White Gold Corp. (TSX.V: WGO, OTC: WHGOF, FRA: 29W) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce significant soil geochemistry results from 2020 sampling and completion of a new structural geological interpretation at its Bonanza property, which is located approximately 10 km south of Dawson City, Yukon. This work formed part of the Company’s 2020 exploration program backed by strategic partners Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX: AEM, NYSE: AEM) and Kinross Gold Corp (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC) on its extensive 420,000 hectare land package in the prolific White Gold District, Yukon, Canada.

Highlights Include:

  • The Bonanza property is situated in close proximity to the richest placer mining sites in the Yukon with over 5 Moz of gold produced to date.
  • Infill soil geochemistry sampling has outlined multiple property-scale linear WNW- to NW-trending gold in soil anomalies.
  • A new structural geological interpretation based on airborne magnetics and electromagnetics (EM), and high-resolution drone LiDAR data, has significantly improved the understanding of structural controls on gold mineralization.
  • The combined strike length of the multiple gold in soil anomalies and interpreted controlling structures is more than 6km kilometers and remains untested by trenching and/or drilling.
  • These results will be combined with historic data over the coming months to define targets for drilling later in the year.
  • A video overview from management discussing the Bonanza property, 2020 results and future plans can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XViwbru0AoY

Shawn Ryan, Chief Technical Advisor of the Company commented, “In 2004 when I first staked the Bonanza property, I was struck by the lack of exploration in an area that had been the epicentre for the Klondike Gold Rush and had produced so much placer gold”. “Back then I was intrigued by the new GSC airborne magnetic survey maps indicating a distinct north-south trending magnetic lineament that I felt could represent an important mineralizing structure. Since then, we have carried out intermittent exploration on the property but only this past year with a larger soil sampling program, adding 3,645 samples to the database, combined with magnetics and LiDAR have we been able to clearly see property-scale linear trending gold anomalies correlating perfectly with Matias Sanchez’s structural interpretation of the property. His interpretation work clearly indicates a fault system, which just so happens to be anomalous in gold and all ironically trending towards Bonanza Creek.   I always felt with so much placer gold in Bonanza Creek, there could be a few potential sources. With Klondike Gold Corp.’s Lone Star zone to the south representing one potential source, we may be looking at another. This year we’ll continue to refine our interpretation and advance targets to the drill-ready stage for testing.”

Figures accompanying this news release can be found at: http://whitegoldcorp.ca/investors/exploration-highlights/

Bonanza Property

The Bonanza property covers an area of 2,250 hectares located immediately east of Bonanza Creek and 5 km north-northwest of Klondike Gold Corp.’s (TSX.V: KG, FRA: LBDP, OTC: KDKGF) Lone Star and Stander zones which are currently being advanced towards a maiden mineral resource estimate expected in 2022 (Figure 1). Bonanza Creek, and its main tributary Eldorado Creek to the south, were the most prolific placer gold producers in the historic Klondike Goldfields having collectively produced just over 25% (minimum 5.4 Moz) TB1 of the Klondike’s estimated 20 Moz of placer gold. Surprisingly, only limited exploration has been carried out on the Bonanza property in search of a potential bedrock source of the gold, or additional mineralization in the area.

The Bonanza property was originally staked in 2004 and since that time has seen intermittent exploration. From 2004 through 2019, exploration work included geological mapping and prospecting, soil geochemistry surveys (50m spaced samples on 100m spaced lines) and an airborne frequency domain EM and magnetic survey. More recent detailed exploration in 2017-2018 was restricted to short segments of anomalous gold in soil anomalies and included limited GT Probe soil-bedrock interface sampling (301 samples on 5 lines), IP-resistivity surveys (5 lines totalling 2 line km) and 5 rotary air blast (RAB) holes totaling 445m.

