Mr. Darcy Marud reports

WESTERN EXPLORATION REPORTS POSITIVE DOBY GEORGE METALLURGICAL RESULTS, INCLUDING AVERAGE RECOVERIES OF 72%

Western Exploration Inc. has released the results of its 2023 metallurgical testing.

Highlights from the work include:

• Column test work conducted by McClelland Laboratories Inc. (MLI) of Reno, Nev., on PQ core from 2022 drilling returned: (i) average leach recoveries of 65 per cent (range of 56.1 per cent to 77.8 per cent) for minus-50-millimetre (mm) (two-inch) feed size; and (ii) average recoveries of 72 per cent (range of 64 per cent to 81.8 per cent) for 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm (1/2-inch) feed size.
• Cyanide consumption was low and expected to be below 0.4 kilogram NaCN (sodium cyanide)/metric tonne (kg NaCN/t) of ore for 12.7 mm crush size and hydrated lime consumption of between 0.7 kg to 2.0 kilogram/metric tonne (kg/t) of ore during commercial leaching.
• Load permeability tests on residual leached 12.7 mm material indicated adequate permeability for commercial heap leach stack heights of up to 91 metres (300 feet) without any pretreatment agglomeration.

Darcy Marud, Western Exploration's chief executive officer, said: "Western Exploration is pleased that the Doby George metallurgical results report high leach recovery rates that are consistent with past metallurgical work. The completed test work is a key milestone identified in the 2021 technical report and a key component needed to advance the Doby George deposits towards a prefeasibility study."

Two thousand twenty-three column leach metallurgy results

A detailed heap-leach testing program was conducted on drill composites representing gold-bearing oxide and mixed materials collected from the Doby George deposit with PQ drilling in 2022. Agitated cyanidation bottle roll tests were conducted on a total of 46 drill core composites to obtain preliminary information regarding heap-leach amenability and ore variability. The results of the bottle roll tests were reported in the company's news release dated July 10, 2023. Based on the results of the bottle roll testing, a total of seven master (column test) composites were prepared for column leach testing. Five oxide and one blended oxide/mixed column leach tests were conducted at minus-50 mm (two-inch) and 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm (1/2-inch) feed sizes. A seventh composite, representing mixed material from deep within the West Ridge area, was tested at an 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm feed size. The column tests were conducted to determine gold recovery, recovery rate, reagent consumptions and feed size sensitivity under simulated heap leaching conditions. Summary results are presented in the table entitled "Summary metallurgical results, cyanide leach tests, Doby George column composites."

All five oxide composites were amenable to simulated heap-leach cyanidation treatment at both feed sizes evaluated. This includes composites from the West Ridge and Daylight areas. Gold recoveries obtained at the minus-50 mm feed size ranged from 56.1 per cent to 77.8 per cent and averaged 64.3 per cent in 113 to 133 days of leaching. Crushing the composites to 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm in size was effective in increasing gold recoveries. Gold recoveries obtained from the oxide composites at the minus-12.7 mm feed size ranged from 64 per cent to 81.8 per cent and averaged 71.6 per cent in 114 to 134 days.

A single composite of material from the Twilight area was tested. That composite included a blend of oxide and mixed material. Gold recoveries obtained from the composite at the minus-50 mm and minus-12.7 mm feed sizes were 67.9 per cent in 113 days and 72.9 per cent in 120 days.

A single composite of deep mixed material from the West Ridge area was column tested at the minus-12.7 mm size. That material was not amenable to heap leaching at that feed size. The column test gold recovery was only 6.1 per cent and leaching was complete in less than 30 days. This composite had an elevated sulphide/sulphur content (0.47 per cent) and relatively low CN/FA ratio (7.7 per cent Au). Locking of gold in sulphide minerals may be the cause for the refractory nature of the material.

Gold recovery rates were moderate, and with the exception of composite 4838-047, were not particularly sensitive to feed size. In the case of composite 4838-047, crushing from minus-50 mm to minus-12.7 mm in size significantly increased the gold recovery rate. In all cases, gold extraction was progressing at a slow rate (approximately 1 per cent/month average). On average, after 60 days of leaching, approximately 95 per cent of the final gold recovery was completed for the 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm feed size and 92 per cent of the final gold recovery for the minus-50 mm feed size.

Oxide and oxide/mixed column test cyanide consumptions were moderate and ranged from 0.41 kg NaCN/t to 1.11 kg NaCN/t of ore. Commercial consumptions should be significantly lower and would probably not exceed 0.4 kg NaCN/t ore for heap leaching of the oxide material at an 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm feed size. The 0.7 kg/t to 2.0 kg/t hydrated lime added before leaching was sufficient for maintaining protective alkalinity during leaching.

