(TheNewswire)
Vancouver, British Columbia - TheNewswire - September 7, 2023 - Westward GoldInc. (CSE:WG ) ( OTC:WGLIF ) ( FSE:IM50) ( “Westward” or the “Company” ) is pleased to provide investors with a corporate and technicalupdate detailing planned activities in support of the advancement ofits gold exploration properties in Nevada in the coming months.
Corporate Update
Westward would like to thank shareholders who participated in itsrecent non-brokered private placement ( see press release dated August 1, 2023 ) and continue tosupport the Company despite a difficult capital markets environment.The Company is currently planning several cost-effective programs inorder to maximize the remainder of the 2023 field season, detailed inthe paragraphs that follow. Westward is also advancing discussions ona variety of strategic alternatives, including potential M&A andother corporate and/or asset-level transactions.
Colin Moore, President and CEO, commented: “While the current marketclimate is certainly challenging, it also has the potential to presentopportunities. We will remain pragmatic in our approach to capitalallocation and corporate strategy, and we believe that by continuingto advance our property portfolio – while exploring creativecorporate-level transactions – we can deliver long-term value to ourinvestors.”
Diamond Drillhole T2301: Immediate Follow-Up
In the spring of 2023, the Company successfully completed one of thedeepest drillholes ever seen on its flagship Toiyabe Gold Project inLander County, Nevada ( “Toiyabe” ). T2301, a vertical HQ-sized core hole, reacheda total depth ( “TD” ) of612 meters (2,008 feet) ( see pressrelease dated May 23, 2023, for detailed results including QA/QC anddata verification disclosure) .
Steve Koehler, a member of Westward’s Technical Advisory Committeeand expert in the discovery and development of Carlin-type golddeposits, recently visited the Company’s storage facility inCrescent Valley, Nevada, to conduct detailed core logging of T2301.These hand logs will compliment initial observations and digital logs/ high-resolution images collected during the drilling campaign, andinclude: sample intervals; gold assays (in g Au/t); rock type andinterpreted formation; a graphic log; structural measurements withrespect to the core axis (bedding, faults, joints, veins, brokenzones); fault zones; breccia zones; hydrothermal alteration intensityfor decalcification, silicification, iron oxide (limonite and/orhematite), carbonate, carbon, sulfide; and comments. Historical logsinherited by the Company were not created in this fashion and thusimportant geologic data had not been captured.
Mr. Koehler noted: “T2301 confirmed that the gold system remainsopen downdip to the north and east, and that gold mineralizationencountered in legacy drilling is hosted in upper plate siliciclasticrocks and lower plate carbonate rocks – an attribute that waspoorly-understood historically. Upper plate gold occurrences alongmajor Nevada gold trends typically form above, or proximal to, largerlower plate carbonate hosted Carlin-type gold deposits. T2301 isreminiscent of geologic patterns in the Carlin Trend north area –especially those gold deposits down-dip from the Carlin and Pete openpit deposits.”
Upper Plate Siliciclastic Dominant Section:
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Siliceous mudstone/siltstone, cherty mudstone, and calcareous/dolomitesiltstone occur from the drill collar to a depth of 238 meters (781feet)
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Contact between upper and lower plate rocks is interpreted as astructural contact – the Roberts Mountains Thrust ( “RMT” ) (these rocks areinformally included in the Vinini Formation)
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Cataclastic breccia in T2301 is similar in texture and thickness tothose documented at gold deposits on the Carlin Trend, where the RMTis defined by a broad high-strain zone that locally exceeds 50 metersin thickness (see Figures 1 and 2 below)
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Two significant near-surface, upper plate hosted gold zones wereintersected, including (1) :
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6.3 meters of 2.04 g Au/t from 9.9 to 16.2 meters: gold mineralizationis associated with limonite oxidation, quartz-limonite / +calciteveins, clay, breccia, and a variety of faults at 25 to 70-degrees tocore axis
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11.7 meters of 0.90 g Au/t from 27.3 to 39.0 meters: goldmineralization is associated with limonite oxidation, quartz and/orlimonite veins, breccia, clay, and faults at 20 to 40-degrees to coreaxis
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Lower Plate Carbonate Section:
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Carbonate rocks of the Wenban Formation are present from 238 meters(781 feet) to TD at 612 meters (2,008 feet)
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Rocks of the Horse Canyon Formation were absent in T2301, likely as aresult of the RMT cutting down-section into lower plate carbonaterocks (this pattern was also confirmed by 1:5000 Anaconda-stylemapping conducted by Mr. Koehler). The Horse Canyon Formation doesoccur at Toiyabe, however not in the immediate vicinity of T2301
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Compressional tectonic structures occur throughout the lower platesection, including thrust faults and ramps, a variety of tight toopen, overturned, anticlines / synclines / recumbent folds, thrustfault propagation anticlines (similar to the nearby Pipeline Mine),duplex zones, anticlinal stacks, and rapid changes in bedding angles
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Carbonate tectonostratigraphy in T2301 is complex due to the abundanceof compressional structures. Similar structural patterns aredocumented in the Cortez District 10 km to the northeast of Toiyabe,and in general, geologic patterns observed in T2301 share a number ofsimilarities to known, published carbonate rock packages at Cortez(notably, Wenban Units 3 through 6)
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Three unique, oxidized, lower plate carbonate-hosted gold zones (1) were intersected; keytakeaways pertaining to gold mineralization include the following: (i)drilling confirms that oxidized gold associated with the SSD Zoneextends to the northeast and that mineralization remains open to thenorth and east, (ii) the SSD Zone is approximately 625 meters inlength along a southwest-northeast strike, and (iii) oxidized goldoccurs with thrusts, folds, and moderate to steep (10 to 50 degrees)bedding to core axis angles
Figure 1: T2301 – Examples ofCataclastic Breccia Developed in Upper Plate Siliciclastic Rocks alongthe RMT
Figure 2: Comparative Brecciawithin Documented Carlin-Type Gold Systems (2)
Photo D: Foliated cataclastic brecciaand phyllonite defining part of thrust in the South Arturo Mine area,here >50m thick
Photo E: Detail of foliated parts ofthe thrust above the Leeville Deposit, where Rodeo Creek Formation isthinned to absent
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Refer to Westward Gold’s pressrelease dated May 23, 2023, for full disclosure as it relates to T2301assay results, including sampling methodology, chain of custody,QA/QC, and data verification.
