New Found Gold Corp.  (TSX-V: NFG) (NYSE-A: NFGC) is pleased to announce the results from 16 diamond drill holes that were completed as part of a drill program designed to test the Keats West Zone, a low-angle thrust fault that dips gently to the south-southwest and is located on the west side of the highly prospective Appleton Fault Zone. New Found’s 100%-owned Queensway project comprises a 1,662km² area, accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Keats West Highlights:

Table 1: Keats West Drilling Highlights

Note that the host structures are interpreted to be steeply dipping and true widths are generally estimated to be ¹70% to 95% and ²40% to 70% of reported intervals. ⁴True widths are unknown at this time. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 4m consecutive dilution when above 200m vertical depth and 2m consecutive dilution when below 200m vertical depth. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness.

• 42.8 g/t Au over 11.60m in NFGC-22-990 was intersected in a 27m step-out from previously reported 42.6 g/t Au over 32.00m in NFGC-22-960 (November 28, 2022), further defining one of the high-grade Keats West fault segments.

• 2.47 g/t Au over 27.85m, 1.39 g/t Au over 21.30m and 66.0 g/t Au over 2.70m in NFGC-22-1028 are located 275m down-dip of previously released 6.68 g/t Au over 24.00m in NFGC-22-784 (January 24, 2023) and 85m along strike of previously reported 17.2 g/t Au over 22.90m and 12.0 g/t Au over 18.40m in NFGC-22-1040 (April 25, 2023). This series of intervals defines a thick panel of gold mineralization that is over 50m wide and represents an uplifted panel of the Keats West Fault (Figure 3).

• Keats West has a drill-defined mineralized footprint spanning 305m long by 315m wide and starts at surface with all intercepts drilled to date occurring above 130m vertical depth. The zone has a cumulative average thickness of 30m.

Melissa Render, VP of Exploration of New Found, stated: “The holes reported today were completed as part of a program to both expand and better define the near-surface section of Keats West. Drilling in this area continues to identify mineralization that starts at surface and has a low-angle orientation that allows for easy exploration through shallow drilling. True widths at Keats West range from 10m to greater than 50m and include multiple domains of high-grade gold mineralization. Overall, today’s results provide us with additional confidence that the continuity of gold mineralization across the Keats West Fault is strong.”

Drillhole Details

Table 2: Summary of composite results reported in this press release for Keats West

Note that the host structures are interpreted to be steeply dipping and true widths are generally estimated to be ¹70% to 95%, ²40% to 70%, and ³10% to 40% of reported intervals. ⁴True widths are unknown at this time. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 4m consecutive dilution when above 200m vertical depth and 2m consecutive dilution when below 200m vertical depth. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness.

Table 3: Details of drill holes reported in this press release

Queensway 500,000m Drill Program Update

The Company is currently undertaking a 500,000m drill program at Queensway and approximately 23,000m of core is currently pending assay results.

Sampling, Sub-sampling, and Laboratory

All drilling recovers HQ core. Drill core is split in half using a diamond saw or a hydraulic splitter for rare intersections with incompetent core.

A geologist examines the drill core and marks out the intervals to be sampled and the cutting line. Sample lengths are mostly 1.0 metre and adjusted to respect lithological and/or mineralogical contacts and isolate narrow (<1.0m) veins or other structures that may yield higher grades.

Technicians saw the core along the defined cutting line. One-half of the core is kept as a witness sample and the other half is submitted for analysis. Individual sample bags are sealed and placed into totes, which are then sealed and marked with the contents.

New Found has submitted samples for gold determination by fire assay to ALS Canada Ltd. (“ALS”) and by photon assay to MSALABS since June 2022. ALS and MSA operate under a commercial contract with New Found.

Drill core samples are shipped to ALS for sample preparation in Sudbury, Ontario, Thunder Bay, Ontario, or Moncton, New Brunswick. ALS is an ISO-17025 accredited laboratory for the fire assay method.

