New Found Initiates Use of Chrysos PhotonAssay Method for Queensway Drilling, Anticipates Reporting First Assay Results Shortly

New Found Gold Corp. (“New Found” or the “Company”) (TSXV: NFG, NYSE American: NFGC) is pleased to provide an update on fieldwork and reporting of drill results from its 100%-owned Queensway Project (“Queensway”), located on the Trans-Canada Highway 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland.

• New Found is pleased to report that it is proceeding immediately with assaying of drill whole-core samples from its Queensway Project utilizing the Chrysos PhotonAssay method at Intertek’s facilities in Perth, Western Australia. Novo Resources Corp. (TSX; NVO) ("Novo") a significant shareholder of New Found currently utilizes Intertek’s Chrysos PhotonAssay facilities in Perth for production and exploration samples from their Western Australian gold mining and exploration projects and is facilitating priority access for New Found to the Intertek facilities under Novo's arrangement with Intertek.¹
• The Company is planning to send the first shipment of Queensway drill core from Gander this coming week, including intervals from recent drilling that were previously designated for conventional assay on a rush basis. Assay results from these samples are anticipated to be received and reported in the coming weeks.
• Intertek is an industry leader and employs more than 43,000 employees worldwide providing quality assurance, testing, inspection, and certification services. Its assay facilities in Perth are utilized by a broad spectrum of gold mining and exploration companies and it operates two Chrysos PhotonAssay instruments at its Perth laboratory with a third to be installed shortly.
• As outlined in New Found's November 4 news release, the Company is advancing towards an agreement with MSALABS for 20,000 assays per month at a new facility they anticipate commissioning shortly in Val d'Or, Quebec, and is also working with MSALABS towards an agreement for the installation of a Chrysos PhotonAssay unit in Gander in 2022.
• The utilization of the Intertek facilities in Perth will allow the Company to immediately proceed with utilizing the Chrysos PhotonAssay for the assay of drill core currently being produced at Queensway. This assay work would transition to the MSALABS facility in Val d’Or, Quebec once capacity there is available to the Company.
• Queensway core will be logged and photographed at New Found's facilities in Gander prior to shipment of whole-core samples to Perth where sample preparation and Chrysos PhotonAssay assaying of the samples will be completed. The Chrysos PhotonAssay method is non-destructive and New Found’s QA/QC program will include fire assay/metallic screening of sample material post photon assay for comparison of the results.
• Dr. Quinton Hennigh, a Director of New Found, has significant experience working with Intertek and utilizing their Chrysos PhotonAssay units in Perth, including on nuggety gold material. Dr. Hennigh will help coordinate the shipping of Queensway samples from Gander to Perth as well as Intertek’s receipt of the material, sample preparation and Chrysos PhotonAssay work on these Queensway samples.

Melissa Render, P.Geo., VP Exploration of New Found stated: “We are very pleased to be proceeding promptly with utilizing the Chrysos PhotonAssay method to assay drill core from our Queensway project. We would like to thank Novo Resources Corp. for facilitating swift access for us to the Intertek Chrysos PhotonAssay facilities. With the current large backlog of samples and resulting slow turnaround times for conventional assaying in North America, even with the additional transport time required to ship samples to Perth we believe that proceeding with Chrysos PhotonAssay analysis at these facilities in Perth will significantly shorten our turnaround time on assays. This will provide faster receipt of critical information to our exploration team and will allow more timely disclosure of drill results to the market. Recognizing the nuggety nature of gold mineralization at Queensway, the use of non-destructive, Chrysos PhotonAssay method on whole-core samples will contribute significantly to optimising the accuracy of our assay results. The Chrysos PhotonAssay method is rapidly gaining industry wide acceptance. Barrick in partnership with MSALABS recently installed a Chrysos PhotonAssay unit at its Bulyanhulu Mine in Tanzania, and Kirkland Lake Gold recently installed a unit at its Fosterville Mine in Victoria State, Australia. We are very excited to be moving ahead and implementing the Chrysos PhotonAssay assay process for our Queensway Project and we look forward to reporting our first assay results from recent drilling in the next several weeks."