Mr. Darcy Marud reports

WESTERN EXPLORATION PROVIDES UPDATE ON DRILLING ACTIVITIES AT GRAVEL CREEK

Western Exploration Inc. has released initial results of its 2023 core drilling program, which aimed to identify vein extensions in the Jarbidge rhyolite northeast of the Gravel Creek resource area at the company's wholly owned Aura gold-silver project.

Highlights from 2023 drill program:

• Two oriented core holes totalling 1,470 metres were completed to verify the existence of a mineralized corridor trending northeast from the Gravel Creek deposit, as outlined in a news release of the company dated March 6, 2023, entitled "Western Exploration Announces Additional Exploration Results at Gravel Creek."
• Both holes WG456 and WG457 intersected multiple quartz-pyrite-marcasite-bearing veins, stockwork and hydrothermal breccias within the targeted mineralized corridor.
• Hole WG456, located 250 metres northeast of the Gravel Creek resource area, reported individual assays up to 34.9 grams per tonne gold and 2,800 g/t silver, with key intercepts including:
  • 4.7 metres of 9.20 g/t gold equivalent (4.55 g/t Au and 395.4 g/t Ag);
  • 2.4 metres of 7.82 g/t AuEq (5.37 g/t Au and 208.1 g/t Ag);
  • Two metres of 21.96 g/t AuEq (12.77 g/t Au and 780.9 g/t Ag);
  • 2.1 metres of 7.56 g/t AuEq (5.40 g/t Au and 183.1 g/t Ag);
  • Three metres of 6.75 g/t AuEq (5.42 g/t Au and 113 g/t Ag).
• Gold-silver grades in WG456 occur at the same elevation as the productive horizon in the Gravel Creek deposit and are comparable in grade with those seen in multiple legacy intercepts.
• These results support further exploration drilling to the northeast along a two-kilometre trend of gold-arsenic soil and rock anomalies that parallel a N35E-trending density anomaly.
• WG456 was abandoned at a depth of 730.6 metres due to drilling complications, with the final three metres returning 5.42 g/t Au and 113 g/t Ag.
• Assays for hole WG457 are currently being finalized by ALS Chemex.

Western Exploration chief executive officer Darcy Marud commented: "Western Exploration has long believed in the potential to greatly expand resources within the Wood Gulch/Gravel Creek mineralized system, and it is now become more evident that Wood Gulch and Gravel Creek are part of a large Au-Ag-bearing hydrothermal system over an area of 10 square km. The integration of structural surface alteration and geochemical data generated by the 2023 core drilling program has brought greater understanding of the controls on the high-grade veins in the Jarbidge rhyolite overlying and peripheral to the Gravel Creek deposit. Significant additional oriented core drilling is justified to better define the vein trends and determine the extent of the mineralized system to the northeast, with the ultimate goal of expanding the project resource base."

Multiple high-grade Au-Ag vein drill intercepts in the Jarbidge rhyolite above and peripheral to the Gravel Creek deposit

Previous drilling, as reported in the technical report (as defined herein), intersected multiple high-grade Au-Ag-bearing vein intercepts of up to 40.05 g/t Au and 1,951 g/t Ag in the Miocene Jarbidge volcanics overlying and lateral to the Gravel Creek deposit. None of these Jarbidge-hosted intercepts have been included in previous resource calculations, due to the uncertainty of orientation.

Drill results for hole WG456 intersected nine veins, stockwork or hydrothermal breccias, which identified AuEq grades of over three g/t.

A preliminary review of oriented core data shows an array of intersecting veins, stockwork and hydrothermal breccias following northwest to northeast trends that mimic the known structural controls on mineralization. Flow banded zones within the rhyolite show strong preferential steeply dipping northeast trends, which control the emplacement of certain veins and hydrothermal breccia zones.

Results support further exploration drilling along northeast trend

Results from drill hole WG456, in combination with 2020 core hole WG450, identified multiple drill intercepts with significant Au-Ag grades in a zone 200 metres wide near the northeast limit of current drilling area. This provides additional support for exploration potential associated with the strong multielement soil anomaly and coincident density anomaly extending from Wood Gulch through Gravel Creek and continuing two kilometres to the northeast of the Gravel Creek deposit.

About the Aura project

In addition to an established mineral resource estimate outlined in the technical report, the Aura project has well-established infrastructure, including year-round accessibility by highway and county-maintained road, with nearby access to water and electricity. Western Exploration has exploration, development and mining rights on 930 hectares of privately owned fee lands through a mineral lease agreement with a local landowner and may purchase those fee lands at any time for the development of Doby George.

The 6,000-hectare Aura project is unique in the junior mining space, as resources have been identified in three different deposits (Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch), as supported by the technical report.

The mineral resource estimate for the Aura project is disclosed in the company's technical report, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, entitled "2021 Updated Resource Estimates and Technical Report for the Aura Gold-Silver Project, Elko County, Nevada," dated Oct. 20, 2021 (with an effective date of Oct. 14, 2021), that was prepared for the company by Mine Development Associates.

About Western Exploration Inc.

Born from a 25-year history of advancing exploration projects in Nevada as a private company, today Western Exploration is composed of an experienced team of precious metals experts that aims to lead Western Exploration to becoming a premiere gold and silver development company in North America. The company's principal asset is the 100-per-cent-owned Aura gold-silver project, located approximately 120 kilometres/75 miles north of the city of Elko, Nev., and includes three unique gold and silver deposits: Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch.

Qualified person approval

The scientific and technical content in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Hawksworth, general manager of the Aura project and 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 are performed by qualified persons employing a QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices.

Drill core samples were delivered by Major Drilling to Western Exploration's secure warehouse/logging facility in Mountain City 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.

Drill core samples were transported by Neilsen Exploration to ALS Chemex located in Sparks, Nev., for sample preparation and analysis. Core was sawed at the ALS Chemex facility, with half of the core being prepared for assay and the other half of the core being preserved and returned to Western Exploration's Mountain City facility. Samples were analyzed for gold using ALS Chemex's fire assay procedure Au-AA13, with overlimits being analyzed by Au-GRA21. Samples were analyzed for silver and a 40-element suite using ALS Chemex procedure ME-ICP41, with overlimits being analyzed by Ag-GRA21.

We seek Safe Harbor.