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
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 18km2) with elevated gold, including:
*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.
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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:
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.
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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 km2)
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.
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 expectations of the Company and the JV with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company and the JV that may be described herein. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These 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 qualified by this cautionary statement.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.
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