Bonanza-Grades From Waterpump Creek Drilling

TUCSON, AZ - Western Alaska Minerals (WAM) reported that massive sulfides announced visually from drill hole WPC22-21 report 5.1 meters grading 789 g/t Silver (25.4 oz/t), 22.0% Lead and 14.9% Zinc. WPC22-21 is the last hole to be reported from the 2022 exploration season at the Waterpump Creek Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD), and successfully continues the emerging 400m long mineralized trend defined by holes WPC21-09 through WPC22-22. Mineralization remains open in several directions and tracing this mineralized body will be one of the principal focuses of an expanded 2023 drill program.

"Bonanza silver grades averaging 25.4 oz/T with combined lead-zinc grades of 36.9% in the last hole of our 2022 drilling program are a great way to end the season," said Kit Marrs, CEO. "This intercept continues the upper zone or manto at Waterpump Creek and mirrors similar high-grades in drill holes extending approximately 400 meters to the north. We expect to continue expanding the zone to the south with an aggressive multi-rig program in 2023."

Twenty-eight holes were drilled at Waterpump Creek in 2022. Of the 28holes, 9 encountered mineralization, and the remainder did not. Given the sinuous, "skeletal" nature of many CRD deposits and the sharp boundaries between mineralized and non-mineralized material in CRD's, this is not an unexpected result. Of those holes which did not encounter mineralization, 12 were drilled off to the east or west sides of the manto and two missed by drilling above or below the mineralized holes, and five were located on the south side of intervening wetlands along an east-west line located approximately 150 meters south of WPC22-22. These five holes suggest the manto is further west as a consequence of the intersection with the north-east trending Illinois Creek fault zone. This conclusion is also supported by ongoing remodeling of the 2005 IP survey and will be verified during the 2023 drill program.

Combining the results from the first 23 holes drilled in the Waterpump Creek structural zone allows delineation of a continuous elongate massive sulfide ribbon ("manto") 30 to 75 meters wide and 400 meters in length plunging gently to the south. Mineralization remains open in several directions. The mineralization affects reactive dolomite lying beneath an impermeable schist along the WPC Creek structure. Hole WPC22-18 tested the intersection of the WPC and Illinois Creek structures and cut 101.7 meters of massive and semi-massive sulfides interpreted to reflect a "feeder chimney" and a possible mineralizing fluid upwelling zone. The three emerging mantos of high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization in WPC22-22 extend the lower mineralized zone 75 meters south of WPC22-18 and suggest it continues to thicken in that direction.

Planning for 2023 is ongoing as this year's results are analyzed in detail. Two or three new Company-owned drill rigs are expected to be added to the two existing owned drill rigs allowing WAM to drill up to 17,000 meters next season. 2023 drilling will focus on following the Waterpump Creek high-grade manto to extend the manto along strike with drill spacings ultimately suitable for resource modeling. Concurrently, we will explore via drilling and geophysics the multiple similar geologic settings which have been identified elsewhere on the property and look for the intrusive body that drove the system.