Fixed wall hydraulic conductivity tests conducted on the minus-12.7 mm feed size column leached residues showed that the material types tested are expected to be adequately permeable for commercial heap stack heights to up to 91 metres (330 feet) without the need for agglomeration.

MLI recommends additional column leach test work on low-grade drill composites to further study the relationship of grade and recovery, the evaluation of high-pressure grinding roll crushing on higher grade material and additional ore variability bottle roll test work for geometalurigical modelling of the deposit.

About Doby George

Doby George is one of the highest grade, undeveloped, open-pit heap-leach resources in Nevada, and one of three mineral deposits on Western Exploration's 100-per-cent-owned Aura gold-silver project located in Nevada. The Aura project is located 32 kilometres north of the Jerritt Canyon mine, which has been in continual operation since 1981. The deposit is an outcropping, high-grade, sediment-hosted mineral deposit, with multiple zones of mineralization identified by drilling in a 1.7 km by 0.8 km area. The zone of oxidation extends 150 m to 200 m below surface, while limited deep drilling has encountered unoxidized gold mineralization at depths of over 600 metres below surface.

Homestake Mining Company initially discovered the deposit in the mid-1980s. Since that time, 836 drill holes have been completed, totalling 116,355 metres of drilling. This includes 83 drill holes totalling 23,760 metres that were drilled by Western Exploration LLC between 1998 and 2022. Metallurgical test work completed on oxidized material by Homestake Mining Company, Independence Mining Company and Atlas Precious Metals Inc., has indicated favourable metallurgy for standard cyanide heap-leach processing. Results from the previous metallurgical testing completed on 52 bottle rolls and 23 column leach samples indicate that heap-leach gold recoveries approaching 70 per cent can be expected via a crush of one inch to 1.5 inches.

In addition to an established mineral resource estimate (as determined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) as outlined in the NI 43-101 technical report 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, the Aura project has well-established infrastructure, including year-round accessibility by highway and county-maintained road, and nearby access to water and electricity. 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.

The 6,000-hectare Aura project has identified mineral resources in three different deposits (Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch), as supported by technical report (see the table entitled "Updated mineral resource estimates for the Aura project as contained in the technical report").

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 information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Hawksworth, general manager of the Aura project, and Jack McPartland of MLI, each of whom is a qualified person within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Quality assurance/quality control

Exploration program design, quality assurance/quality control and the interpretation of results is performed by qualified persons employing a QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. For Western Exploration legacy samples, standards, blanks and duplicates were generally included approximately every 20th sample for QA/QC purposes by the company, as well as the lab. Approximately 5 per cent of sample pulps are sent to secondary laboratories for check assay. QA/QC controls are not fully documented for legacy assays from the 1980s and 1990s, but Mine Development Associates conducted rigorous evaluation of adjacent assay intervals as part of the technical report resource calculations.

KLM Geophysics completed a three-line induced polarization (IP) and resistivity survey over the Doby George area in July and August, 2023. Oversight of acquisition and processing was done by Western Exploration LLC geologists and R. Ellis acting as consultant to WEX. Data were collected using a pole-dipole (PDP) array with electrode spacing of 200 metres, designed to acquire data to depths of 500 metres southwest of the Doby George mineralization. Data processing and editing was done by S. Walker of Campbell & Walker Geophysics Ltd., acting as consultant to KLM Geophysics. Two-dimensional inversion modelling was done by S. Walker using the UBC code, and by R. Ellis using the Seequent VOXI and Loki Res2DInv codes. The results were comparable, although the VOXI and UBC inversion were most similar and are used for interpretation. Targeting comments in this press release are based on recommendations presented by R. Ellis.

Metallurgical test work

Interval preparation and assay

A total of 431 drill hole interval samples were received for preparation and assay. The samples were whole PQ drill core from nine drill holes (DGC789 through DGC797) with an average length of two metres. Each interval sample was jaw-crushed to a nominal 50-millimetre (two inch) topsize. Crushed intervals were each thoroughly blended by repeated coning and were quartered to obtain a split for finer crushing. Each one-quarter split was crushed to approximately two mm in size, and was blended and split to obtain 0.3 kilogram for pulverization. Each 0.3 kg split was pulverized to more than 95 per cent less than 106 micrometres (150-mesh) and used for assay.

