Final 2024 drill results expand high-grade vein corridor in Jarbidge Rhyolite to a minimum of 350 meters on strike and a minimum of 250 meters on dip with 1.53 meters of 19.98 g/t Aueq in WG462 and 1.13 meters of 12.0 g/t Aueq in WG461

Western Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: WEX) (OTCQX: WEXPF) is pleased to announce additional assay results from its 2024 core drilling program in the high-grade Jarbidge rhyolite discovery immediately adjacent the Gravel Creek resource at the Company’s wholly-owned Aura gold-silver project.

Gravel Creek is a new high-grade, Miocene aged, epithermal discovery in the northern Great Basin of Nevada, with assays in 2024 drilling of up to 75.3 g/t Au (WGC459) and 4,630.0 g/t Ag (WGC461). The new high-grade area, located less than 200 meters east of the current Gravel Creek mineral resource, which contains 245k Aueq indicated ounces at 5.81 g/t Aueq and 443k Aueq inferred ounces at 5.02 g/t Aueq (Table 3 Mineral resource estimates for the Aura Project as reported in the 2021 Technical Report), has been tested by only 19 drill holes to date and is open in all directions. It is one of multiple high-grade targets in the Wood Gulch/Gravel Creek area that offers excellent near-term resource expansion potential on the Aura Project.

Significant Resource Expansion Potential

Western Exploration CEO, Darcy Marud, commented: “The 2024 drill program intersected multiple high-grade gold-silver intercepts in all five core holes completed. We are very excited with the results as they met and even exceeded our expectations both in terms of grade and extension of mineralization. Every drill hole to date has returned high-grade results and the two step out holes to the south and north, drill holes WGC458 and WGC462, intersected the Discovery Trend as anticipated and showed the continuation of high-grade precious metals mineralization.”

Mr. Marud added “The 2024 drill results support Western Exploration’s confidence that the Jarbidge rhyolite and greater Gravel Creek-Wood Gulch area hold significant resource expansion potential in high-grade gold-silver bearing epithermal veins and breccia zones analogous to other Miocene epithermal systems in the northern Great Basin of Nevada.”

Highlights from 2024 Exploration Program

• The 2024 drill program consisted of five oriented core holes designed to offset high-grade intercepts encountered in 2023 drilling.
• All 2024 drill holes intersected multiple vein/breccia zones with +10.0 g/t AuEq values defining a minimum of 350 meters of strike and 250 meters of dip length.
• New results are reported here for holes WGC461 and WGC462
  • WGC461 was drilled 80 meters up dip to the east on Section BL+500N and reported individual assays of up to 46.1 g/t Au and 4,630.0 Ag, including:

• • • 1.53 meters @ 19.98 g/t AuEq (10.39 g/t Au and 815.1 g/t Ag)

• • • 0.85 meters @ 21.26 g/t AuEq (4.08 g/t Au and 1,460 g/t Ag)

• • WGC462 was drilled 180 meters north of the Discovery Section on Section BL+680N and reported individual assays of up to 24.5 g/t Au and 1,070 g/t Ag, including:

• • • 1.13 meters @ 12.0 g/t AuEq (8.24 g/t Au and 318.9 g/t Ag)

Multiple rhyolite-hosted high-grade Au-Ag drill intercepts peripheral to the Gravel Creek Resource

Previous drilling in the Miocene Jarbidge rhyolite to the east of the Gravel Creek deposit intersected multiple high-grade Au-Ag bearing vein intercepts, with individual assays up to 237.0 g/t Au (WG379) and 2,800 g/t Ag (WG456). None of these Jarbidge-hosted intercepts have been included in previous resource estimates. To follow up on these intercepts, five oriented core holes totaling 3,556 meters were drilled as 80-meter step outs in the 2024 Gravel Creek drill program. (Figure 1). Results for holes WGC461 and WGC462 are reported here, while results for holes WGC458 to WGC460 were previously reported in news releases of the Company dated October 7, 2024 (entitled “Western Exploration Reports Positive Assay Results From 2024 Drilling Program at Gravel Creek”) and November 11, 2024 (entitled “Western Exploration Reports Additional High Grade Assay Results From 2024 Drilling At Gravel Creek”).

Hole WGC461 was drilled on Discovery Section 500N, 80 meters up dip from hole WGC456 (Figure 1 and Figure 2). Hole WGC462 was drilled on Section 680N, approximately 100 meters north of holes WGC459 and WGC460 (Figure 1 and Figure 3). Both holes intersected multiple quartz-pyrite marcasite-bearing veins and breccias along the projected Discovery Section trend, with multiple intercepts over 10.0 g/t AuEq. Significant assay intercepts are summarized in Table 1 with drill hole coordinates in Table 2.

Table 1. Summary of Significant Drill Intercepts in 2024 core holes, including new results for holes WGC461 and WGC462

Notes:

Table 2. Coordinates for 2024 Gravel Creek Core Holes (UTM NAD 83, Zone 11)

Significance for Future Gravel Creek Exploration

Results from 2024 core drilling confirms there are multiple vein-breccia zones with +10.0 g/t AuEq values within the projected structural corridor in the Jarbidge rhyolite east of the Gravel Creek resource (Figure 4). Drilling has been successful, with all oriented core holes drilled in 2023-2024 intersecting multiple zones with +10.0 g/t AuEq mineralization. Multiple high priority targets are present along dip and strike both to infill and extend mineralization. The 2024 drilling gives further confidence to expand oriented core drilling into and beyond the 550-meter by 350-meter area east of Gravel Creek that hosts multiple high grade AuEq intercepts in widely spaced legacy holes, as the system appears open for expansion.

