Permits Received To Expand Isabella Pearl Heap Leach Pad

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Fortitude Gold Corp. has received the permit approval for the expansion of the Isabella Pearl heap leach pad located in Mineral County, Nevada. An expansion to the existing heap leach pad is required to accommodate the additional ore reserve tonnes defined during exploration drill campaigns in 2019 and 2020. The newly permitted area for pad expansion is larger than the initial phase two expansion area slated for construction. This allows the Company to expand the pad further in the future under these existing permits, if and when necessary. Company management is optimistic that current and future exploration drilling on the larger Isabella Pearl mineralized property trend may define additional open-pit gold deposits that could be processed on an expanded Isabella Pearl heap leach pad.

The heap leach pad construction contractor is mobilizing equipment to site and phase two construction is expected to begin shortly. Construction is targeted to be completed late in the fourth quarter of 2021, or early in the first quarter of 2022. This phase two pad expansion budget is approximately $3M to be funded from operating cash flow.

Jason Reid, CEO and President, said, "Our environmental, engineering and permitting teams have done a great job working with the regulators to finalize and secure this heap leach expansion permit. We did not want to simply permit enough additional heap leach pad space for the Isabella Pearl mine's recently added ounces but wanted to be in a stronger position to process additional ore discovered on the extensive Isabella Pearl property trend. This phase two pad expansion is expected to take care of our processing needs through 2024 and also gives us the flexibility to expand the heap leach pad even further if needed in the future. An added benefit to this pad expansion permit is the new mine plan project boundary was pushed to the west and now encompasses a large part of the Scarlet drill target. This gives us added flexibility with exploration and possible pit development within the new project boundary. The Scarlet target adjacent to the Isabella Pearl pit has returned some exciting drill results. We look to expand on those results and discover another open pit on the Isabella Pearl's extensive mineralized trend. This new heap leach permit is in place for future expansion beyond the current phase two when needed."