🔥 What This Document Is

This is First Mining Gold Corp.'s Annual Information Form (AIF) for the year ended December 31, 2025. Think of it as the company's comprehensive annual report card. It's a mandatory filing with regulators (like the SEC in the U.S. and Canadian securities commissions) that gives investors a detailed, transparent look at the business, its projects, risks, and performance. It’s long, technical in places, and designed to disclose all material facts.

🏢 What The Company Does

👉 In simple terms: First Mining is a Canadian gold explorer and developer. They don't mine gold yet. Their entire business is focused on discovering gold, defining how much is in the ground, and moving their two major projects toward a construction decision. They aim to eventually build and operate mines.

• Business Model: They advance projects through exploration, engineering, and permitting. Since they have no revenue from mining, they fund operations by selling non-core assets, raising money from investors (selling shares), and forming partnerships.
• Key Projects: Their focus is on two large gold projects in Canada:
  1. Springpole Gold Project in Ontario (their flagship).
  2. Duparquet Gold Project in Quebec.
• Stock Listings: Trades in Canada (TSX: FF), the U.S. (OTCQX: FFMGF), and Germany (Frankfurt: FMG).

💰 Financial Highlights & Structure

Since this is an exploration company, the financials are about spending money to build value, not generating profit yet.

• No Revenue: The company has no operating income or cash flow from operations. It has not earned income in the past three years.
• Funding: Operations are funded through equity financings (selling shares) and asset sales. For example, in 2023 they sold a royalty portfolio for ~$6.7M, and in 2025 they sold the Hope Brook project for $3M cash + shares.
• Book Value of Properties: As of Dec 31, 2025, their mineral properties were carried on the books at ~$251 million (this is cost-based, not market value).
• Recent Major Financings (2025):
  • July: Raised $12 million via a public offering.
  • August: Raised $24.4 million via a non-brokered offering.
  • These funds are crucial for their large 2025 drill programs at Duparquet.

🚀 The Flagship Projects: Springpole & Duparquet

These two assets are why the company exists. Here’s the current status:

Springpole (Ontario) - The Giant

• What it is: A massive, low-grade open-pit gold deposit. It's one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada.
• Major Milestone: In November 2025, they released a new Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The numbers are big:
  • After-Tax NPV (5%): US$2.1 billion at $3,100/oz gold (rising to US$3.8 billion at $4,200/oz gold).
  • After-Tax IRR: 41% at $3,100/oz gold.
  • Mine Life: 11 years.
  • Annual Production: ~230,000 ounces of gold.
• Permitting is Key: They submitted the final Environmental Impact Statement in Nov 2024. It's now under federal and provincial review. This approval is the single biggest catalyst for the project.
• Indigenous Agreements: They have process agreements with Cat Lake and Lac Seul First Nations, and a long-term relationship agreement with Mishkeegogamang First Nation.

Duparquet (Quebec) - The Growth Engine

• What it is: A past-producing gold project with a significant resource and major exploration upside.
• Economics: A 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) showed:
  • After-Tax NPV (5%): C$588 million at US$1,800/oz gold.
  • After-Tax IRR: 18.0%.
  • Annual Production: ~230,000 oz over 11 years.
• Exploration Success (2025): This is where the excitement is. Drilling in 2025 discovered multiple new high-grade gold zones (Miroir, Aiguille, Minuit), significantly expanding the potential resource. They completed ~16,600 meters of drilling in 2025 and plan 18,000 meters in 2026.
• Environmental Cleanup: They are remediating legacy issues (arsenic trioxide residue) from past mining operations, with major excavation planned for 2026.

📦 The Rest of the Portfolio

• Pickle Crow (Ontario): They own a 30% interest. Their joint-venture partner (FireFly) sold its 70% stake to Bellavista Resources in Feb 2026.
• Cameron Gold Project (Ontario): Sold! In early 2026, they closed the sale to Seva Mining Corp. for C$5M cash and 80M Seva shares (~48% ownership). This turns a non-core asset into a liquid investment.
• Hope Brook (Newfoundland): Fully divested. Sold their final 20% interest in July 2025 for $3M cash and shares of Big Ridge Gold.
• Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt (BUGB): They own a huge land package (~70,000+ hectares) around Springpole. Ongoing exploration here has yielded exciting new discoveries like the Saddle (0.92 g/t Au over 114m) and Challenger high-grade zones.

🚨 Risks: Why This Is a High-Stakes Game

The filing lists extensive risks. The most critical for an investor to understand:

• Execution Risk: Advancing giant projects like Springpole through permitting, financing, and construction is complex, expensive, and time-consuming.
• Commodity Price Risk: The economics of the projects are highly sensitive to the price of gold.
• Financing Risk: They constantly need to raise money. Future financing may not be available or could be very dilutive to shareholders.
• Political/Community Risk: Project delays can happen, as seen with the Cat Lake First Nation's challenge to the Springpole winter road permits (since settled via an agreement).
• Exploration Risk: There’s no guarantee that positive drill results translate into an economically viable mine.

🔮 What's Next: The 2026 Roadmap

1. Springpole Permitting: Wait for the federal and provincial environmental assessment decisions. This is THE major catalyst.
2. Springpole Feasibility Study: Begin work to convert the Pre-Feasibility into a more detailed Feasibility Study.
3. Duparquet Drilling: Execute the planned 18,000-meter drill program to convert exploration success into defined mineral resources.
4. Seva Mining (ex-Cameron): Watch their new ~48% holding in Seva, which is now a publicly traded company focused on the Cameron project.

🧠 The Analogy

First Mining is like a startup tech company. Instead of developing software, they're "developing" gold mines. Their "products" (Springpole, Duparquet) are still in the R&D and prototype phase (exploration, studies, permits). They have no "sales" (revenue) yet and are burning cash, funded by venture capital (share issuances). Their goal is to prove the technology works (get permits and a feasibility study) to attract a big partner or buyer who can afford the massive "factory" construction costs to bring the product to market (build the mine). The high risk is balanced by the potential for a breakthrough discovery.

📇 Key Contacts & People

• Head Office: 2070 – 1188 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4A2, Canada
• Phone: 1-844-306-8827
• Website: www.firstmininggold.com
• Board of Directors: (As of the filing date, see page 111 for full list)
  • Geoff Gold (Chair)
  • Keith Neumeyer (Founder, Director)
  • Daniella Dimitrov
  • James Goodman
  • Amber MacNeil
  • Dr. Lyn Anglin
  • Chris Tacit
• Management Team:
  • Dan Wilton (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Tim Smith (Chief Financial Officer)
  • James Maxwell (Vice President, Exploration & Project Operations)
  • Hazel Mullin (Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Corporate Secretary)
  • Stephen Lines (Vice President, Sustainability)

🧩 Final Takeaway

First Mining is an advanced-stage gold developer with two large, economically robust projects in Canada. Their future hinges almost entirely on securing the environmental permit for the Springpole mine and continuing to grow the Duparquet resource. They are well-funded for now but face the classic developer's path of high risk, high reward, and perpetual need for capital. Watch the permitting timeline and drill results from Duparquet closely.