Published: February 19, 2026 |

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Contango ORE released an update on Johnson Tract permitting, Manh Choh operations, and hedge contract settlements.

JOHNSON TRACT PERMITTING

The Johnson Tract Critical Metals Project permitting timetable was officially placed onto the FAST-41 dashboard.

The permitting timetable for Johnson Tract serves as a publicly visible contract between the federal government and the company to ensure that development of the Johnson Tract Critical Metals Project stays on track and remains coordinated between all parties involved in the ongoing permitting process.

“We are pleased that our Johnson Tract project is now up and running on the FAST 41 Dashboard, and posting progress in real time with our first initial application submitted for a permit on February 2, 2026. We appreciate the efforts of Permitting Council, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the lead federal agency and all cooperating agencies and parties involved in the permitting process,” said Contango President and CEO, Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse.

“We believe this transparent process will enable all parties to remain coordinated and accountable throughout permitting. I encourage all interested parties to stay up to date on the Johnson Tract Critical Metals Project as it moves through the permitting process,” added Nieuwenhuyse.

MANH CHOH OPERATIONS

On February 5, 2026 the Peak Gold JV commenced the first production campaign for 2026 of Manh Choh ore through the Kinross Fort Knox mill located near Fairbanks, Alaska. Processing of ore is planned to continue into early to mid-March.

“At Manh Choh, we look forward to processing the first batch of ore for 2026 through the Fort Knox milling facility. It has been a cold winter in Alaska with Spring still a few months away, but ore has continued to be delivered to the Manh Choh stockpile at Fort Knox. Despite the conveyor belt fire reported at Fort Knox late last month, there has been no interruption to processing Manh Choh ore,” said Nieuwenhuyse.

HEDGE CONTRACT SETTLEMENT

On February 12, 2026, the company paid $46,381,535 to settle gold hedge contracts for 15,446 ounces with an average strike price of $2,025 per ounce with maturities ranging between March and September 2026.

In addition, as part of a price protection strategy to offset the hedge settlements, the company paid $448,986 to purchase 15,446 puts with a strike price of $4,000 per ounce. The schedule of the puts match the periods of the hedge settlements. The remaining gold hedge contracts total 11,000 ounces in 2026 and 15,000 ounces in the first half of 2027.

“We are pleased to have substantially reduced our hedge book for 2026, resulting in more exposure to record high gold prices for the company. We will continue to work with our lenders to eliminate the remainder of the hedges this year,” said Contango Chief Financial Officer, Mike Clark.

Contango engages in exploration for gold and associated minerals in Alaska. Contango holds a 30 percent interest in the Peak Gold JV, which leases approximately 675,000 acres of land for exploration and development on the Manh Choh project, with the remaining 70 percent owned by KG Mining (Alaska), an indirect subsidiary of Kinross Gold, operator of the Peak Gold JV. The company and its subsidiaries also have: a lease on the Johnson Tract project from the underlying owner, CIRI; a lease on the Lucky Shot project from the underlying owner, Alaska Hardrock; 100 percent ownership of approximately 8,600 acres of peripheral State of Alaska mining claims; 100 percent interest in approximately 145,000 acres of state of Alaska mining claims that give Contango the exclusive right to explore and develop minerals on these lands.

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