Upside Gold Corp. has completed a comprehensive compilation of historic exploration data from its Kena Gold-Copper Property in southeastern British Columbia, revealing a mineralized system that extends well beyond previously defined boundaries. The work, which integrated geological, geophysical and geochemical data from exploration conducted since 1974, has created an updated digital 3D exploration model that identifies significant expansion potential across the 10,115-hectare property.
The compilation highlights a large gold-copper mineralized system that extends beyond the historic mineral resource estimate of 2.77 million inferred ounces at an average grade of 0.486 g/t Au and 0.561 million indicated ounces at an average grade of 0.544 g/t Au of gold. The system remains open in multiple directions and at depth, with integrated data outlining a mineralized trend extending at least seven kilometres along strike. This represents a substantial increase from previous understanding of the property's potential.
Dr. Trevor Boyd, Vice President of Exploration at Upside Gold, stated that the compilation work has significantly improved the company's understanding of the Kena mineralized system. "Integrating decades of exploration data into a modern 3D model is helping us identify areas where mineralization may extend beyond the historic resource and focus our 2026 drilling on the most promising expansion targets," Boyd explained.
The technical review revealed important new information about the property's metal content. During compilation of the drillhole database containing 24,200 core samples, it became evident that silver and copper results had not been systematically recorded despite being analyzed in over 90% of historic drilling. The program extracted these results from compiled digital and analog analytical certificates, adding them to the master database. This revealed copper values reaching up to 71,800 ppm, with more than 2,900 samples exceeding 500 ppm Cu, while silver values reached up to 145 ppm, with over 2,650 samples exceeding 1 ppm for Ag.
The integration of mapped geology and structural interpretation with geophysical survey results supports the conclusion that mineralization at Kena is predominantly structurally controlled by a major steeply dipping, southeast-trending hydrothermally altered fault zone known as the Kena Deformation Zone. This structure marks the contact between the Silver King Porphyry intrusive and Elsie Group intermediate volcanic rocks and is characterized by a dominant low magnetic signature that can be traced for at least 11 kilometres along strike, as illustrated in the company's February 3, 2026 news release available at https://www.newmediawire.com.
Induced polarization surveys covering much of the northern portion of the property identify zones of high chargeability and low resistivity that support the definition of disseminated pyrite-hosted mineralization. These signatures extend both within the four kilometer strike Kena lode gold body and for at least an additional three kilometers along strike to the southeast, suggesting a total strike length of at least seven kilometres. Sporadic historic drilling of these anomalies outside the Kena historic mineral resource has returned wide intervals of both lode and porphyry-style gold and copper mineralization, including surface and near-surface intercepts with significant copper and gold values.
The addition of extensive historic soil survey data to the exploration model, covering areas similar to the IP surveys, is consistent with the current geological model. Copper and gold geochemical anomalies are spatially associated with favorable IP and magnetic signatures. High soil gold anomalies also cover broad areal expanses southwest of the Kena lode gold body, consistent with geological interpretation that mineralization extends southwestward at depth beyond the boundaries of the historic resource.
The majority of first priority gold-copper diamond drill targets for 2026 will focus on testing along strike to the southeast within the Kena Copper Zone, with the goal of demonstrating sufficient continuity and grade to define a second major mineralized zone on the property. The work also supports the belief that the precious metal and copper mineralized system extends across much of the southern half of the property, which has never undergone diamond drilling or detailed exploration.
For more information on Upside Gold Corp., please visit the company's website at https://www.upsidegoldcorp.com. The Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia has been largely overlooked for gold and copper exploration in the past, offering opportunities for both new discoveries and the development of known historic prospects into viable mineralized bodies.
