Western Gold Announces High Grade Gold Findings from First Tranche of Fieldwork in Caledonian Gold Project
Western Gold Announces High Grade Gold
Findings from First Tranche of Fieldwork in
Caledonian Gold Project
North Berwick, Scotland--(Newsfile Corp. - March 30, 2026) -
WESTERN GOLD EXPLORATION LTD.
(TSXV: WGLD)
(the "
Company
") is pleased to announce the first tranche of rock grab and drainage
sampling data recently gathered by Company geologists. The data relates to the Lyon licence
application; one of the two Crown Estates Mines Royal Option exploration licence applications applied
for as part of our Glen Lyon Joint Venture (the "
JV
") with Acrux Gold Limited (
see 25 November 2025
Press Release
).
"Our latest exploration results validate the high-grade gold shown in historic assays - and reveal new
outcrop and boulders in areas well beyond the scope of past work," said Harry Dobson, Chairman.
"We're maintaining an active, boots-on-the-ground approach to exploration and target development as
we continue to advance the project towards drilling."
Key highlights for the Lyon licence application include:
Rock Grab Samples
Total of 199 rock grab outcrop and float samples assayed to date:
Float samples up to
252 g/t Au*
.
Outcrop grab samples up to
64.9 g/t Au*
.
All historic high-grade gold assays confirmed or exceeded.
Areas with limited to no historical sampling returning high-grade gold and silver assays:
Up to 30.5 g/t Au and 2190 g/t Ag discovered in outcrop grab samples at Coire
Leaeach area, with several new mineralised veins up to 2m wide identified*.
Historic data records one outcrop up to 9.4 g/t Au.
Up to 27.7 g/t Au float discovered in tributaries of Meall Daill, which is over 5 km east of
nearest historic sample.
Drainage Samples
A total of 52 panned concentrate drainage samples assayed to date:
14 samples highly anomalous in gold (≥0.1 g/t Au), with visible gold in 6 samples.
Confirmation of anomalous gold in assays from all historically sampled drainage basins.
Two new drainage basins (cumulatively 18km
2
) with elevated gold, including:
Visible gold in pan assaying up to 4.61 g/t Au at Gleann Cailleach.
*Note:
Grab samples are inherently selective and may not reflect the true grade of the mineralisation, although they are taken from exposed
outcrop. Float samples, by contrast, consist of transported material that is not in situ and therefore act only as indicators of potential nearby
mineralisation.
Geological Overview
The Lyon licence application is situated within the highly prospective
Grampian Terrane
, a key segment
of the
Caledonian mineral belt
that stretches from Northern Britain and Ireland to Scandinavia and
North America. This district is already proven for gold, hosting deposits such as
Cononish,
which sits
directly along strike to the Lyon area as well as
Cavanacaw
and the
world-class Curraghinalt
deposit
(Dalradian Resources; Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources > 6 Moz Au - 43-101
Technical Report for the Curraghinalt Gold Project, Northern Ireland dated June 22, 2018 by SRK
Consulting (Canada) Inc.).
The reader is cautioned that mineralisation on adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative
of what can or will be found within any projects upon which the JV may be granted exploration
licences.
Rock Grab Samples
Figure 1.
Aerial imagery of the Lyon licence application showing the distribution of our first tranche of
rock grab sampling, identifying at least 4 spatially distinct outcropping prospect areas, and a new area
of high-grade gold in float at Meall Diall.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9801/290375_d161d117744afa7a_002full.jpg
A total of
74 outcrop
grab and
125 float
grab samples have been collected and assayed to date (
see
Figure 1 above
). High-grade gold and silver samples consist of quartz-veining or quartz-matrixed
breccias with 1 - 20% sulphide mineralisation, usually dominated by pyrite with lesser arsenopyrite and
base-metal sulphides. This is generally consistent with the available descriptions from historic rock chip
samples.
Rock grab highlights include:
24% of samples (n = 48) assayed above 1 g/t Au.
~10% of samples (n = 18) assayed above 10 g/t Au.
Four spatially distinct locations or 'prospects' with high-grade gold in outcrop have
been identified (
see Figure 1 above
).
Drainage Data
Fifty-two panned-concentrate drainage samples have been collected to date (
see
Figure 2 below
). By
applying our refined sampling method across the major drainage basins, we have confirmed anomalous
gold in every system previously sampled historically, demonstrating that our approach reliably validates
past results while offering far greater sensitivity. Crucially, our work has also identified two additional
anomalous drainage basins that historic methods either understated or missed:
Figure 2.
Aerial image of the Caledonian Gold Project showing the Lyon and Orchy licence application
areas, the location of
Cononish
, and the distribution of the first tranche of panned-concentrate drainage
samples. The newly identified high-interest basins at Gleann Cailleach and Fionn a' Ghlinne are outlined.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9801/290375_d161d117744afa7a_003full.jpg
Gleann Cailleach Basin (14 km²)
Previously assessed by the British Geological Survey using outdated assay techniques, which returned
only one anomalous sample. Our new panned-concentrate sampling shows:
Multiple gold-bearing streams.
50% of samples (7 of 14) contain elevated gold.
