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Vancouver, British Columbia - TheNewswire - October 28, 2026: Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG) (OTCQX: HWAUF) (the "Company" or "Headwater") is pleased to announce initial assay results from its Jake Creek Project in Nevada, including 1.34 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) over 46.33 metres in drill hole JC26-01.  Drilling programs are now complete at the Jake Creek Project and the Crane Creek Project, located in Idaho.

Jake Creek drilling was 100% funded by OceanaGold Corporation (“OceanaGold”) (TSX: OGC , OTCQX: OCANF, NYSE: OGC ) pursuant to the earn-in agreement announced on October 15, 2025.   Crane Creek drilling was 100% funded by Centerra Gold Corporation (“Centerra”) (NYSE: CGAU, TSX: CG) through an earn-in agreement announced on December 3, 2025. The Company has received notice from OceanaGold that it is terminating the earn-in agreements on the TJ and Hot Creek properties which were announced on October 15, 2025.

Highlights:

• Jake Creek Drilling: Initial assays from drill hole JC26-01 returned 46.33 metres grading 1.34 g/t Au, with additional results pending. Headwater has completed its 2026 drill program at Jake Creek, comprising 3,574 metres across eight holes in five target areas.  

• Crane Creek Drilling: Centerra, as Crane Creek project operator, has completed the 2026 drill program comprising approximately 2,780 metres across 18 holes. Final assay results are pending.  

• OceanaGold Earn-In Update: OceanaGold has terminated its earn-in agreements at Hot Creek and TJ. A decision on continued participation at Jake Creek is pending the remaining outstanding assay results.  

• Whiskey Drill Program: As announced on October 20, 2026, the Company is advancing preparations for a self-funded scout drilling program at its 100%-controlled Whiskey Project in Nevada, with drilling anticipated to commence in the coming weeks.  

Caleb Stroup, President and CEO of the Company, states: “We are very pleased to see the successful completion of two partner-funded drill programs across our portfolio. Initial results from Jake Creek are very positive, delivering the best drill result to date in the project area and supporting the presence of a significant epithermal gold system. Additional Jake Creek assays are pending, and we look forward to evaluating the full results to guide follow-up exploration. We thank Centerra for their high-quality work and collaborative approach as operator at Crane Creek and eagerly await the final assay results from this high-potential project. We thank OceanaGold for their investment which has materially advanced both Hot Creek and TJ, leaving us with permitted, drill-ready targets at Hot Creek and an expanded exploration opportunity at TJ, where a new geophysical and targeting program remains in progress.”

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Figure 1:  Geologic map of the Jake Creek Project showing the location of 2026 drill holes and the JC26-01 drill intercept.

About the 2026 Jake Creek Drill Program:

The first-pass drill program at Jake Creek totalled 3,574 metres across eight holes in five target areas. Three holes included core drilling, two of which began as reverse circulation (“RC”) pre-collars before continuing with core tails. The remaining five holes were drilled entirely by RC.

The two holes drilled in the Discovery Corridor provided the first core from this area and encountered multiple silicified fault breccias and intervals of hydrothermal brecciation and quartz-carbonate veining with epithermal textures in the lower volcanic stratigraphy. JC26-01 returned 46.33 metres grading 1.34 g/t Au starting at a downhole depth of 277.98 metres, the best drill result reported to date in the project area. The highest-grade sample returned 3.82 g/t Au over 1.52 metres, immediately followed by a 2.29-metre interval of no core recovery and then 0.76 metres grading 3.13 g/t Au. The unrecovered interval was assigned a null gold grade in calculating the reported composite; its actual gold content is unknown. The reported interval is downhole length and the true thickness cannot be determined from the available information.  Assays remain pending from the second Discovery Corridor hole (Figure 1).

The remaining six holes were widely spaced exploration step-outs testing new structural targets across a kilometre-scale footprint beyond the Discovery Corridor. All seven holes that penetrated volcanic stratigraphy confirmed the presence of the favourable host tuff unit and encountered epithermal alteration and veining. Widespread alteration and highly elevated trace element signatures in the scout holes are encouraging and support the interpretation of a broad hydrothermal cell extending well beyond the Discovery Corridor, although no significant gold intercepts were encountered.

One RC hole did not reach target depth due to difficult ground conditions in alluvial basin fill, while two other RC holes failed to fully penetrate the target host package in locally thickened volcanic stratigraphy due to budget limitations.

The Company will provide a full breakdown of results once the remaining assays have been received and integrated with the geological and geochemical data, including implications for district-scale exploration and priorities for follow-up work.