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Sources: Rhys, D., Valli, F.,Burgess, R., Heitt, D., Griesel, G., and Hart, K., 2015. Controls offault and fold geometry on the distribution of gold mineralization onthe Carlin Trend: in Pennell, W.M. and Garside, L.J., eds., Newconcepts and discoveries, Geological Society of Nevada 2015 Symposiumproceedings: Reno, Nevada, Geological Society of Nevada, p.1245-1301.
Technical Update: Advancing the Toiyabe District
To supplement geological advancements made through the detailedlogging of core hole T2301, additional field programs have beendesigned to further Westward’s understanding of the consolidatedToiyabe district as a whole. This includes the Company’s Toiyabe,Turquoise Canyon and East Saddle Projects, with approximately 40square kilometres of fully-contiguous exploration ground between the 3projects (see Figure 3 below).
At Toiyabe, a systematic relogging of all available legacy RC and coredrillholes (~15,000 meters total) will be undertaken. The program willaim to correlate stratigraphic, structural, and alteration featuresidentified in T2301 with gold mineralization, improve upon historicalinterpretations based on Westward’s recent findings, and standardizedatasets with more thorough and detailed observations. A new set ofcross-sections will be created and analyzed to identify new targetopportunities on the property.
Figure 3: Westward’s ConsolidatedLand Package
Systematic recon and surface rock chip sampling will occur at both theTurquoise Canyon and East Saddle Projects, led by incoming VPExploration Robert Edie. Approximately 150 samples will be collectedand analyzed for gold and multi-element data. At the Turquoise CanyonProject, rock sampling will be focused on the historical turquoisepits and altered upper plate stratigraphy. Turquoise is known to occurproximal to Carlin-type gold systems, resulting from the liberation ofphosphate ions during hydrothermal activity and the bonding of theseions to copper to form turquoise. At the East Saddle Project, rocksampling will be concentrated along the exposed lower plate carbonatewindow and altered upper plate stratigraphy in order to identifysurface structures and alteration related to gold mineralization.
Robert Edie, incoming VP Exploration, noted: “Not only is surfacerecon work an excellent way to familiarize myself with the geologicalintricacies of our properties, but the collection of surface samplesis also a cost-effective method to prioritize the most attractivetarget areas that have yet to see any drilling. The company aims toobtain geochemical data historically used with great success in Nevadato vector in on zones of Carlin-type gold deposition.”
Additionally, the Company plans to undertake a soil survey at the EastSaddle Project, with approximately 600 samples to be collected andanalyzed for gold and a full suite of potential pathfinder elements.The survey will cover the entire exposed lower plate carbonate windowin order to advance the identification of near-surface oxide targets(see Figure 4 below).
Figure 4: Proposed Soil Sample Gridat East Saddle Project
Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this news release was reviewedand approved by Robert Edie, incoming Vice President Exploration ofthe Company, who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument43-101 – Standards of Disclosurefor Mineral 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:
Colin Moore
President, CEO & Director
Westward Gold Inc.
colin@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 details with respect to riskfactors that may affect the Company’s ability to achieve theexpectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained inthis news release are set out in the Company’s latest managementdiscussion and analysis under “Risks and Uncertainties”, which isavailable under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors thatcould cause actual results to differ materially, there may be otherfactors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated,described or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place unduereliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company’sforward-looking statements and information are based on theassumptions, beliefs, expectations, and opinions of management as ofthe date of this press release, and other than as required byapplicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligationto update forward-looking statements and information if circumstancesor management’s assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinionsshould change, or changes in any other events affecting suchstatements or information.
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