Western Exploration Submits Mine Plan of Operations for the Doby George Project

Reno, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - August 5, 2026) - Western Exploration Inc. (TSXV: WEX) (OTCQX: WEXPF) ("Western" or the "Company") announces that it has submitted its Mine Plan of Operations ("MPO") to the United States Forest Service ("USFS") for its 100%-owned Doby George gold project, located in the Aura district in northeastern Nevada (the "Doby George Project" or the "Project"). The MPO submission is a required step in advancing the Doby George Project through federal permitting, with the USFS serving as lead agency. The submission follows a multi-agency site visit hosted by Western on July 7, 2026, and led by the USFS, during which USFS representatives reviewed the proposed project layout and discussed the scope of work ahead. Feedback received during that visit was incorporated into the MPO prior to submission. The MPO outlines the Company's proposed plan for surface use, construction and operation of the Doby George Project on federal and private land and initiates formal USFS review, including the associated environmental review process. The MPO describes a 7,500 tonne/day (approximately 8,300 ton/day) open-pit, heap-leach gold mine consistent with the Company's 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA"), as more particularly described in the PEA Technical Report (as defined below). The Project contemplates a total disturbance of 697 acres (282 hectares), of which 345 acres (140 hectares) are on private land available for development under a mineral lease agreement. The MPO is supported by baseline environmental studies that began in February 2026, spanning biological, cultural, paleontological, air quality, hydrogeology, geochemistry, noise and aquatic resources, establishing existing conditions within the Project area as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. A summary of completed and ongoing baseline studies, as set out in the MPO, is provided below. Resource Area Completed Ongoing Biological Resources Raptor Surveys (aerial and ground based) Special Status Plants and Noxious Weed Surveys Soil and Ecological Site Description Surveys Flammulated Owl Surveys Burrowing Owl Surveys Greater Sage-Grouse Lek surveys Migratory Bird Surveys Amphibian and Springsnail Surveys Three-toed Woodpecker Surveys American Goshawk Surveys Small Mammal Surveys Acoustic Bat Surveys Pygmy Rabbit Surveys Biological Baseline Surveys Results Report Cultural Resources Class 1 Desktop Cultural Resources Review ARPA Permit Submittal Tribal Notification Letters Submitted Class 3 Cultural Resources Survey Class 3 Cultural Resources Report Paleontological Resources Desktop Review and Historical Records Search Desktop Review Results Report Submitted to USFS Paleontological Surveys Paleontological Surveys Results Report Air Quality Resources Initial Review of Project and Operations Data Development of Air Quality Baseline Report Emissions Inventory Development Dispersion Monitoring Hydrogeology Resources Hydrogeology Data Review and Gap Analysis Hydrogeology Resources Investigation and Baseline Monitoring Work Plan Surface and Groundwater Data Review and Gap Analysis Q2 Spring & Stream Monitoring and Sampling Phase I Hydrogeologic Investigation (summer 2026) Phase I Baseline Hydrogeologic Report Q3 and Q4 spring and stream monitoring and sampling Phase II Hydrogeologic Investigation (2027) Phase II Baseline Hydrogeologic Report Geochemistry Resources Geochemistry Data Review and Gap Analysis Geochemical Characterization Work Plan Finalize Collection and Submission of Samples to Lab for Static and Kinetic Characterization Geochemical Characterization Summary Report Noise Resources Baseline Noise Monitoring Noise Modeling Predictions Technical Noise Report Aquatic Resources Desktop Aquatic Resources Inventory Aquatic Resource Surveys Aquatic Resources Delineation Report United States Army Corps of Engineers  Permitting Coordination   Western is continuing to advance this baseline work alongside the hydrogeological test work and drill program announced on July 28, 2026, which are designed to support a planned pre-feasibility study ("PFS") for the Doby George Project in parallel with permitting. The grid power feasibility study being completed by Raft River Rural Electric Cooperative Inc., announced in June 2026, remains in progress. Results are expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will form part of the PFS. Darcy Marud, President & CEO of Western Exploration, commented: "Submitting the MPO is the milestone this team has been building toward all year. It reflects the direct input of the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies from our July site visit and puts the Doby George Project formally into the federal review process. Permitting takes discipline and patience, and our consultants at Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Kappes Cassiday & Associates and Raft River Rural Electric Cooperative Inc. have positioned us well for the work ahead. We view this as the clearest signal yet that Doby George is moving from a strong economic study toward a permitted, buildable mine." Scientific and Technical Information The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Hawksworth, P.Geo., General Manager of Western's Aura Project, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The PEA is more particularly described in the technical report entitled "Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Doby George Deposits and Updated Resource Estimate for the Gravel Creek Gold-Silver Deposits, Aura Gold-Silver Project, Elko County, Nevada" dated October 1, 2025 (with an effective date of June 17, 2025), which was prepared for Western and is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under Western's issuer profile (the "PEA Technical Report"). The PEA Technical Report was prepared by independent representatives of Kappes Cassiday & Associates ("KCA") and RESPEC Company LLC ("RESPEC"), each of whom is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101 and independent of Western for purposes of Section 1.5 of NI 43-101. The affiliation and areas of responsibility for each qualified person involved in preparing the PEA are provided below: Travis Manning, P.E. of KCA — processing design and costs, metallurgy, recovery and cash flow; Michael S. Lindholm, C.P.G. of RESPEC — geology, database and mineral resource estimation; and Kyle Murphy, P.E. of RESPEC — open pit design, mine planning, scheduling and costing. About Western Exploration Inc. Western Exploration Inc. is a Nevada-focused gold and silver developer advancing its 100%-owned Aura project, located approximately 120 kilometres north of Elko, Nevada. The Aura project hosts two primary assets: Doby George, a near-surface oxide heap-leach project supported by a positive 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment; and the Gravel Creek / Wood Gulch corridor, a high-grade gold-silver epithermal system. For more information, please refer to the PEA Technical Report. Western's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "WEX" and trade on the OTCQX Market under the symbol "WEXPF". For further information, please contact: Darcy Marud Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (775) 329-8119 Email: [email protected] Nichole Cowles Investor Relations Telephone: (775) 240-4172 Email: [email protected] Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements, by their nature, require the Company to make certain assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. This news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to, among other things: the outcome and timing of the USFS review of the MPO, including the associated environmental review process; the ability of the Company to obtain required permits and approvals on anticipated timelines or at all; the completion and timing of the PFS and baseline environmental studies, including the timing and results of the ongoing Phase I hydrogeologic investigation, the Phase II hydrogeologic investigation anticipated in 2027, and the air quality, cultural, and paleontological surveys and reports referenced herein; the completion and results of the grid power feasibility study by Raft River Rural Electric Cooperative Inc.; the continuation of the drill program announced on July 28, 2026; and the prospects, if any, of the Doby George Project. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the outcome of the regulatory review process; delays in USFS review or additional information requests; the results of the grid power feasibility study; the ability of exploration activities to accurately predict mineralization; errors in management's geological modelling; property and royalty interests in respect of the Aura project; the global economic climate; metal prices; dilution; environmental risks; and community and non-governmental actions. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Western cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Company that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. Western does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward‐looking statements and forward-looking information made in this news release concerning Western, see the Company's continuous disclosure filings, including its most recent management's discussion and analysis, available electronically under Western's issuer profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. 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