Banyan Gold Corp.

Tara Christie (M.Sc., P.Eng.) has been CEO since 2016 with 25+ years in Yukon exploration and mining, including running Gimlex Gold Mines, one of Yukon's largest placer operations. She brings genuine technical credentials, First Nation relations experience, and jurisdictional depth — a rare combination for a project of this scale.

Total insider ownership is approximately 6.2% of the company, with Christie holding ~3.4% and Director David Reid ~3.0%. Strategic anchor shareholders include Alpayana S.A.C. (8.6%, Peruvian mining group), Franklin Gold, Osisko Development, Rick Rule, and Quinton Hennigh. This shareholder register is credible and aligned. Board Chair Marc Blythe led corporate development at Nevsun through its C$1.9B acquisition by Zijin.

The board and management team were materially strengthened in 2025–2026: Duncan MacKay (VP Exploration, 15+ years, P.Geo.) hired in 2025, and Patrick Langlois (VP Strategy and Corporate Development, ex-Probe Gold CFO with 25+ years M&A and capital markets) joined in March 2026. This is a team building toward a transaction. Score docked one point as aggregate insider ownership (6.2%) is modest for a company at this value inflection point.

The AurMac Project (Mayo Mining District, central Yukon) holds a June 28, 2025 NI 43-101 MRE prepared by independent QP Marc Jutras (P.Eng., Ginto Consulting): Indicated 2.274 Moz Au at 0.63 g/t (112.5 Mt) and Inferred 5.453 Moz Au at 0.60 g/t (280.6 Mt), totaling approximately 7.727 Moz. No Measured resource exists. The resource is pit-constrained at a 0.30 g/t cut-off using a Lerchs-Grossman open-pit shell. Approximately 71% of the total resource remains Inferred — the lowest-confidence classification.

CRITICAL STUDY LEVEL: No PEA, PFS, or Feasibility Study has been completed. The maiden PEA is targeted for H2 2026 — this will be the first economic assessment ever completed on the 7.7 Moz AurMac project. Metallurgy is encouraging with 2021 test work showing ~90% average gold recovery via heap leach (60–72%) and tank leach (84%). The project is road-accessible and proximal to Victoria Gold's Eagle Mine infrastructure (30 km). A 6% NSR royalty (now held by Franco-Nevada after a March 2026 acquisition) covers the McQuesten and Aurex properties (~13% of total AurMac area including the existing resource), with a C$10M buydown option to 1%.

Active 2026 drilling (40,000m program with five rigs) is targeting high-grade Powerline starter-pit zones. Recent highlights include 1.82 g/t Au over 26.2m and 5.08 g/t Au over 5.0m, with visible gold in every hole. Score of 3: large Indicated base exists and geology is compelling, but the 71% Inferred weighting and absence of any economic study anchor this at mid-range until the PEA is released.

Shares outstanding are approximately 413 million (basic) and ~443.5 million fully diluted, with ~30.2 million options outstanding. Critically, neither the March 2025 ($14.5M flow-through) nor the October 2025 ($31.4M Alpayana strategic) placements issued warrants or paid finders' fees — a genuine positive for share structure discipline in a sector notorious for warrant overhang.

Cash position was approximately $42 million as of October 2025, providing funding visibility through 2027 and covering the full 40,000m+ 2026 drill program and PEA costs. The single meaningful structural negative is the 6% NSR royalty on the McQuesten and Aurex properties (the primary resource area), now held by Franco-Nevada after a $52.2M purchase from the Victoria Gold receiver in March 2026. Banyan retains a buydown option to reduce this to 1% for a one-time $10M payment — manageable but an economic drag that will reduce PEA NAV on the affected portion. Score of 4: clean warrant structure and strong treasury are genuine strengths; one point deducted for the Franco-Nevada royalty encumbrance.

The near-term catalyst pipeline is the richest in the company's history. A 40,000m AurMac drill program commenced in early 2026 with five rigs operating, targeting high-grade Powerline starter-pit zones and step-outs. Assay results from both the 2025 and 2026 programs will generate active news flow through mid-2026. An updated MRE is expected in Q2 2026, likely incorporating the ~42,700m drilled in 2025 and upgrading additional Inferred to Indicated classification.

The defining catalyst is the maiden PEA, targeted for H2 2026. This will be the first independent economic assessment of the 7.7 Moz AurMac project and is expected to be a material valuation re-rating event — the company trades at approximately 0.16x NAV versus peers at 0.40x, with the gap historically closing around PEA publication. Secondary catalysts include ongoing silver vein characterization (3,409 g/t Ag over 1.4m discovery in early 2026) and potential M&A/strategic partner activity. Score of 4: multiple near-term hard catalysts are confirmed and funded; one point withheld as the PEA lacks a hard Q date and H2 2026 has a meaningful risk of slipping.

At C$1.40/share and ~416M shares outstanding, BYN's market cap is approximately C$583M (US$420M). The company trades at approximately US$55/oz on its 7.7 Moz total resource, or approximately US$185/oz on the higher-confidence 2.274 Moz Indicated resource alone. Analyst consensus NAV multiple is ~0.16x (per CEO YIR letter citing Canaccord), versus peers at ~0.40x NAV — implying a 60% discount to sector average partly justified by the pre-PEA stage and heavy Inferred weighting.

No formal PEA NAV exists. A rough pre-PEA resource value (applying C$50–80/oz Indicated and C$20–30/oz Inferred) plus treasury suggests a conservative in-situ NAV floor in the range of C$1.50–2.50/share before any economic-study premium. The Franco-Nevada 6% NSR on the resource area will reduce the PEA NAV when quantified. Analyst price targets range from C$1.55 to C$3.50 (ATB Cormark, March 2026), consensus approximately C$1.93. Score of 3: compelling upside if PEA delivers, but pre-PEA Inferred-heavy resource with a royalty drag warrants the current discount. NAV per share is not calculable under the framework's study-tier guidelines and has been set to null.