Blossom Gold Inc. has secured full access to Decline #2 at its Rosebud Project in Pershing County, Nevada, following the successful blasting of a concrete closure plug. Mining contractor Small Mine Development LLC mobilized to the site, completed necessary earthworks, and executed the blast on August 24, 2026.

Reopening the underground workings is required to conduct resource drilling that exceeds the five-acre surface disturbance constraint of the company’s Bureau of Land Management Notice of Intent. In July, Blossom anticipated finishing earthworks to open Portal #2 the week of July 20. The current work advances operations into active decline rehabilitation, covering approximately 3,000 feet (915 meters) of Decline #2 to restore safe underground access through ground support, ventilation, and utility installation.

“Blasting the concrete closure plug and gaining full access to Decline #2 after 25 years is a fundamental milestone in our continuing evaluation of Rosebud. We had more work to do than expected to reestablish access but now that rehabilitation is underway, we expect to get back on schedule. SMD’s scope of work includes rehabilitation, drill bay development and bulk sampling for continued metallurgical testing and heap leach optimization. Infill drilling will begin in Q4 and is critical to generating the data we need to meet our schedule for an updated open-pit mineral resource estimate in Q1 2027. Portal #2 provides access to the historic workings of the former Rosebud underground mine, which produced approximately one million tons of ore grading over 15gAu/t from 1997 through 2000. Blossom continues to evaluate the potential for higher grade underground resources, which will benefit directly from the rehabilitation of Decline #2 that is now underway.”

— Graden Colby, Blossom’s COO

Underground drill stations will be established concurrently as rehabilitation proceeds. Blossom plans to commence an approximately 27,000-foot (8,200-meter) underground infill drilling program in the fourth quarter of 2026. Data generated from the program will support an updated Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for the first quarter of 2027, feeding into feasibility studies and permitting for Rosebud's Plan of Operations.

Read the full announcement: Blossom Gold Announces Rehabilitation of Decline #2 Underway at Rosebud