Star Metro - Kalo Gold Awarded Inaugural Digbee Sustainability Rating of BBB

• Overall rating of BBB, with a range of C to AA, awarded on the Company's first Digbee assessment.
• Corporate rating of BBB (range CCC to A) and a Vatu Aurum Project rating of BBB (range C to AA).
• Independently scored by an accredited Digbee scoring team of two scorers and a team lead, question by question, against standardised criteria on a scale from AAA to D.
• No fatalities, no disabling injuries and no lost time incidents recorded since exploration activities began in 2010.
• Local employment - during the first eight months of 2026 over 90% of staff were Fiji nationals, with the site team reaching nearly 100 people.
• Local procurement - approximately 70% of current project procurement is sourced at the local level.
• Certified - Kalo is licensed to display the Digbee ESG Certified emblem for the period 15 September 2026 to 14 September 2027.

Terry L. Tucker, P.Geo. - President and Chief Executive Officer, Kalo Gold Corp.

"This was our first Digbee submission, and we put forward the record as it actually stands rather than as we would like it to read. An independent team scored the submission question by question against standardised criteria. They were thorough and even-handed, and they engaged seriously with the evidence we put forward. A BBB on a first assessment is a measured starting point, and the report gives us a specific list of what to work on. I want to thank Mike Nesbitt, Sala Tueba and Jennifer Sly, who built the record the assessment was based on."

Jamie Strauss - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Digbee

"Kalo Gold came to this process with a very comprehensive submission, and the result reflects that. Kalo has made managing risk part of how it operates, at the stage where it matters most. That's the foundation for social licence, permitting and financing. A BBB at first assessment, for an explorer at this stage, reflects a company disclosing what it does rather than what it would like to be seen doing. That is the behaviour the framework is built to recognise."

Digbee is a sustainability disclosure and scoring framework developed for the mining sector in consultation with mining companies, sustainability specialists and capital providers. Submissions comprise a corporate questionnaire and a questionnaire for each disclosable project, tailored to the stage of the company and the project. Scoring is undertaken by accredited sustainability experts with experience of mining projects comparable to those being assessed. Each scoring team comprises two scorers and a team lead, so that every submission is peer reviewed. Each question is manually reviewed and scored against standardised criteria and the results are averaged to produce an output score, together with a confidence band that illustrates the range within which the awarded score could move should the risks identified be realised or mitigated.

Kalo's submission was made under the exploration-stage corporate and project frameworks and was supported by evidence from the Company's Safety and Sustainability Programme covering governance, health and safety, environmental baseline work, landowner and community engagement, grievance management, local employment and procurement.

Digbee recorded that the Company has a Board, management team and advisors with relevant experience in capital markets, technical matters, financial management and operations, and that the leadership team includes a sustainability advisor, with the Safety and Sustainability Committee reporting quarterly to the Board under a Charter and Terms of Reference and an 11-point sustainability framework established.

The assessment also recorded that Kalo has built relationships with landowners and communities, with access and compensation agreements in place for all exploration activities; that project-related communications and engagement are conducted in English and in iTaukei, led by the Country Managing Director and supported by dedicated landowner liaisons; and that the Company has made documented contributions to community infrastructure in Fiji, including improvements to community water supply systems and community road access.

Health, safety, environmental and community activity is documented through the Company's SiteDocs digital system, which Digbee recorded as providing comprehensive information on health, safety and environment, expenditures, training, monitoring and reporting. At the project level the highest available rating of AAA was awarded for local representation in the project team and for security and firearms practice, with AA ratings awarded for team and equipment security, stakeholder engagement, local language engagement, cultural preservation, stakeholder inclusion in decision making, water discharge and the commencement of baseline monitoring. At the corporate level the highest rating awarded was AA, for permitting compliance monitoring.

The record assessed by Digbee is built and maintained on the ground in Fiji. Michael Nesbitt, Director and Country Managing Director, leads the Company's in-country management and its engagement with landowners and communities. Sala Tueba, Health, Safety and Ecological Lead, completes the daily field safety and environmental record. Jennifer Sly, Safety and Sustainability Lead, consolidates that field data into the Company's weekly and monthly reporting and administered the Company's Digbee submission. The assessment rests on their work.