About the Jake Creek Project:

The Jake Creek Project is 100% owned by Headwater and consists of 212 unpatented lode mining claims on Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) land in Humboldt County, Nevada, located 65 kilometres northeast of Winnemucca and eight kilometres east of the Nevada Gold Mines’ Turquoise Ridge Mine Complex. A portion of the Project is subject to a 1% NSR, half of which can be purchased for US$1,000,000 at any time.  For further information see Headwater news release dated March 3, 2025.  

The Project covers 2,400 acres (1,000 hectares) on the western margin of the Northern Nevada Rift, a north-northwest trending structural corridor known for hosting significant precious metal mineralization including Hecla’s past-producing Midas Mine and Hollister Mine. The geology is dominated by mid-Miocene bimodal volcanic rocks, including rhyolite to dacite flows and welded tuffs, unconformably overlying Paleozoic sedimentary rocks at depths of 50 to 300 metres. Historic drilling by Evolving Gold Corp. in 2010 and 2011 (13 RC holes total) intersected widespread epithermal mineralization at the Tertiary unconformity, with notable intercepts 1 such as 11.3 g/t Au over 1.52 metres within 45.72 metres grading 0.98 g/t Au from 210.3 metres in hole JC-005. This mineralization, associated with silicification, clay alteration and banded quartz veining, suggests a robust low-sulfidation epithermal system with potential for high-grade feeder zones at depth or along strike.

About the 2026 Crane Creek Drill Program:

Centerra, as operator, successfully completed approximately 2,780 metres of drilling in 18 holes between May and September, consisting of four core holes and 14 RC holes. The fully Centerra-funded program represents the first drilling at Crane Creek since the 1990s and the first core drilling at the Project.

The program was designed to follow up shallow historical mineralization, test beneath outcropping epithermal veins and evaluate additional structural targets identified through geological mapping, surface sampling and geophysical surveys. Previous drilling focused primarily on near-surface mineralization and commonly terminated shortly after intersecting the underlying basalt unit, leaving deeper potential feeder structures largely untested.

Drilling at the Deadman and Consolidated zones confirmed widespread silicification and hydrothermal alteration in the upper sandstone and tuff units, as well as altered and veined structures at depth within the underlying basalts. Core drilling provided new geological information on the relationships between host rocks, alteration and fault structures, helping to refine the geological model and assess the potential for deeper epithermal vein targets.

The program builds on Headwater’s earlier work outlining a broader exploration footprint, including a four-kilometre by two-kilometre potassium anomaly and multiple structural targets beyond the historically drilled areas. The drilling observations will be integrated with these datasets and the final assays to assess follow-up opportunities across the Project.

Headwater has not yet received final gold assays from the program. A full summary of results and their exploration implications will be provided once the assays have been received and evaluated.

About the Crane Creek Project:

The Crane Creek Project is located in western Idaho, approximately 18 kilometres northeast of the town of Weiser and 90 kilometres northwest of Boise, with a paved county road less than one kilometre from the southern property boundary. The Project is fully permitted for drilling under a Notice of Intent with the BLM and a Plan of Operation with the Idaho Department of Lands. Crane Creek comprises approximately 1,240 hectares, consisting of 123 unpatented federal mining claims on BLM land, a 640-acre State of Idaho minerals lease and a private lease.

The Project encompasses an array of mineralized epithermal quartz veins within a broad gold and trace element geochemical anomaly and features characteristics of a well-preserved low-sulfidation epithermal system, including historical mercury workings, widespread opaline silica and chalcedonic quartz veins. This alteration cell is located approximately eight kilometres northwest along trend of the Nutmeg Mountain gold project owned by NevGold Corp. Historical drilling primarily tested shallow near-surface mineralization in two main areas of outcropping gold-bearing quartz veins, leaving the potential for high-grade epithermal veins along strike and at depth largely untested. Centerra is the operator of the Crane Creek Project and may earn up to a 70% interest in the Project through staged exploration expenditures and technical milestones (see Headwater’s news release date December 3, 2025).

About the OceanaGold Earn-Ins:

OceanaGold has elected to terminate its earn-in agreements on the Hot Creek and TJ Projects, having satisfied its minimum expenditure commitments at both Projects without earning an ownership interest. Headwater retains its 100% interests in both Projects and views the decision as reflecting a broader realignment of OceanaGold’s exploration priorities away from greenfield exploration in new jurisdictions. Headwater thanks OceanaGold for its significant investment in advancing exploration across the Company’s Nevada projects.

