Exploration And Development Activities Navarre Creek Target Of Empire Mine

VANCOUVER - ExGen Resources Inc. reported on exploration and development activities at the Empire Mine Project in Custer County, Idaho. ExGen owns 20% and Phoenix owns 80% of Konnex Resources, Inc., which holds the leases and claims to the Empire Mine Project, which includes all of the Navarre Creek claim block. ExGen further owns 1,330,000 common shares of Phoenix.

Jason Riley, CEO, said, “I am encouraged that seven holes in Target 1 encountered a continuous zone/band of low-grade gold mineralization at shallow depths and open along strike and down-dip. The drilling results are representative of a relatively shallow, near-surface portion of the mineralized system. I look forward to further testing down-dip and further along strike.”

28 reverse-circulation drill holes into four target areas within 4,000 acre (16.18 sq km) claim block. Two of four target areas identify mineralization of significance. All seven drill holes into the Lehman Creek target identify a continuous zone of anomalous, low-grade gold mineralization ranging from 4.5 meters to 22.9 meters thick. Mineralized zone is open along strike and down-dip. 20 unpatented mining claims totaling 400 acres staked on the southwest end of the contiguous Navarre Creek claim block.

Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am pleased to confirm that we have now received and assessed the assay results from the 28 exploratory reverse-circulation drill holes completed at our Navarre Creek project in 2023. Navarre Creek is a vast exploration zone, multiple times larger than the Empire Mine open- pit area. We initially selected four target areas, and it is very encouraging to note that two of those areas have returned mineralization of significance, worthy of further follow-up.

Holes NC23-01 through NC23-07 were drilled to test Target Area 1 on the southwest end of the claim block specifically targeting the mineralized Lehman Creek fault Holes. NC23-08 through NC23-11 were drilled in Target Area 2, 4.77 kilometers northeast of Target Area 1. Target Area 2 tested a surface geochemical anomaly identified during previous field mapping and surface sampling in 2020. Target Area 3, holes NC23-12 - NC23-18, tested a gold-antimony geochemical anomaly identified during field mapping, and Target Area 4, holes NC23-19 - NC23-28, tested a jasperoid exposure identified during field mapping.

All seven of the Target Area 1 holes encountered a continuous zone/band of low-grade gold mineralization. Each of the drill holes NC23-01 to NC23-07 were angled and drilled perpendicular to the strike of the Lehman Creek fault and cross dip. The seven holes were widely spaced at various angles along 580 meters of the fault. The mineralized zone was encountered between 19.2 meters and 44.2 meters true vertical depth along strike, indicating that the zone is open along strike and down-dip. The mineralized zone is clearly defined geochemically, and the consistency along the strike is important in that it demonstrates the fault as a conduit for gold-bearing fluids and at least one volcanic unit in the hanging-wall as a suitable host for mineralization. The drilling results are representative of a relatively shallow, near-surface portion of the mineralized system. I am very much looking forward to further testing down-dip and further along strike. The initial drilling results in Target Area 1 were considered significant enough that we expanded the Navarre Creek claim block to the southwest by an additional 400 acres, bringing the total claim block size to 3,977 acres (16.09 km²).

The assay results from the four drill holes NC23-13 through NC23-16, which targeted an area with a gold-antimony surface anomaly identified during field work, returned anomalous low-grade silver and silver-antimony. 1.5 meters of 1.10% (10,100 parts per million ('ppm')) antimony was present at a depth of 4.6 meters. Antimony can be an important trace element in mineralized systems as it can be associated with precious metals. While the four drill holes tested a relatively small area, we now have a better understanding of the subsurface geology and mineral potential in that specific area. The remainder of the 28 drill holes showed little to no significant gold mineralization.

The Navarre Creek project covers nearly 4,000-acres. As we have reported in the past, surficial evidence of mineralization is widespread and pervasive. While the overall gold assay grades were low, the presence, location, depth, and host lithology of the mineralization is important and will be used as a tool for further stages of exploration. The activities at Navarre Creek are very much grassroots, very early-stage exploration, not development drilling, and we are satisfied to initially encounter this low-grade mineralization early in the program as we continue to develop an understanding of the dynamics of the system and explore for more substantial quantities of mineralization.

Given the latest bond funding news, we are clearly focusing our resources on the development of the open-pit and will be for the foreseeable future. However, our Idaho team will continue field work at Navarre Creek, Redstar, and the Horseshoe area for the purposes of developing drill targets. We will update as appropriate as to progress on our exploration programs.

"In addition to reporting the Navarre Creek drilling results, I would like to provide a brief update on the feasibility engineering for our Empire Open-Pit Mine. We recently reported that the Company's corporate copper bond issue has been fully subscribed for a principal value of US$80,000,000, which will be drawn down and used for the construction of the open pit mine and processing facility. While this funding will not have an impact on the mineral reserve estimate or the metallurgical and design engineering completed to date, it will provide the Company with the opportunity to outfit the open pit operation with lower-cost, pre-owned equipment. Much of this equipment has already been identified and is currently located within a 550-mile radius of the Empire Mine. The purchase of this equipment is expected to have a material impact on overall initial and sustaining capex, as well as on certain aspects of the process design detail, construction logistics, and the overall equipment procurement schedule. We have already procured pre-owned ball mills, assay laboratory equipment and disk filtration units, at an estimated capex reduction of US$8 million. These items all form an important part of the feasibility work, which is now being updated accordingly."