Mr. Robert Edie reports

WESTWARD GOLD ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF SURFACE SAMPLING PROGRAM

Westward Gold Inc. has completed an expansive rock chip and soil sampling program at its Toiyabe, Turquoise Canyon and East Saddle projects in Lander county, Nevada. The program was initially described in press releases dated Sept. 7 and Oct. 10, 2023, and was led by Robert Edie, Westward's vice-president, exploration, over the course of several weeks in the field.

A total of 353 surface rock chip samples were collected and visually logged:

• Toiyabe project: 29 samples collected;
• Turquoise Canyon project: 182 samples collected;
• East Saddle project: 142 samples collected.

Note: Samples collected in the nine-claim gap between Toiyabe and Turquoise Canyon (the TCC gap, 100 per cent owned by Westward) have been included in Turquoise Canyon.

A total of 606 soil samples with 100-metre spacings were also collected at the East Saddle project and southern extent of the Toiyabe project, covering the exposed lower-plate carbonate window.

All rock chip and soil samples will be analyzed for gold and multielement pathfinders. Assay results received in conjunction with field observations will be used to prioritize areas for future mapping with detailed Anaconda-style folios. These folios will complement the existing Anaconda-style maps previously completed on high-priority areas of the Toiyabe project. Geochemical anomalies -- in particular gold, arsenic, mercury and antimony -- will be plotted and analyzed to further vector in on zones with elemental signatures typically associated with Carlin-type gold deposits.

Notable Turquoise Canyon rock chips include a sample of chrysocolla and lazurite taken from a historical turquoise prospect, a strongly-hematitic/oxidized sample taken near a fault in quartzite, brecciated, oxidized, kaolinite-bearing chert near the eastern property boundary, tectonic fault breccia with pervasive hematite and limonite plus barite, and a hematitic brecciated chert sample from a historical turquoise prospect.

Mr. Edie, Westward's vice-president, exploration, noted: "I'm very pleased to have discovered an array of specimens on the property which exhibit features consistent with Carlin-type gold deposition. Strong, surface-level oxidation is an important characteristic of these deposits and relates to the abundance of pyrite formed, a key component of gold-hosting systems. Tectonic breccia speaks to the structural preparation of host rocks; the gold-bearing Carlin fluid uses these structural pathways to rise from depth where it interacts with the meteoric water table and geochemically precipitates gold -- preferentially into carbonate rocks."

Commenting on the East Saddle project, Mr. Edie continued: "Decalcification and silicification of carbonate rocks is a distinct marker of Carlin-type gold deposition. It occurs when gold-bearing Carlin fluid dissolves calcium carbonate from limestone host rocks and deposits silica pervasively. In addition to silica, the process also deposits gold and other pathfinder elements. The discovery of decalcified, silicified limestone at East Saddle suggests that the area has experienced a Carlin-type mineralizing event."

Sampling methodology and quality assurance/quality control

The company implemented a best practices QA/QC program throughout the duration of the field program. All rock chip samples were collected by vice-president, exploration, Mr. Edie, and all soil samples were collected by Mr. Edie and one independent contractor under Mr. Edie's supervision. Co-ordinates for each collected sample were recorded using Garmin GPS units in datum UTM NAD 83 zone 11 metres. A visual description of each rock chip sample was recorded in an Excel database along with the individual GPS co-ordinates. Rock chip samples were transported from the field collection areas by Mr. Edie to Bureau Veritas's (BV) certified preparation facility in Sparks, Nev., where they were crushed and pulverized. Resulting sample pulps (30-gram sample size for gold and 500 milligrams for multielement) will be analyzed in Sparks, Nev., for gold using fire assay and Vancouver, B.C., for multielement analysis. BV is independent of the company. Soil samples were transported from the field collection areas by Mr. Edie to his home in Zephyr Cove, Nev., where they await submittal to a laboratory of the company's choosing.

Mr. Edie was on site throughout the fieldwork campaign and transported all samples personally. Certified reference materials (CRM) purchased from Moment Exploration Geology in Lamoille, Nev., were inserted into the rock chip sample stream at a frequency of one every 25th sample (4 per cent). Four CRMs were inserted at random, three with known gold values, and one certified blank.

Corporate update

In addition to continuing modelling work and new target delineation following the 2023 field season, which is now coming to a close, the company continues to evaluate several external growth opportunities via mergers and acquisitions. These opportunities may include both asset-level and corporate-level transactions, with the goal of delivering long-term upside to shareholders.

Company representatives will also be in Sparks, Nev., for the coming American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA) annual meeting, held at the Nugget Casino Resort from Dec. 3 to 8. Westward welcomes the opportunity to meet with shareholders and other company representatives -- please contact Andrew@westwardgold.com if you would like to arrange a meeting.

Option and restricted share unit grant

In addition, the company announces that its compensation and corporate governance committee has approved and granted an aggregate of 2.4 million stock options, and 2.2 million restricted share units (RSUs) to Westward management and its board of directors. The options, which vest immediately, are exercisable at a price of 15 cents per common share of the company for a period of five years from the date of grant, being Nov. 24, 2023. The RSUs granted will vest over a period of 24 months, with 50 per cent vesting on Nov. 24, 2024, and the remaining 50 per cent vesting on Nov. 24, 2025.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this news release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Edie, vice-president exploration, of the company, who is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Edie is a certified professional geologist (CPG) through the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG).

About Westward Gold Inc.

Westward Gold is a mineral exploration company focused on developing the Toiyabe, Turquoise Canyon and East Saddle projects located in the Cortez Hills area of Lander county, Nevada, and the Coyote and Rossi projects located along the Carlin trend in Elko county, Nevada. From time to time, the company may also evaluate the acquisition of other mineral exploration assets and opportunities.

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