New Found Receives Initial 3-D Seismic Interpretation, Initiates Deep Drilling at Queensway

New Found Gold Corp. (“New Found” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NFG, NYSE-A: NFGC) is pleased to announce that it is in receipt of the final dataset and preliminary interpretation of its 3-D and 2-D seismic program completed in late 2023. The seismic program covers a 47km² core segment of the Queensway North project (see Figure 1) area and was conducted by HiSeis, an industry leader in hard rock seismic surveys. New Found’s 100%-owned Queensway project comprises a 1,662km² area, accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Figure 1: Extents of the 3-D cube and 2-D seismic lines.

Highlights

• The preliminary seismic interpretation successfully outlines the presence of structures and geological features down to a depth of 2.5km that align with known gold-bearing structures closer to surface, and points to additional lineaments that could represent new and untested structures.
• Figures 2 and 3 display 3-D cross sections that extend down to 1,200m below surface of the Keats and Lotto zones, respectively, overlayed with preliminary interpreted major structures and faults. The Appleton Fault Zone (“AFZ”) is apparent in both sections, as well as a previously unidentified parallel feature (labelled Appleton Parallel Fault) approximately 500m east of the AFZ. On the west side of the AFZ, a more shallowly dipping structure, previously identified in drill core and known as the Glenwood Shear, can be seen over the full length of the 3-D data cube. Like the primary AFZ, the Glenwood Shear does not host mineralization, but is closely associated with mineralization on the west side of the AFZ. The Glenwood Shear may be a splay structure to the AFZ and likely formed at the same time.
• In Figure 2, the continuation of the Keats-Baseline Fault Zone (“KBFZ”), host to the Keats Main and Iceberg zones, is visible in the imagery in addition to a series of other interpreted faults at depth. Looking to Figure 3, the Lotto Zone appears to potentially extend to depth where interpreted faults branch out and link with untested breaks in the seismic data. The above observations represent just some of the initial findings of the survey.
• A more detailed interpretation is now underway by HiSeis that will include the identification of priority targets with a scheduled completion date of April 2024. From there, ongoing interpretation and targeting will continue throughout the lifespan of the project as new data derived from drilling is used to continuously refine and validate the 3-D seismic interpretation for increased targeting effectiveness.
• Based on the initial results of the seismic survey, the Company has initiated deep drilling aimed at collecting geological information that will be used to confirm the presence of structures identified in the seismic data and to further train and understand the dataset.

Greg Matheson, Chief Operating Officer of New Found, stated: “Following approximately two years of planning and one year of acquisition and data processing, the moment has finally arrived. Paired with the knowledge garnered from over 500,000m of drilling, New Found is in a good position to harness and apply this extensive dataset with the benefit of drill testing that is now underway. We have a strong understanding of our key structures and their orientations near-surface – information that will be used to resolve features we are seeing in the seismic data both at depth and those outside the purview of our current drill footprint. We are very pleased with the initial review of this dataset and the apparent alignment of features visible in the seismic data with known gold-bearing structures, in addition to deeper conceptual targets. This is another layer of data that we believe will be valuable for guiding deep drilling and increasing our chances for exploration success at depth.”