(TheNewswire)
Vancouver, British Columbia / TheNewswire / February 27, 2024 – Westward Gold Inc. (CSE: WG, OTCQB: WGLIF, FSE:IM50) ( “Westward” or the “Company” ) is pleased to provide preliminary details surroundingplanned 2024 exploration activities at the Company’s 100%-ownedToiyabe, Turquoise Canyon, and East Saddle Projects situated along theCortez Trend (within the broader Battle Mountain – Eureka GoldTrend) in Lander County, NV (collectively, the “Properties” ). Together, theProperties represent a newly-consolidated district-scale opportunitycovering approximately 39 square kilometers of contiguous miningclaims, a short distance away from some of Nevada’s most productivegold mining operations.
The Company has drawn from its considerable in-house expertise inCarlin-type gold exploration in formulating its strategy tosystematically advance priority target areas, with the added benefitof broad-scale interpretations of data amalgamated from all threeProperties. There is mounting evidence that Westward’s explorationground contains many of the same key geological features that wereidentified at the nearby Cortez Hills Mine during its early-stageexploration (now operated by Nevada Gold Mines). These includedike-filled fault corridors, multiple compressional tectonic events,shallow gold mineralization in tandem with a second deeper zone (bothopen in several directions), and multiple horizons of favourablecarbonate host rocks. Notably, Steven Koehler (Westward TechnicalAdvisor) has been instrumental in the Company’s understanding ofthis important analogue, having been on the initial discovery team atCortez Hills in the early 2000s.
2024 Exploration Program – MainDrivers of Future Success:
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Exceptional opportunity to apply proven, systematic explorationmethods designed by a team of experts with Nevada discovery pedigree
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Multi-year land consolidation efforts have created a highly-compellingyet under-explored prospect with scale, only 10 km from the massiveCortez Mine Complex
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Exploration breakthroughs point to new robust target zones in classicCarlin geological, geophysical, and geochemical settings – includinga 6 km-long corridor of interest (the “Hilltop Corridor” ) which has never been drilled
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Westward will bolster these advancements with additional mapping,geochemical, and geophysical coverage, fine-tuning the best targetswhile mitigating risks, and will select the top contenders fordrilling
Figure 1: Westward’s ConsolidatedLand Position (Cortez Trend)
Colin Moore, President & CEO, commented: “We’re on the huntfor a company-making discovery, and while there are no shortcuts inexploration, we’re extremely lucky to have a team of Carlin expertswho have done it multiple times over and know the recipe. Improveddata will lead to the highest-confidence targets, and we will beprepared to test these with drilling when capital markets conditionsallow.”
Robert Edie, Vice President Exploration, added: “In an environmentwhere exploration dollars are extremely valuable, we owe it to ourshareholders to be highly systematic as it relates to targetdevelopment. The suite of programs proposed in 2024 will enable us toevaluate and rank drilling prospects against one another based on thescience, and we will select the areas with the strongest potential tohost an economic gold deposit.”
Target Definition: Westward’sDetailed Geological Mapping Reveals Key Features
The structural setting at the Properties is complex, and a criticalelement of Carlin-type mineralizing systems. A detailed understandingof faults, compressional features such as folds and thrusts, andstructural intersections on the Properties is essential to delineatingthe highest-priority target areas. The Company plans to expand uponits Anaconda-style mapping campaign and folio compilation, which beganin 2022 at the Toiyabe Project and has already led to vastly improvedgeological models (see Figure 2 below).
Figure 2: Toiyabe Project –Inherited Geologic Map (Above) vs. Westward Mapping (Below)
Several new igneous dikes were identified and mapped for the firsttime, with one set appearing to correlate to Eocene magmatism; thesedikes are a key feature often associated with major Carlin-type golddeposits in Nevada. Structural intersections, and compressionaltectonic features (e.g. folds and thrusts), are typically favourabledepositional settings; this is the case at the nearby Cortez Complexwhere two separate and unique compressional events intersect, creatingintense structural preparation of the ore-hosting rock formations.There is widespread evidence for similar compressional deformation onthe Properties. Select examples are shown in Figure 3 below, withintensely-developed compressional structure in upper-platesiliciclastic rocks, indicative of the lower-plate carbonate rockshaving experienced host-rock preparation.
Further definition of the regional structural footprint is essentialto advancing the Company’s understanding of controls on goldmineralization. The mapping campaign will be one of severalfundamental tools used to guide the Company towards the most promisingstructural intersections and damage zones to be tested with drilling.