Two streams ~3 km apart returned 4.61 g/t and 3.99 g/t Au in pan.
Fionn a' Ghlinne Basin (4 km
2
)
Historically sampled by Scotgold with generally poor results. Our first-pass main-stream sample returned
0.61 g/t Au.
The basin lies close to the Tyndrum Fault, the mineralising structure responsible for forming
the Cononish deposit.
Future Objectives
Boots-on-the-ground exploration
is set to continue at high pace to further verify historic high-
grade outcrops, particularly in our neighbouring Orchy application area (
see Figure 2 above
).
Targeted
backpack drilling and channel sampling
of all identified gold-bearing structures.
A second stage
drainage sampling programme
will be carried out in smaller tributaries within
the main drainage basins to better refine target areas.
Large-scale soil grids
will be deployed across areas with confirmed high-grade gold veining to
help define the strike extent and continuity of mineralised structures.
Airborne and/or ground-based geophysics
-including a potential drone-mounted magnetics
survey-will be used to expand known prospects and identify additional targets or concealed
anomalies.
Geology
The Lyon area is underlain by the
Dalradian Supergroup
, a thick package of metasedimentary rocks
that were deformed and metamorphosed during the Ordovician Grampian Orogeny. Subsequent late-
Caledonian strike-slip tectonism during the Silurian-Devonian created major NE-SW fault corridors and
drove emplacement of high-K calc-alkaline intrusions-both key ingredients in forming high-grade gold-
silver quartz-sulphide veins throughout the district.
Importantly, age-dating from the Cononish deposit indicates gold mineralisation occurred around 410-
406 Ma, coincident with a regional shift to transtensional tectonics, a setting known to enhance fluid flow
and vein development. This same fertile geological environment underpins the exploration potential of
the Lyon licence application.
About Western Gold Exploration
The Company is a mineral exploration company that is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the
symbol "WGLD". The Company is focused on the exploration of gold, silver and critical minerals in
Scotland.
In November 2025, WGLD formed the Glen Lyon Joint Venture with Acrux Gold Limited to explore for
gold, silver, and critical minerals as part of the Caledonian Gold Project in central Scotland. The JV has
applied for two Crown Estates Mines Royal Option Agreements (exploration licences) across the
Tyndrum Mineral District, specifically the Orchy and Lyon licence areas, which form the Caledonian Gold
Project. The Company also operates at the Lorne Project, which includes both Lagalochan and
Ardlochan prospects, and are located in the highly prospective Lorne Porphyry District of the wider
Caledonian belt.
For further information, please contact:
Ross McLellan, CEO
Phone:
+44 7779 161441
Email:
Website:
www.westerngoldexploration.com
Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports
David Pym (CGeol), a consultant of the Company, is the Qualified Person (as defined by National
Instrument 43-101) who supervised, verified and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this
press release on behalf of the Company. The results presented in this press release are from the
Company's own sampling and provide an important validation of historical assays quoted in previous
press releases. Historical assay results have not been checked consistently against assay certificates,
nor is there significant QAQC information available.
Rock-chip material was collected from in-situ outcrops as well as float found within burns and scree
slopes. Each sample was crushed, split, and pulverised prior to analysis. Multi-element geochemistry
(48 elements, including silver and base metals) was determined using a four-acid digestion followed by
ICP-MS analysis (method ME-MS61L). Gold was assayed using a 30 g fire assay with an ICP-MS finish,
providing a detection limit of 0.005 ppm (Au-AA23). Panned concentrate drainage samples were
obtained from active streams by collecting approximately 10-40 kg of alluvium and sieving it to <2 mm.
The <2 mm material was then measured into a standard-volume container to ensure consistent sample
size before panning commenced. The <2 mm fraction was panned on site until heavy minerals-primarily
sulphides, garnets, black sands, and occasional gold-were concentrated, yielding roughly 100 g of
material. These samples were subsequently crushed, split, and pulverised before analysis. Multi-element
analysis (48 elements including silver and base metals) was completed using a super-trace four-acid
digestion with ICP-MS finish (ME-MS41L). Gold was determined by 30 g fire assay with ICP-MS finish
and a detection limit of 0.001 ppm (Au-AA21).
All analytical work was undertaken by ALS Global, Ireland. ALS Geochemistry laboratories operate
under a unified Global Geochemistry Quality Manual in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and use a
global laboratory information management system (LIMS) to ensure consistent, high-quality, and
reproducible analytical results.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
:
This news
release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to
timing and receipt of the Crown Estates Mines Royal Option Agreements (exploration licences)
applied for by the JV, timing and completion of any drilling and work programs on the properties of the
Company and the proposed properties of the JV, estimates of mineralisation from drilling and
sampling, geological information projected from drilling and sample results, potential for minerals
and/or mineral resources, and statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current
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assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general
and capital markets in particular, accuracy of assay results, geological interpretations from drilling
results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other
related services, future operating costs, and the historical basis for current estimates of potential
quantities and grades of target zones, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the
Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024, and the
period ended September 30, 2025 available at
www.sedarplus.ca
, many of which are beyond the
control of the Company. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly
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