QC samples (blanks and standards) were provided by the company, with the drill hole interval samples. The blanks were crushed (minus-19 mm) rock samples, which generally weighed to less than one kg each. Those samples were prepared with the corresponding drill interval samples in the order specified by the company (as reported in the assay certificates). Because of their size and fineness, only the crushing to two mm in size, splitting and pulverizing was required for the blanks. The standards were received as assay pulps and were submitted for assay with the drill hole interval assay pulps in the order specified by the company. MLI internal blanks and standards were also assayed as part of MLI's normal QA/QC protocols.

Interval samples were assayed, using conventional fire assay fusion (30 gram)/AA (atomic absorption) method to determine gold and silver content. Samples that assayed above 10 g Au/t were reassayed using conventional fire assay fusion (30 g)/gravimetric finish method to determine gold content. All samples that assayed greater than 0.05 g Au/t were analyzed using a standard cyanide shake analysis procedure to determine gold content. The cyanide solubility procedure used was an ambient, one-hour shake test at 33.3 per cent solids with a five g NaCN/L solution.

Column test composite preparation

Once bottle roll test results were reviewed, samples were selected for preparation of seven column test composites. Coarsely crushed (nominal 50 mm) drill interval rejects were combined to produce composites 4838-047 through 4838-053 and 4838-055.

Each of composites 4838-052 and 4838-053 were thoroughly blended by repeated coning and were quartered to obtain appropriately weighted splits, which were combined to produce column test composite 4838-054. Remaining material from composites 4838-052 and 4838-053 was retained for potential future testing.

Each column test composite was thoroughly blended by repeated coning and was quartered to obtain approximately 300 kg for a column leach test (210 kg from composite 4838-050, because of sample limitations) and 50 kg to 75 kg for a head screen analysis. Approximately 95 kg to 190 kg of each composite was also split for crushing to 12.7 mm in size.

Each split for finer crushing (95 kg to 190 kg, depending on sample availability) was stage-crushed to 80 per cent minus-12.7 mm in size to obtain 75 kg for a column leach test, 20 kg for a head screen analysis and triplicate two kg samples for head assay. A second 75 kg split was also taken from composite 4838-048, for a duplicate column leach test.

Each head assay split was crushed to minus-two mm in size, and was blended and split to obtain 0.3 kg for generation of an assay pulp. Each 0.3 kg sample was pulverized to more than 95 per cent minus-106 micrometres in size and used for generation of head assay pulps.

The ore charges did not require agglomeration pretreatment. Lime (0.7 kg/t to 2.0 kg/t) was mixed with the dry ore charges before column loading procedures. Lime additions were based on bottle roll test lime requirements. Ore charges were placed into the 30 centimetre I.D. (minus-50mm feeds) or 15 cm I.D. (12.7 mm feeds) by three m (10 foot) high leaching columns in a manner to minimize particle segregation and compaction.

Leaching was conducted by applying cyanide solution (0.5 g NaCN/L) over the ore charges at a rate of 9.6 L per hour/square metre (0.004 gallon per minute/square foot) of column cross-sectional area. Pregnant effluent solutions were collected each 24-hour period. Pregnant solution volumes were measured by weighing, and samples were taken for gold and silver analysis using conventional ICP (inductively coupled plasma) methods. Free cyanide concentration and pH were determined for each pregnant solution. Pregnant solutions were pumped through a three-stage carbon circuit for adsorption of dissolved gold values. Barren solution, with appropriate make-up reagent, was applied to the ore charges daily. After leaching, freshwater rinsing was conducted to remove residual cyanide (county requirement) and to recover dissolved gold values. Moisture required to saturate the ore charges (in process solution inventory), for agglomeration and retained moistures were determined. Apparent ore bulk densities were measured before and after leaching.

Drain down tests were conducted after rinsing was complete. Tests were conducted by terminating solution application and, at that time, measuring drain volume. Drain volumes were collected and measured periodically by weighing until drain down was complete.

After leaching, rinsing and draining, residues were removed from the columns and moisture samples were taken immediately. Remaining leached residues were air dried, blended and split to obtain a sample for a tail screen analysis. Tail screens were conducted using the same procedures and size fractions as for the head screens to determine residual gold and silver content and distribution, and to obtain recovery by size fraction data. An additional 20 kg split was taken from each 12.7 mm feed size column residue for load-permeability testing.

Load-permeability splits were shipped to NewFields in Elko, Nev., for fixed-wall saturated hydraulic conductivity (load-permeability) tests.

For additional information on the Aura project, please see the technical report, which has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101, a copy of which is available on SEDAR+ under Western Exploration's issuer profile and on Western Exploration's corporate website.

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