/t AuEq for 54,000 ounces**, plus 1.3 million tonnes Inferred at 3.66 g/t for 150,000 ounces, at a 1.6 g/t AuEq cut-off – total approximately 204,000 ounces gold-equivalent. Gold-equivalent grades used the formula AuEq = Au g/t + 2.15 × Sb%, with the 2.15 factor derived from the PEA price assumptions and metallurgical recoveries of 95% gold and 85% antimony.

Mining method is overhand cut-and-fill via underground decline access from surface portals, with the on-Crown-land surface footprint targeted at less than one hectare. The processing flowsheet is conventional grind, rougher flotation, and four-stage cleaner flotation – producing a gold concentrate and a separate antimony concentrate, with no cyanide in the circuit. Nominal processing throughput is 250,000 tonnes per annum.

The Fast-Track Permitting Clock: 112-Day Precedent

On April 20, 2026, Rua Gold submitted its Fast-Track Referral application for the Auld Creek Project. The Company expects a decision within three months of submission. In December 2024, the New Zealand Government introduced legislation establishing a one-stop-shop Fast-Track Approvals regime to accelerate nationally significant projects.

The precedent for how fast the process can move is already on the public record. Rua Gold's tenements at the Glamorgan Project on the North Island are adjacent to OceanaGold's Wharekirauponga Project, which advanced through the same Fast-Track permitting process in 112 days and is now under construction. That reference point is structurally significant for evaluating the Auld Creek permitting timeline – the Fast-Track framework can deliver fully permitted status meaningfully faster than conventional New Zealand mining permitting pathways.

New Zealand's membership in the Minerals Security Partnership – alongside Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union – further aligns with the development strategy Rua Gold is now executing.

What a Fast-Track Decision Would Mean

The 19,000-Metre Drill Program and Resource Conversion

Rua Gold reported approximately C$38 million in available cash following an oversubscribed January 2026 financing. The 19,000-metre infill and step-out drill program is currently underway at Reefton with six drill rigs in operation. The program targets establishing Measured Resources, conversion of Inferred Resources to Indicated ahead of a planned PFS, and step-out drilling to extend the Inferred Resource at depth and northwards – both of which remain open.

District-Scale Upside

Rua Gold is the dominant landholder in the Reefton Goldfield, with more than 120,000 hectares of permits across a district that has historically produced more than 2 million ounces of gold at grades reportedly ranging from 9 to 50 g/t. The Auld Creek mine plan represents a starter operation against that broader district endowment, with significant upside remaining at depth and along strike.

Beyond Reefton, the Glamorgan Project on the North Island is located within the highly prospective Hauraki Goldfield, which has historically produced 15 million ounces of gold and 60 million ounces of silver, with active mining operations ongoing today. A 5,000-metre Glamorgan drill program was planned for Q2 2026 with two additional rigs.

Risk Factors: Permitting, Financing, Grade

The PEA is preliminary in nature. It includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA results will be realized.

Key risks include:

Permitting timeline: The Fast-Track process has a 112-day precedent, any delay or rejection would push the project back to conventional permitting pathways.

Financing risk: Pre-production capital of US$132.6 million is not fully funded. The C$38 million cash position covers drilling and permitting not construction.

Grade and recovery risk: The PEA assumes 95% gold recovery and 85% antimony recovery. Any deviation would directly impact economics.

Geotechnical and metallurgical challenges: Underground cut-and-fill mining in narrow veins carries execution risk.

Commodity price risk: The base case uses US$3,300/oz gold. A sustained drop below that level would compress NPV and IRR.

The Next Decision Points

Rua Gold's near-term catalyst window is unusually well-defined. The PEA is on file as of May 5, 2026, with the supporting NI 43-101 Technical Report scheduled for filing on SEDAR+ within 45 days. The Fast-Track Referral application has been submitted, with a decision expected within three months of the April 20, 2026 submission. The 19,000-metre drill program is turning at Reefton with six rigs. The PFS is targeted for completion in Q4 2026. The project is targeted to be fully permitted in Q2 2027 under the Fast-Track framework.

What would confirm the setup: a positive Fast-Track decision within 112 days, drill results that expand the resource and convert Inferred to Indicated, and a PFS that validates or improves the PEA economics.

What would weaken the thesis: a Fast-Track rejection or delay beyond Q3 2026, drill results that fail to extend mineralization, or a sustained gold price drop below US$3,300/oz.

For traders looking at small-cap exposure to a positive-PEA underground gold-antimony development asset inside a Fast-Track permitting jurisdiction, Rua Gold offers a multi-tailwind structural story at the development stage where the Company has converted from explorer to mine developer. The next reads on whether the PEA economics convert into PFS-stage validation arrive across the back half of 2026 and into Q2 2027.

For broader context on gold's macro positioning, see the gold profile and commodities analysis.