Digbee identified three overarching matters. First, while the Company has established sustainability-related governance mechanisms, there is an opportunity to integrate sustainability more explicitly and systemically into corporate strategy. Second, integrated risk management has not yet been developed or embedded into activities at the corporate level. Third, the Company does not have succession plans for Board members or for key management and technical personnel.

At the corporate level the assessment also recorded that the current Board membership does not demonstrate gender diversity, that the Company does not have a policy or procedure on Board recruitment or evaluation of Board capabilities, that a Remuneration Committee has not been established and the current remuneration programme does not incorporate ESG performance related incentives, and that emergency preparedness planning addresses site activities rather than corporate resilience such as business continuity or cybersecurity.

The scores are valid for twelve months from 15 September 2026, and the Company's next Digbee submission is due on 15 September 2027. Further detail on the assessment, including the score distribution for every question assessed, is set out in the safety and sustainability section of the Company's website.

Kalo Gold Corp. is a gold exploration company advancing the 100%-owned Vatu Aurum Project (Special Prospecting Licences 1511 and 1464), a 367 km² land package on Vanua Levu, Fiji, located in a preserved volcanic back-arc setting. The Company's work is focused on a northeast-trending corridor of low-sulphidation epithermal gold targets. Exploration across the corridor - including at the flagship Aurum Prime area and Wainikoro - has defined multiple structurally controlled gold targets supported by drilling, trenching, soil geochemistry, structural mapping and airborne geophysics. The Company is systematically advancing high-confidence targets toward potential discovery.

Kalo Gold Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (KALO), the OTCID Market (KLGDF), and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (9M51).

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Kalo Gold Corp.

Terry L. Tucker, P.Geo.
President and Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Ma, CPA, CA
Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Director
For further information: [email protected] | www.kalogoldcorp.com

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

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as "will", "may", "should", "could", "would", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "interpret", "plan", "potential", "continue", "target", "prospective", "scheduled", "conceptual", and similar expressions, or by statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: (i) the expectation that the Company's next Digbee submission will be made on or about 15 September 2027; (ii) the continued validity of the Digbee sustainability rating and of the licence to display the Digbee ESG Certified emblem through 14 September 2027; (iii) the confidence bands disclosed in this news release, which indicate the range within which the awarded scores could move should the risks identified be realised or mitigated, and which are not a prediction of any future rating; and (iv) the Company's ability to secure the financing, permits, tenure and regulatory approvals required to advance exploration on the Vatu Aurum Project.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that the Company considers reasonable but which may prove to be inaccurate, including: that the Company will continue to participate in the Digbee framework and will be able to fund and prepare a further submission; that the information submitted to Digbee is complete and accurate in all material respects; that the Company will be able to fund and execute its planned exploration programs; that landowner consents and ground access will continue to be granted; that permits, tenure and licences will remain in good standing; that there will be no adverse change in the political, regulatory or operational environment in Fiji; and that commodity prices and capital markets conditions will support continued exploration.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied, including: that a sustainability rating is an opinion of a third party based on information submitted by the Company as at a point in time, is not a credit rating, an investment recommendation or a statement of fact, and may be revised, suspended or withdrawn; that Digbee's scoring criteria, methodology or frameworks may change; that a future submission may result in a lower rating than the rating disclosed in this news release; that the matters identified for improvement may not be addressed in the manner or within the time anticipated; exploration risk generally, and the risk that exploration does not result in a discovery - no mineral resource or mineral reserve has been estimated on the Vatu Aurum Project; permit, tenure and title risk; risks of operating in Fiji, including fuel supply, logistics and currency risk; dependence on key personnel; environmental, health and safety risk; financing and dilution risk; and commodity price volatility.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Readers are directed to the Company's continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Figure 1: A graphic representation of Kalo Gold's overall Sustainability risks and opportunities assessed by Digbee. The top five rating bands of AAA to BB give credit for present positives / opportunities. The bottom five rating bands of B to D reflect present negatives / threats.

Figure 2: A graphic representation of Kalo Gold's corporate sustainability risks and opportunities assessed by Digbee.

Figure 3: A graphic representation of the Vatu Aurum Project's sustainability risks and opportunities assessed by Digbee.

SOURCE: Kalo Gold Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

S.Morin--SMC