Hot Creek: OceanaGold satisfied its US$500,000 minimum commitment through a significant surface exploration and targeting program. Property-wide geologic mapping, soil and rock chip geochemistry, hyperspectral alteration mapping, and controlled source audio-magnetotelluric (“CSAMT”) resistivity and gravity geophysical surveys substantially advanced the Company’s understanding of the geological and structural framework and defined multiple high-priority targets for an initial drill test. These targets comprise untested structural corridors within a broad epithermal alteration system, characterized by high-temperature clay alteration, silicification and epithermal veining at surface. No drilling was completed under the earn-in agreement, and Headwater retains a 100% interest in the Project with multiple drill-ready targets and a drill permit in place.

TJ: OceanaGold satisfied its US$1,000,000 minimum commitment, funding core drilling, a subsequent 88% land expansion and a step-out geophysical and targeting program that remains in progress. Core drilling returned the highest gold grades reported to date at TJ and encountered extensive alteration, hydrothermal breccias and multiple phases of epithermal veining, supporting the interpretation of a large hydrothermal system that may extend beyond the area tested. The expanded land position covers the interpreted northern continuation of the TJ Graben, where CSAMT resistivity and ground gravity surveys are designed to identify concealed extensions of the system and prioritize follow-up drill targets. OceanaGold’s decision preceded completion of this program and presentation of the resulting targets.

Jake Creek: The Jake Creek earn-in agreement remains in effect. OceanaGold fully funded the recently completed drill program, and its decision regarding continued participation remains pending receipt and review of the outstanding assay results.

About Headwater Gold

Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG) (OTCQX: HWAUF) is a technically driven mineral exploration company focused on discovering high-grade precious metal deposits in the Western USA. The Company holds a large portfolio of epithermal gold exploration projects and employs a systematic, model-driven approach to identifying and drill-testing opportunities for significant discoveries.

Headwater advances its portfolio through a combination of partner-funded and Company-funded exploration. Its partnerships include a joint venture with Newmont Corporation at Spring Peak, earn-in agreements with Newmont on the Lodestar and Jupiter Projects, an earn-in agreement with Centerra Gold Inc. at Crane Creek, and an earn-in agreement with OceanaGold Corporation at Jake Creek. Newmont and Centerra also hold strategic equity interests in the Company.

For more information, please visit www.headwatergold.com .

Headwater is part of the NewQuest Capital Group, a discovery-driven investment enterprise that builds value through the incubation and financing of mineral projects and companies. Further information is available at www.nqcapitalgroup.com .

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Caleb Stroup

President and CEO

+1 (775) 409-3197

cstroup@headwatergold.com

For further information, please contact:

Brennan Zerb

Investor Relations Manager

+1 (778) 867-5016

bzerb@headwatergold.com

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Joshua Carron (SME Reg No. 042931540), a “Qualified Person” (“QP”) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Carron is not independent, as he is the Company’s Vice President, Exploration.

1 Historical drill intercepts included in this release were sourced from primary historical Evolving Gold Corp. data and NI43-101 Technical Report on the Jake Creek Gold Project Humboldt County, Nevada, June 19, 2012, Effective Date: June 19, 2012, prepared for Evolving Gold Corp., 37 p. Drill results and surface samples have not been independently verified by Headwater and are treated by the Company as historical in nature and not current or NI 43-101 compliant.

Quality Assurance - Quality Control

HQ-size drill core was generally drilled in the diamond holes and core tails, with some holes reducing to NQ-size at depth.  All core was logged, cut in half, sampled at specific intervals and sent for laboratory analysis.  RC drilling was conducted with a combination of pneumatic hammer and tricone rock bits depending on ground conditions. RC drilling was sampled on 1.5 metre intervals throughout the length of each drill hole.  All drill samples were transported to ALS USA Inc. in Reno, Nevada (ISO/IEC Accreditation # 17025) for sample preparation and gold analysis. Gold was assayed by 30-gram fire assay with Inductively Coupled Plasma with Atomic Emission Spectroscopy finish (ICP-AES; ALS method Au-ICP21). Control samples comprising certified reference and blank materials were systematically inserted into the sample stream and analyzed as part of the Company’s quality assurance and quality control protocol.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future capital expenditures, exploration activities and the specifications, targets, results, analyses, interpretations, benefits, costs and timing of them, OceanaGold’s and Centerra’s anticipated funding of the earn-in projects and the timing thereof, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as “pro forma”, “plans”, “expects”, “may”, “should”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “potential” or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Company’s exploration plans and the proposed expenditures for exploration work thereon, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, the risk that OceanaGold and Centerra will not elect to obtain any additional prognostic interest in the earn-in projects in excess of the minimum commitment, the ability of the Company to obtain the required permits, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, the Company’s limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s prospectus dated May 26, 2021 and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company’s profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.

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