Kinross Gold Submits Exploration Plan of Operations for Riley Gold's PWC Project (Cortez District - Nevada)

Vancouver, March 18, 2026 - Riley Gold Corp. (TSXV: RLYG) (OTCQB: RLYGF) ("Riley Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that preparation is underway for the completion of an Exploration Plan of Operations ("EPO") for the Company's Pipeline West/Clipper Gold Project ("PWC") located in the Cortez mining district of the Battle Mountain - Eureka Trend. PWC is operated by Kinross Gold U.S.A., Inc. ("Kinross"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX: K) (NYSE: KGC), under an exploration earn-in agreement executed in March 2024.

"This EPO submission represents a major milestone and significant commitment by Kinross to unlock the full potential of the PWC Gold Project," said Todd Hilditch, President and CEO of Riley Gold. "The proposed EPO project boundary is 14 square kilometers (3,478 acres), would allow for up to 500 drill sites in phases and proposes up to 250 acres of disturbance. Once approved by the Bureau of Land Management and State of Nevada, the EPO will allow for a significant acceleration of exploration and drilling efforts on high priority targets identified from successful exploration efforts by Kinross."

Riley Gold and Kinross have been conducting exploration activities within the PWC project area under a Notice of Intent, allowing the Company to disturb up to 5 acres of land with ongoing reclamation. Exploration results to date have been encouraging and as such planning for expanding exploration and drilling activities within the PWC claim boundary are essential.

The EPO, upon approval by the Bureau of Land Management and State of Nevada, would allow Kinross to conduct exploration activities across 14 square kilometres (3,478 acres) within the PWC project. The additional exploration activities would include up to 500 drill sites constructed with each drill site having an approximate 100-foot by 100-foot working surface, drill pads and sumps, access roads, overland travel, and laydown areas. The program will continue to evolve with each iterative step designed to identify and test multiple high-priority targets identified through 2025 and 2026 drilling, seismic/ geophysical surveys, and geochemical soil sampling. Planned drilling for 2026 continues to be on track for late Spring (2026).

About PWC:

PWC constitutes a very prospective exploration property for Carlin-type, disseminated and replacement gold deposits. PWC consists of a land package totaling approximately 27.2 km² of unpatented mining claims and patented fee lands adjoining NGM. PWC is situated along the Cortez structural zone of the exceptionally productive Cortez Trend within the Battle Mountain - Eureka Trend in north central Nevada (Figure 1). The Cortez and Pipeline complexes (adjoining Riley Gold's PWC boundary) are top producers within Nevada, a State that has consistently produced between 4-5 million ounces of gold a year.

Figure 1. PWC project location in the Cortez district

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About Riley Gold Corp.

Riley Gold is an exploration and development company focused in Nevada, USA, with assets located in the Battle Mountain Eureka Trend (within the Cortez District) and the Walker Lane Trend. Riley Gold's founders and leadership team have a proven track record of maximizing shareholder value during each phase of the mining life cycle: exploration, development, and production.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information.

This press release contains statements which constitute "forward looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Although Riley Gold believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Riley Gold can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions and the ability to obtain the requisite approvals of the TSX Venture Exchange when necessary. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future business activities and involves risks and uncertainties. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Riley Gold operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca). There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

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