Figure 3: Examples of CompressionalTectonic Features Observed on the Properties
Target Selection: Expanded SamplingProgram to Fine-Tune Future Drilling
Westward will collect and analyze an additional 500 rock samples atthe Properties, expanding upon the Company’s existing rock-chipdataset (Figure 4 below) by (i) increasing sample density in emergingtarget areas, and (ii) covering previously-unsampled portions of theProperties. In 2023, Westward’s rock-chip sampling campaignidentified several priority areas for pre-drilling follow-up work;additional details related to two of those areas are shown in Figures5 (the “Hilltop Target” )and 6 (the “CrossroadsTarget” ) below. The Hilltop Target and Crossroads Target liewithin the broader ~6km north-south structural zone of interest knownas the Hilltop Corridor.
The primary goals of the sampling program will be to (i) identifyanomalous gold and pathfinder elements at surface that are indicatorsof a broader gold system at depth, and (ii) identify significantstructures which may have served as mineralized fluid pathways duringgold deposition.
Figure 4: Westward’s CurrentDatabase of Rock-Chip Samples (1,009 Samples)
Note: for assay results of rock-chipsamples collected by Westward in 2023, please refer to the Company’spress release dated January 18, 2024, for additional technicaldisclosure and details surrounding sampling methodology, chain ofcustody, quality assurance and quality control. Source (historicalsample results, Toiyabe Project): NI 43-101 Technical Report, IM ExplorationInc., Prepared by Donald E. Cameron, P.Geo, August 5, 2021.
Figure 5: Hilltop Target Area
Hilltop Target Area – Details:
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Gold assay values up to 253 ppb in upper-platesiliciclastic rocks
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Arsenic assay values up to 885 ppm; elevated mercuryand antimony
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Intersection of east-west gravity structures and theRoberts Mountains Thrust Fault
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Horizontal gradient of gravity shows the maximum rateof change in density, indicative of prospective structures andalteration
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Lies in the same structural corridor as thepast-producing Toiyabe-Saddle Mine with elevated pathfinder elementassay values
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900 meters of unsampled ground between samples withelevated gold in outcrop
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Target area has seen no previousdrilling
Figure 6: Crossroads TargetArea
Crossroads Target Area – Details:
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Gold assay values up to 43 ppb in upper-platesiliciclastic rocks, within a structural corridor with anomalous goldvalues
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Intersection of north-south and east-west gravitystructures in the horizontal gradient
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Intersection of gravity structures and mapped thrustfault
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Intense brecciation, folding, and faulting observed inoutcrops
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Target area has seen no previousdrilling
In addition to the expanded rock-chip sampling program, the Companywill collect and analyze 850 soil samples at the Properties.Architecture and zonation of soil grid geochemical results arefundamental to understanding the mineralizing system and confirmingthe best targets. Figure 7 below shows soil sample analysis at theTurquoise Canyon Project, in addition to the regional horizontalgradient of gravity, and structural data which support the emergingHilltop Corridor area of interest. Figure 8 below shows gold-in-soilassay results at Toiyabe, arsenic-in-soil results at Turquoise Canyon,a soil grid completed in 2023 (Orange) and the planned 2024 surveygrid (Purple). The goal of the soil sampling program is to identifyfluid-flow vectors and zoned geochemical elements which point towardsthe highest areas of fluid flux and the most promising lower-platetargets.
Figure 7: Hilltop Corridor TargetArea
Source (Turquoise Canyon Project –Soil Geochemical Results): NI43-101 Technical Report, Westward Gold Inc. (Momentum Minerals Ltd.),Prepared by Scott Close, M. Sc., P.Geo, February 23, 2021.
(1) Weighted sum geochemicalmodeling: The Company’s technical team has plotted the weighted sumof the classic Carlin gold system element assemblage: Au, As, Sb, Hgand Tl. The methodology involves normalizing the raw data, weightingeach element according to relative importance in the overallassemblage, summing these factors, and plotting heat maps. Westwardhas used a proprietary algorithm in this case, however the generalmethodology is widely used in gold exploration across the globe. Goldsignals are often attenuated in upper-plate rocks due to nonreactivelithologies and presumed distal location from main stage golddeposition. However, the geochemical signal in upper-plate rocks iscritically important as a guide to deeper main-stage mineralization inthe underlying lower-plate host rocks. To map the highest fluid fluxzones in upper-plate rocks, often a weighted sum of soil geochemicalanomalies is plotted to enhance specific mineralization type signals.
Hilltop Corridor – Details:
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Horizontal gradient of gravity defines a north-southstructural zone 6 km across the Properties
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Weighted sum of Carlin pathfinder elements in soilsamples shows fluid plumes near structural corridors in upper-platerocks
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Correlation of inferred gravity structures, mappedstructures and surface geochemistry
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Additional mapping, surface sampling and geophysics torefine targeting
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Prospective corridor has seen noprevious drilling
Figure 8: Soil Sample Results &Planned 2024 Grid Expansion
Source (Turquoise Canyon Project –Soil Geochemical Results): NI43-101 Technical Report, Westward Gold Inc. (Momentum Minerals Ltd.),Prepared by Scott Close, M. Sc., P.Geo, February 23, 2021.
