On June 19, 2026, St Barbara Limited (“St Barbara”) announced that permitting had commenced for the 15-Mile Processing Hub. The Initial Project Description (“IPD”) was formally submitted to the Impacts Assessment Agency of Canada (“IAAC”) on June 2, 2026, and has been confirmed to have passed the conformity review stage. IAAC has reviewed and is expected to share the IPD with the public and First Nation communities, and to decide whether Provincial Environmental Assessment Registration Document (“EARD”) will be sufficient or whether an Impact Assessment is necessary. In parallel, St Barbara continues to advance studies to align with a planned submission of the EARD in Q3 of the 2027 financial year and other associated permits. The IPD is consistent with the description mapped out in St Barbara’s announcement of January 21, 2026, which outlined the results of the Pre-Feasibility Study for the 15-Mile Processing Hub Project, with an operational mine life of more than 11 years (based solely on Proven and Probable Ore Reserves) and a processing rate of three million tonnes per annum producing an average of just over 100,000 ounces of gold per annum. St. Barbara also stated that the 15-Mile mine site has been re-designed to be the sole processing hub for ore from the three locations, compared to the previous proposal of three separate processing plants operating simultaneously. The project consists of the 15-Mile mine, processing facility, and associated infrastructure including a tailings management facility; the old Austen Mine (previously referred to as Beaver Dam); and the old Mitchell Mine (previously referred to as Cochrane Hill). The location of 15-Mile also gives easy access to high voltage power infrastructure, highway access, and is centrally located within St Barbara’s future exploration target pipeline.