Of broader significance, Figure 5 shows that the Gravel Creek area is a small portion of a zone of favorable structures and hydrothermal alteration at least 2.5 x 4.0 kilometers in size, with multiple targets with resource expansion potential that have received limited to no exploration drilling.

ABOUT THE AURA PROJECT

The 6,000-hectare Aura Project has established mineral resource estimates in three different deposits (Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch), as described in the technical report entitled “2021 Updated Resource Estimates and Technical Report for the Aura Gold-Silver Project, Elko County, Nevada” dated October 20, 2021 (with an effective date of October 14, 2021) that was prepared for the Company by Mine Development Associates (see Table 3 below). The mineral resource estimates in the Technical Report were established in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

In addition, the Aura Project has well-established infrastructure including year-round accessibility by highway and county-maintained road and nearby access to water and electricity (see Figure 6 below). Western Exploration has exploration, development, and mining rights on 930 hectares of privately owned land through a mineral lease agreement with a local landowner and may purchase those fee lands at any time for the development of Doby George.

Table 3. Mineral resource estimates for the Aura Project as reported in the 2021 Technical Report

Notes:

About Western Exploration

Western Exploration is focused on advancing the 100% owned Aura Project, located approximately 120 kilometers/75 miles north of the city of Elko, Nevada. The Aura Project includes three unique gold and silver deposits: Doby George, Gravel Creek, and Wood Gulch. Western Exploration is comprised of an experienced team of precious metals experts that aim to lead the company to becoming North America’s premiere gold and silver development company.

Qualified Person Approval

The scientific and technical content in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Hawksworth, General Manager of the Western Exploration’s Aura Project, who is a “qualified person” within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Quality Assurance – Quality Control

Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and the interpretation of results is performed by qualified persons using a QA/QC program in accordance with NI 43-101 and industry best practices.

Drill core samples were delivered by Major Drilling to Western Exploration’s warehouse/logging facility in Mountain City, Nevada and washed, photographed, and logged by company geologists. Sample intervals were marked and recorded. Quality control (QC) samples were inserted at regular intervals in the sample stream with all sample shipments, including blanks, core duplicates and reference materials, to monitor laboratory performance. Core was kept in the secure Mountain City, Nevada facility until transported for assay.

Drill core samples were transported by Neilsen Exploration to ALS Chemex located in Sparks, Nevada, for sample preparation and analysis. Core was sawed at the ALS facility, with ½ prepared for assay and ½ core preserved and returned to Western Exploration’s Mountain City facility. Samples were analyzed for gold using ALS CHEMEX fire assay procedure Au-AA13, with over limits being analyzed by Au_GRA21. Samples were analyzed for silver and a 40 element suite using ALS Chemex procedure ME-ICP41, with over limits being analyzed by Ag_GRA21. Split core, all pulps and select rejects are returned to Mountain City for secure long-term storage.

Oriented core data was collected following methodology established by Oriented Targeting Solutions. Oriented Targeting Solutions compiled data in Access and completed the first pass interpretation utilizing Leapfrog software.

Figure 1. Plan view of 2024 drill holes and reported intercepts in the Jarbidge rhyolite east of Gravel Creek. All intercepts lie within a 100 meter-wide corridor trending N10W, 60SW, sub-parallel to the Discovery Trend. identified with oriented core in 2023. The vein/breccia corridor on the 1700-meter elevation is projected to the surface (yellow shading) and shown on the subsequent cross sections in Figures 2, 3 and 4. (Photo: Business Wire)

Figure 2. Cross Section BL+500N, showing intercepts in core hole WGC461 (drilled 80 meters up dip to the east of previous drilling). Mineralization is open to the north, south and east. (Photo: Business Wire)

Figure 3. Jarbidge Rhyolite Discovery Cross Section BL+680N, showing assay intercepts in oriented core hole WGC462. Most intercepts lie within the Discovery Section corridor, which is shown projected in pale yellow. Mineralization is open to the north, east and west. (Photo: Business Wire)

Figure 4. Cross sections BL+420N to BL+680N highlight how most 2024 high grade Au-Ag vein/breccia intercepts lie within the 100m wide Discovery Trend identified in 2023. Mineralization is open up-dip to the east on all section and holes WGC458 and WGC462 show mineralization is open on strike to the north and south. (Photo: Business Wire)

Figure 5. Map of the Gravel Creek/Wood Gulch area, showing scale of 2024 Jarbidge drilling area relative to the 2.5 x 4.0 kilometer zone of favorable geology, alteration, structure, geochemical and geophysical anomalies already hosting mineral resources on three different deposits (Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch), as more particularly described in the Technical Report (as defined herein). Most of the zone has received limited or no drilling beyond the area of the mineral resource defined in the Technical Report and remains prospective for future discoveries. (Photo: Business Wire)