Westward Gold posts Toiyabe Hills drill results, Nevada

Westward Gold Inc. [CSE: WG; OTCQB: WGLIF; FSE: IM50] reported assay results for the second core hole completed at the SSD Target, Toiyabe Hills Property, Lander County, Nevada. Results from the second 2026 core hole continue to reinforce the significance of mapped high-angle structures as controls on gold mineralization at the SSD Target.

Gold mineralization is open in all directions, especially down-dip into promising structural and stratigraphic settings that have never been drill-tested.

T2601 and T2602 – drilled to total depths of 123 and 116 metres, respectively – were designed to characterize the host rocks, hydrothermal alteration, and structure associated with gold mineralization at SSD, verify the continuity of these features from their surface expression downward into the third dimension, build upon the data gleaned from nearby trenching to further determine controls on gold mineralization, apply these controls as a vector for upcoming deeper drilling and a tool for additional near-term SSD target development, and modernize and upgrade previously-unconfirmed legacy data from the near-surface environment at SSD.

Key Takeaways: T2602 intersected 34.9 metres of 2.91 g/t gold, including 4.1 metres of 16.15 g/t gold in silty limestone of the Wenban Formation; this broad zone of gold mineralization is characterized by pervasive decalcification, variable silicification, carbon, pyrite, variable clay alteration, and breccia associated with high-angle faults and penetrative shearing.

T2601 and T2602 have verified the presence of a lamprophyre-filled fault corridor, building upon prior observations of lamprophyre and quartz porphyry sills and dikes in and around the greater SSD Target area; these specific igneous rocks support the likelihood of a robust Carlin-type gold system on the property.

The gold intercepts in T2602 have reinforced the modeling of Fault-N and Fault-G as important controlling structures (originally identified through trenching and followed up on in hole T2601), with their hanging-wall zones demonstrating significant gold grades.

T2602 marks the first occurrence of orpiment logged in drill core to date – this bright yellow arsenic sulfide mineral typically forms as late-stage vein / fracture filling in Carlin-type systems, and is a key pathfinder mineral in early-stage gold exploration.

Elevated arsenic and antimony are associated with gold mineralization, providing further confirmation of a Carlin-type gold system.

Steven Koehler, Westward’s Lead Technical Advisor, commented: “Relentless attention to detail – as I’m often reminded of by colleagues – is what ultimately drives success in Carlin-type gold exploration, and past discoveries have much to teach us in this regard. The data we’ve accumulated thus far at SSD (both legacy and current), and the exploration path it’s now leading us down, reminds me of a mid-1990’s program I led in the Carlin North region.

“The geological setting of these two areas is strikingly similar: near-surface gold mineralization in tandem with a zone of deeper, disseminated gold identified via sparse RC drilling. In the Carlin North example, initial trenching identified a 20-metre-wide gold-bearing fault cutting upper-plate rocks.

“As we continued to follow this structure down-dip, we drilled into a contiguous zone of upper-plate-hosted gold mineralization which evolved into the Crow Deposit. Deeper, framework-style drilling into favourable lower-plate carbonate rocks – along and adjacent to the fault – eventually resulted in the discovery and delineation of what is now the Pete Bajo underground mine.”

Mr. Koehler continued: “Geological themes and patterns tend to repeat in northern Nevada, and the many first-hand discovery lessons the technical team and I bring to the table will be invaluable as we advance SSD. T2602 has further confirmed that the SSD Target is a compelling opportunity, and we intend to aggressively explore the area with additional trenching, mapping, sampling and deeper drilling as near-term priorities.”

SSD Target – Next Steps: Gold mineralization encountered in T2601 and T2602 is open in all directions, most notably down-dip along controlling faults and into structural and stratigraphic settings that have never been tested. High-priority areas for upcoming drilling represent high-value targets in Nevada’s most favourable gold host rocks of the Wenban and underlying Roberts Mountains Formations.

Westward’s existing Plan of Operations with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over the SSD area is a significant strategic advantage, reducing permitting risk and enabling the company to expand the scope of ground disturbance to accommodate additional roads, pads, and trenches in a timely manner.

The season’s first reverse-circulation (RC ) drill hole at SSD (T2603), was recently completed to a total depth of 396.2 metres, with the primary goal of testing the hanging-wall of Fault-G. Four deep RC holes are now planned to test down-dip extensions of gold mineralization in the hanging-wall of Fault-N, along with additional step-out framework holes to the north and northeast; mapping, surface geochemistry, and geophysical surveys suggest the system may strengthen in these directions.

Westward Gold is focused on developing the Toiyabe Hills Project located in the Cortez Trend area of Lander County, Nevada, and the Coyote and Rossi Projects located along the Carlin Trend in Elko County, Nevada.