Source (Toiyabe Project - HistoricalGold-in-Soil Results): NI43-101 Technical Report, IM Exploration Inc., Prepared by Donald E.Cameron, P.Geo, August 5, 2021.
Hunting for Carlin-Type GoldDeposits: Expanded Geophysics Programs to Reveal Multi-Million OuncePotential
Following recommendations given by geophysicist James L. Wright, theCompany plans to expand its geophysical database by completingadditional gravity and magnetic surveys. Regional geophysicalsignatures will assist in the identification of potential large,district-scale targets. Reducing the station spacing of historicalsurveys will allow Westward to identify key gravity gradients relatedto structure and alteration in finer detail. Magnetic data will helpthe Company identify and resolve igneous features which have played animportant role in the discovery of gold mineralization in thedistrict. Historical magnetic data suggest a possible deep-seatedintrusive stock to the northeast of the Properties. Proximity toMesozoic intrusions is a key element of the most well-endowed Carlinsettings, and Eocene intrusive stocks have long been identified as theheat engines which mobilize mineralizing fluids into Carlin-type golddeposits. Consequently, an improved understanding of the intrusivegeology at depth will be key to both confirming existing prioritytargets, and unlocking additional prospective areas.
Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this news release was reviewedand approved by Robert Edie, Vice President Exploration of theCompany, who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101– Standards of Disclosure forMineral Projects. Mr. Edie is a Certified ProfessionalGeologist (CPG) through the American Institute of ProfessionalGeologists (AIPG).
About Westward Gold
Westward Gold is a mineral exploration company focused on developingthe Toiyabe, Turquoise Canyon, and East Saddle Projects located in theCortez Hills area of Lander County, Nevada, and the Coyote and RossiProjects located along the Carlin Trend in Elko County, Nevada. Fromtime to time, the Company may also evaluate the acquisition of othermineral exploration assets and opportunities.
For further information contact:
Andrew Nelson
Chief Financial Officer
Westward Gold Inc.
+1 (604) 828-7027
andrew@westwardgold.com
www.westwardgold.com
The Canadian Securities Exchange hasneither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility forthe adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
This news release contains orincorporates by reference “forward-looking statements” and“forward-looking information” as defined under applicable Canadiansecurities legislation. All statements, other than statements ofhistorical fact, which address events, results, outcomes, ordevelopments that the Company expects to occur are, or may be deemed,to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements aregenerally, but not always, identified by the use of forward-lookingterminology such as "expect", "believe","anticipate", "intend", "estimate”,“potential”, “on track”, “forecast","budget", “target”, “outlook”, “continue”,“plan” or variations of such words and phrases and similarexpressions or statements that certain actions, events or results“may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” betaken, occur or be achieved or the negative connotation of suchterms.
Such statements include, but may notbe limited to, information as to strategy, plans or future financialor operating performance, such as the Company’s expansion plans,project timelines, expected drilling targets, and other statementsthat express management’s expectations or estimates of future plansand performance.
Forward-looking statements orinformation are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks,uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events orresults to differ from those reflected in the forward-lookingstatements or information, including, without limitation, the need foradditional capital by the Company through financings, and the riskthat such funds may not be raised; the speculative nature ofexploration and the stages of the Company’s properties; the effectof changes in commodity prices; regulatory risks that development ofthe Company’s material properties will not be acceptable for social,environmental or other reasons, availability of equipment (includingdrills) and personnel to carry out work programs, that each stage ofwork will be completed within expected time frames, that currentgeological models and interpretations prove correct, the results ofongoing work programs may lead to a change of exploration priorities,and the efforts and abilities of the senior management team. This listis not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of theCompany’s forward-looking statements or information. These and otherfactors may cause the Company to change its exploration and workprograms, not proceed with work programs, or change the timing ororder of planned work programs. Additional risk factors and detailswith respect to risk factors that may affect the Company’s abilityto achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-lookingstatements contained in this news release are set out in theCompany’s latest management discussion and analysis under “Risksand Uncertainties”, which is available under the Company’s SEDARprofile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted toidentify important factors that could cause actual results to differmaterially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be asanticipated, estimated, described or intended. Accordingly, readersshould not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements orinformation. The Company’s forward-looking statements andinformation are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations, andopinions of management as of the date of this press release, and otherthan as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does notassume any obligation to update forward-looking statements andinformation if circumstances or management’s assumptions, beliefs,expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other eventsaffecting such statements or information.
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