TORONTO, Feb. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gold Candle Ltd. (Private) (the “Company”) is pleased to provide additional assay results returned from delineation drilling targeting stacked footwall lenses within, and immediately adjacent to, the existing Kerr-Addison open pit mineral resources. The drilling was part of the previously reported Open Pit Infill and Chesterville East (CVE) exploration program (14,100 metres over 49 holes) completed in 2025.
The assays from the Footwall Main Zone drilling returned higher grade intervals than widely spaced historic drilling and outline the potential for a mineralized corridor of three to four stacked lenses, striking northeast for approximately 400 metres with a width of approximately 300 metres, located immediately southeast of the Kerr-Addison main zone (Figure 1). Using a 20 GXM (grams per tonne x metres) threshold, 10 holes returned significant intercepts with six of the 10 holes including gold grades over 1.35 grams per tonne where the May 2025 InnovExplo block model had interpolated limited mineralization:
- KAD25-369: 212.00 – 226.48 m; 14.48 m @ 1.99 g/t
- KAD25-378: 185.00 – 228.70 m; 43.70 m @ 1.45 g/t
- KAD25-382: 125.00 – 160.25 m; 35.25 m @ 1.81g/t
- KAD25-383: 44.68 – 89.00 m; 44.32 m @ 1.36 g/t
- KAD25-387: 226.00 – 241.00 m; 15.0 m @ 1.76 g/t
- KAD25-389: 139.20 – 153.00 m; 13.80 m @ 1.80 g/t
The other four of 10 significant intercepts successfully upgraded resource classification by achieving the 60-metre planned drill spacing (Figure1):
- KAD24-359: 6.00 – 24.00 m; 18.00 m @ 1.77 g/t
- KAD25-373: 410.39 – 420.72 m; 10.33 m @ 2.28 g/t
- KAD25-374: 32.00 – 52.00 m; 20.00 m @ 3.42 g/t
- KAD25-384: 385.00 – 406.60 m; 21.06 m @ 1.60 g/t
Rick Howes, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Candle Ltd., stated, “We are very pleased with these latest results as they continue to demonstrate the potential for the stacked footwall zones to develop a level of continuity that, with more drilling, should positively impact our mineral resource inventory. Further, the conversion of tonnes, that were previously estimated as very low grade or waste, to economic ore is very positive for our eventual operating plans and project economics.”
As the Company’s focus has increasingly shifted to drilling for potential increases in the existing open pit mineral resource at Kerr-Addison, Gold Candle looks forward to providing further exploration updates in the coming months.
Figure 1

Figure 1 – Surface Composite Plan view of Kerr-Addison Project. Pit shell constrained MRE Potential Resource Class wireframes and block model Au ppm grades highlighted, refer to Au ppm legend. Significant reported Footwall Main Zone drill hole traces in red. Drill traces coloured blue are pending assay results. Dashed yellow lines represent Cross Sections shown in Figures 2A through 2C, from west to east, looking northeast.
Cross Section 2A, Looking Northeast, KAD25-382
hportmann@goldcandle.com
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bd400b14-2440-4b3d-b30c-d36fd1bc4a6d
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25c42ce5-143d-40c5-ae1d-b7309fe489f7
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b0ababe2-eeb0-42d5-b7c9-25e76462a119
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bac6825a-dfd6-480e-8fc7-f9ee5db372db