The geology of the Bonanza property is poorly known due to a lack of outcrop which is generally restricted to creeks and access roads. Based on current understanding, the northern and central portions of the property appear to be underlain by Late Permian quartz-feldspar augen schist, whereas the southern part of the property is dominated by rocks of the Klondike Schist. As described below, multiple interpreted faults are recognized on the property with steeply dipping WNW- and NW-trending faults being the most significant in terms of gold mineralization.

2020 Exploration Program

The 2020 exploration program included 159 line km of ground magnetics and VLF-EM surveys, and extensive infill soil geochemistry sampling at 25m spacings on 100m spaced survey lines, as well as extension of soil sampling in several other areas. A total of 3,645 soil samples were collected in 2020, bringing the total soil geochemistry database to 8,377 samples. This year’s results have outlined and significantly enhanced a number of WNW- to NW-trending gold ± arsenic soil anomalies as shown in Figures 2 and 3 respectively. Gold in soil background values are relatively low in the Bonanza area, and anomalies are generally defined by gold values greater than 12 ppb Au with a maximum of 373 ppb Au reported.

The most pronounced and continuous gold in soil anomalies are located in the southern part of the property, south of Queen Gulch. In particular, the WNW-trending (290°-300°) anomaly associated with 18 Gulch, and a second subparallel anomaly located 750m to the south are continuous across the entire property and collectively represent approximately 6 km of strike length. Two additional linear gold in soil anomalies with the same orientation, with a strike length of 0.9-1.3 km, are located northeast of the 18 Gulch anomaly with the one furthest northeast having no anomalous arsenic association. Between Queen Gulch and Mosquito Gulch located approximately 1.5 km to the north, gold in soil anomalies are NW-trending (315°) and appear to be truncated by post-mineral faults associated with the Queen and Mosquito Gulches (see below). A detailed review and characterization of the various soil anomalies, including differing metal associations with other elements (e.g. As, Sb, Ag, Pb), is ongoing.

Structural Geological Interpretation

A new structural geological interpretation was recently completed on the Bonanza property by consulting structural geologist Dr. Matias Sanchez of Fault Rocks Inc., by integrating airborne magnetics and electromagnetics (EM), and high-resolution drone LiDAR data. Key findings are summarized below, and interpreted structures and gold in soil data are shown in Figures 4-6.

The oldest recognized structure is the Bonanza Fault, a 1st order N- to NNW-trending lineament defined by the Bonanza Creek valley. This structure is interpreted to be a regional scale thrust fault which dips to the west, placing Klondike Schists (hanging wall) over quartz-feldspar augen gneiss (footwall). A series of similarly oriented 2nd and 3rd order magnetic and resistivity lineaments recognized elsewhere across the property are interpreted to possibly represent the principal metamorphic fabric and/or compositional banding.

The most important structures controlling gold mineralization, based on their excellent spatial correlation with anomalous gold and arsenic in soils, are 1st and 2nd order NW-trending faults and fractures which are well-defined by magnetic, resistivity and LiDAR lineaments. These structures are best defined in the southern portion of the property south of Mosquito Gulch, where at least 10 such lineaments have been interpreted. These structures and/or associated splays are continuous across the property and collectively represent a significant strike length of untested potential.

In the Queen Gulch area, a principal NE-trending post-mineral steeply dipping fault is interpreted based on geophysical and topographic features, as well as the abrupt truncation of anomalous soil geochemistry. The subparallel Mosquito Gulch located approximately 1.5 km to the north may represent a similar post-mineral fault.

Exploration Plans for 2021

Exploration work planned for the 2021 season will focus on refining geological and structural interpretations and advancing targets to the drill-ready stage for testing. Ground surveys will include detailed structural mapping and GT Probe sampling across gold in soil anomalies, augmented by mechanical trenching in areas of the highest gold values. High resolution IP-resistivity surveys are also planned in select areas to aid in defining the targets at depth for drill testing.

Acknowledgements

The Company acknowledges and thanks the Government of Yukon for funding a portion of the 2020 exploration program on the Bonanza property through the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (“YMEP”).

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