New Found Gold Identifies Continuation of the Keats-Baseline Fault Zone With 187 g/t Au Over 2.55m at “Iceberg Alley”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia / Mar 26, 2024 / Business Wire / New Found Gold Corp. (“New Found” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NFG, NYSE-A: NFGC) is pleased to announce the results from 38 diamond drill holes that were completed as part of a program designed to expand on a new discovery called ‘Iceberg Alley’ that is located 1km along strike of Iceberg, as well as 114 diamond drill holes that were completed to test a segment of the Keats Baseline Fault Zone (“KBFZ”) that trends under South Hermans Pond at the Keats Zone adjacent to the highly prospective Appleton Fault Zone (“AFZ”). New Found’s 100%-owned Queensway project comprises a 1,665 km² area, accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Iceberg Alley Highlights:

Table 1: Iceberg Alley Drilling Highlights

Note that the host structures are interpreted to be steeply dipping and true widths are generally estimated to be ¹70% to 95% and ²40% to 70%. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 4m consecutive dilution when above 200m vertical depth and 2m consecutive dilution when below 200m vertical depth. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness.

• The highlight interval of 187 g/t Au over 2.55m in NFGC-23-1941 is part of a newly discovered zone called Iceberg Alley that was intersected as part of a targeted program to follow the eastern continuation of the Keats-Iceberg-Iceberg East corridor along the high-grade KBFZ. Based on the fault characteristics observed at Iceberg Alley, as well as the zone’s orientation, intensity, and width of the damage zone, the Company’s preliminary interpretation indicates that it is another displaced segment of the KBFZ, in a northward direction.
• Additional highlights from immediate follow-up drilling include 29.0 g/t Au over 2.50m in NFGC-23-1927, 9.51 g/t Au over 3.30m in NFGC-24-1972, and 12.5 g/t Au over 2.00m in NFGC-24-2035.
• These intervals currently define a high-grade domain that spans 30m wide by 60m deep, starting close to surface. Follow-up drilling is planned at Iceberg Alley to follow this structure along strike to the east.

Keats Highlights:

Table 2: Keats Drilling Highlights

Note that the host structures are interpreted to be steeply dipping and true widths are generally estimated to be ¹70% to 95%, ²40% to 70%, and ³10% to 40%. ⁴True widths are unknown at this time. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 4m consecutive dilution when above 200m vertical depth and 2m consecutive dilution when below 200m vertical depth. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness.

• At Keats, all results have now been received from a shallow step-out program that utilized a barge-mounted drill situated on South Hermans Pond. This program was designed to test the shallow continuation of the KBFZ that was inaccessible from land. Today’s results confirm the near-surface continuation of the Keats Main Zone, a gold-mineralized segment of the KBFZ that has a strike length of 575m and starts at surface.
• Highlights from the barge program include 34.4 g/t Au over 3.55m in NFGC-23-1967 which is hosted by the East-West Vein, a known high-grade vein that was exposed by the Keats Trench and found to contain a high concentration of coarse gold (November 17, 2023). This interval is 275m along strike, west of the exposed segment in the trench.
• Drilling from both the barge and from on-land extensions of drill holes originally targeting the Keats Main Zone expanded on a series of mineralized structures located between the Keats Main Zone and the AFZ. Within this domain of rock, there are several lower-grade structures that trend parallel to the AFZ but also contain domains of localized high-grade gold. Example highlight intervals include 1.71 g/t Au over 14.30m in NFGC-22-914 located ~350m down-dip of NFGC-22-825, containing 20.8 g/t Au over 2.00m and 11.6 g/t Au over 2.55m (December 5, 2022). NFGC-23-1777 located a further 155m along strike to the southwest graded 15.9 g/t Au over 2.00m. This area of mineralization immediately east of the AFZ remains poorly tested at depth and will be a focus of future deep drilling efforts.

Melissa Render, VP of Exploration of New Found, stated: “The high-grade intercepts at Iceberg Alley are very encouraging. This newly identified zone shares many features and characteristics with the KBFZ which is host to the high-grade Keats, Iceberg, and Iceberg East discoveries. Iceberg Alley was discovered in an attempt to extend Iceberg East to beyond the Road Zone and our preliminary interpretation indicates that Iceberg Alley likely represents another displaced segment of the KBFZ. The KBFZ is known to be important for concentrating high-grade gold and understanding the location of this fault is significant for ongoing exploration targeting.

“Meanwhile, at Keats, we have now received all of the results from the barge program and we are pleased with the outcome, adding critical information and delineating the up-dip extent of mineralization associated with the Keats-Baseline Fault Zone underneath South Hermans Pond in addition to adding continuity and extent to the series of gold mineralized structures that exist between the Keats Main Zone and the AFZ (Keats Footwall). This program was completed on time, on budget, and with no incidents. Exploration will now test the down-dip extensions of these structures and target areas where they potentially interact with structures interpreted in the seismic data.”

Table 3: Summary of composite results reported in this press release for Keats and Iceberg Alley

Note that the host structures are interpreted to be moderately to steeply dipping and true widths are generally estimated to be ¹70% to 95%, ²40% to 70%, and ³10% to 40% of reported intervals. ⁴True widths are unknown at this time. Infill veining in secondary structures with multiple orientations crosscutting the primary host structures are commonly observed in drill core which could result in additional uncertainty in true width. Composite intervals reported carry a minimum weighted average of 1 g/t Au diluted over a minimum core length of 2m with a maximum of 4m consecutive dilution when above 200m vertical depth and 2m consecutive dilution when below 200m vertical depth. Included high-grade intercepts are reported as any consecutive interval with grades greater than 10 g/t Au. Grades have not been capped in the averaging and intervals are reported as drill thickness. *Previously reported interval.