Drill core samples are also submitted to MSA in Val-d’Or, Quebec. MSA operates numerous laboratories worldwide and maintains ISO-17025 accreditation for many metal determination methods. MSA is an ISO-17025 accredited laboratory for the photon assay method.

At ALS, the entire sample is crushed to approximately 70% passing 2mm. A 3,000-g split is pulverized. “Routine” samples do not have visible gold (VG) identified and are not within a mineralized zone. Routine samples are assayed for gold by 30-g fire assay with an inductively-couple plasma spectrometry (ICP) finish. If the initial 30-g fire assay gold result is over 1 g/t, the remainder of the 3,000-g split is screened at 106 microns for screened metallics assay. For the screened metallics assay, the entire coarse fraction (sized greater than 106 microns) is fire assayed and two splits of the fine fraction (sized less than 106 microns) are fire assayed. The three assays are combined on a weight-averaged basis. Samples that have VG identified or fall within a mineralized interval are automatically submitted for screened metallic assay for gold.

At MSA, the entire sample is crushed to approximately 70% passing 2mm. For “routine” samples that do not have VG identified and are not within a mineralized zone, the samples are riffle split to fill two 450g jars for photon assay. The assays reported from both jars are combined on a weight-averaged basis. If one of the jars assays greater than 1 g/t, the remaining crushed material is weighed into multiple jars and are submitted for photon assay.

For samples that have VG identified or are within a mineralized zone, the entire crushed sample is weighed into multiple jars and are submitted for photon assay. The assays from all jars are combined on a weight-averaged basis.

All samples prepared at ALS or MSA are also analyzed for a multi-element ICP package (ALS method code ME-ICP61) at ALS Vancouver.

Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results are performed by qualified persons employing a rigorous Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with industry best practices. Standards and blanks account for a minimum of 10% of the samples in addition to the laboratory’s internal quality assurance programs.

Quality Control data are evaluated on receipt from the laboratories for failures. Appropriate action is taken if assay results for standards and blanks fall outside allowed tolerances. All results stated have passed New Found’s quality control protocols.

New Found’s quality control program also includes submission of the second half of the core for approximately 2% of the drilled intervals. In addition, approximately 1% of sample pulps for mineralized samples are submitted for re-analysis to a second ISO-accredited laboratory for check assays.

The Company does not recognize any factors of drilling, sampling or recovery that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the assay data disclosed.

The assay data disclosed in this press release have been verified by the Company’s Qualified Person against the original assay certificates.

The Company notes that it has not completed any economic evaluations of its Queensway Project and that the Queensway Project does not have any resources or reserves.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information disclosed in this press release was reviewed and approved by Greg Matheson, P. Geo., Chief Operating Officer, and a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Matheson consents to the publication of this press release dated December 6, 2023, by New Found. Mr. Matheson certifies that this press release fairly and accurately represents the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this press release.

About New Found Gold Corp.

New Found holds a 100% interest in the Queensway Project, located 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, and just 18km from Gander International Airport. The project is intersected by the Trans-Canada Highway and has logging roads crosscutting the project, high voltage electric power lines running through the project area, and easy access to a highly skilled workforce. The Company is currently undertaking a 500,000m drill program at Queensway and is well funded for this program with cash and marketable securities of approximately $63.6 million as of December 2023.

Figure 1: Photos of mineralization, Left: at ~168m in NFGC-22-1028, Right: at ~179m in NFGC-22-990, ^Note that these photos are not intended to be representative of gold mineralization in NFGC-22-990 and NFGC-22-1028. (Photo: Business Wire)

Figure 2. Keats West plan view map (Graphic: Business Wire)

Figure 3. Keats West cross-section (+/- 25m, looking southeast). *Note the uplifted segment of the Keats West Fault Zone defined by the shallower NFGC-22-1028 intercept of 2.47 g/t Au over 27.85m and 1.39 g/t Au over 21.30m, this is interpreted to be the fault-displaced continuation of the high-grade zone. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Figure 4. AFZ West long section (looking northwest) (Graphic: Business Wire)

Figure 5. Grouse – Everest plan view map (Graphic: Business Wire)